Session 7: Understanding and Disengaging the Stress Response
Sun, Oct 19
|Work and Play Center
Supporting Positive Growth: A Behavior is Communication Series is a free hybrid series offering trauma-informed strategies to understand and support behavior as communication for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Time & Location
Oct 19, 2025, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Work and Play Center, 444 North Hewitt Road, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA
About the event
Session 7: Understanding and Disengaging the Stress Response
Children and adults navigate stressors throughout each day, but what happens when that stress builds? Participants will better understand the mechanism of stress in the brain and go beyond "calm down strategies" to discover how we can support children (and ourselves) in disengaging from stress in order to reengage successfully in our day.
Supporting Positive Growth: A Behavior is Communication Series is a free, hybrid program designed for parents and caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities of all ages. This series explores how behavior serves as a form of communication and offers trauma-informed strategies to support positive growth. Participants will learn relationship-based approaches to encourage connection and prevent challenging behaviors in home, school, and community settings.
The series is led by Melissa Smith, an educator, coach, and trainer specializing in positive behavior and social-emotional development. With a background in early childhood and public…