What Happens When We Stop Trying to Control Behavior, with Polina Shkadron, SLP

acceptance executive functioning pda regulation Apr 09, 2026

You’re listening to Voices of Your Village, and today we’re talking about the kids who often get missed. The ones who look fine on the outside, hold it together at school, and then unravel at home. The kids whose feeding struggles, big reactions, sensory needs, or shutdowns can get mistaken for defiance when what’s really happening is so much more nuanced.

In this episode, I’m joined by Polina Shkadron, and we’re digging into what it looks like to truly support neurodivergent kids through the lens of relationship, regulation, and trust. We talk about feeding challenges, masking, sensory differences, executive functioning, and why believing the child’s experience changes everything.

This conversation hit home for me as a parent, because so much of this is about shifting out of “How do I make this behavior stop?” and into “What is this child telling me about their experience?” And that shift matters at home, in classrooms, and in every relationship we have with kids.

Alright folks, let’s dive in.

Connect with Polina:

Instagram: @playtolearnconsulting

Website: playtolearnconsulting.com

Newsletter: https://playtolearnconsulting.com/resources/

PESI webinars mentioned:

The “Not So Picky” Picky Eater

Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents

Connect with us:

Instagram and TikTok: @seed.and.sew

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