Neurodivergent Wisdom Panel II: Co-Regulating Across Differences

Our first panel sparked a lively conversation about co-regulating across differences and left many participants wanting more time together! This second no-cost gathering from Jan Winhall's Embodied Dialogues podcast continues that exploration with a new circle of expert voices, sharing wisdom on neurodiversity, embodiment, connection, and the nervous system. We live in a world rich with differences — in how we think, feel, learn, and relate. Neurodivergent differences are a source of creativity, insight, and resilience. By honoring these unique ways of being and providing tools for connection, we can transform challenges into opportunities for deeper partnership. This 90-minute panel with live Q&A at the end brings together leading experts in neuroscience, therapy, somatic practice, education, and advocacy to explore how the body and nervous system are at the heart of connection across differences. Together, we will not only reflect but answer questions live and also offer practical tools that you can bring into your daily life — whether as a parent, teacher, therapist, caregiver, or simply a human being longing for deeper connection. • Learn actionable strategies for co-regulating with others in moments of difference and stress • Discover how embodiment and the nervous system can guide connection in classrooms, therapy sessions, families, and partnerships • Expand your perspective on neurodiversity as a source of resilience, wisdom, and relational creativity • Leave with practical practices and tools that support regulation, body attunement, and partnership in your everyday life This panel is for: • Parents seeking ways to co-regulate with their children • Teachers and educators looking for embodied strategies in the classroom • Therapists and coaches supporting clients across differences • Anyone curious about the gifts of neurodiversity and the role of the body in building connection This panel will leave you not just inspired, but equipped with real tools to support co-regulation and connection in your relationships, families, classrooms, and communities. Let’s come together in curiosity, embodiment, and partnership to discover how our authenticity can bring us closer. ________________________________________ MEET THE PANELISTS Dr. Lori Desautels Dr. Lori Desautels, has been an Assistant Professor at Butler University since 2016 where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education. Lori was also an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis for eight years where she founded the Educational Neuroscience Symposium that has now reached thousands of educators and is in its 15th year. Lori’s passion is engaging her students through the social and relational neurosciences as it applies to education. She does this by integrating the tier one trauma accommodating Applied Educational Neuroscience framework, and its learning principles and practices into her coursework at Butler. https://revelationsineducation.com/ ________________________________________ Tracy Stackhouse Tracy is a leading pediatric occupational therapist (OT) involved in clinical treatment, research, mentoring, and training regarding OT intervention for persons with neurodevelopmental differences. She is a co-founder of DevelopmentalFX, where she has spent decades supporting children and families in navigating differences. Her approach integrates neuroscience, movement, and relational presence to help people understand how our bodies and developmental pathways shape co-regulation and resilience. Tracy is known worldwide as a thought-leader, mentor, educator, and podcaster. https://www.developmentalfx.org/ ________________________________________ Jacqui Jebian Garcia Jacqui is a Sensory-Trained and Somatic Trauma-Informed Speech-Language Pathologist and Social-Emotional Coach turned Somatic Co-Regulator, Paradigm Shifter, Safe & Sound Protocol Provider, and Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Facilitator-In-Training through her practice, The Sound of Safety: In The Space Between Co-Regulation. Passionate about actively shifting the paradigm, Jacqui works to depathologize neurodivergence, educating adults about the intersection of the neurodiversity paradigm, the language of the nervous system, trauma, and bringing awareness to their lenses. https://www.createyourselfco.com/ ________________________________________ Sarah Bergenfield Sarah is an autistic writer, educator, and Certified Level 3 IFS Practitioner. Her work supports autistic individuals—and the people in relationship with them—to make sense of how the autistic mind, body, and nervous system experience the world. Sarah integrates Internal Family Systems, Predictive Processing, and the science of constructed emotion. Her approach bridges lived experience with emerging neuroscience to reveal not what’s broken, but what’s working—often in beautifully complex ways. As a writer and educator, Sarah offers workshops, talks, and resources that challenge pathologizing narratives and invite more nuanced, respectful understandings of neurodivergence. Sarah is the co-author of Embodying Autism, written with Martha Sweezy, to be published by New Harbinger in January 2026. https://www.sarahbergenfield.com/ ________________________________________ Martha Sweezy Martha Sweezy, PhD, is an Assistant Professor part-time in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a research and training consultant at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, and a psychotherapist in private practice. She writes a blog on topics related to IFS for Psychology Today, and co-hosts a podcast with Hanna Soumerai-Rae and Fionna Kate Rice called System Updates: IFS Chitchat. She teaches IFS therapy nationally and internationally. She has authored, co-authored, and co-edited eleven books on various applications of Internal Family Systems (IFS), including a new book co-authored with Sarah Bergenfield titled Embodying Autism: Make Sense of Sensory Surplus and Embrace Who You Are with Neuroscience and Internal Family Systems, which will be released on January 2, 2026. Website: https://marthasweezy.com ________________________________________ Jan Winhall, MSW, PIFOT As the developer of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™, author and educator Jan Winhall integrates neuroscience with embodied practice to illuminate how our nervous systems shape the ways we relate, heal, and co-regulate. Her work emphasizes the body as a wise partner in creating safety and connection, and she brings a depth of relational presence that helps communities build resilience together. https://www.fspminstitute.com/