Download one of the best talks from the Bright & Quirky Summit, with Dr. Stephen Porges:
With a fascinating blend of personal experience grounded in the science of polyvagal theory, Dr. Stephen Porges explains how our kids want to do the right thing, but their bodies are often in states that do not support that. This results in behavior that gets labeled "bad" or "uncooperative." In this powerful talk you will learn how physiological and behavioral states are linked, why timeouts and isolation have the opposite effect on self-regulation, and how to be a calming presence in your child's life. Dr. Porges drills down simply and beautifully to what matters most in supporting our children, and you especially won't want to miss this talk if your child has anxiety, gut issues, auditory sensitivities, a history of chronic ear infections, or food selectivity issues.
About Stephen Porges, PhD:
Stephen W. Porges, PhD, is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published more than 300 peer‐reviewed scientific papers across several disciplines that have been cited in more than 35,000 peer-reviewed papers. He holds several patents involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017) and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol™ , which currently is used by more than 1500 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.
About Debbie Steinberg Kuntz, LMFT
Debbie is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Bright & Quirky, an organization helping bright kids thrive, even with learning, social, emotional and/or behavioral challenges. After a decade in private practice specializing in 'twice exceptional (2e)' kids, she began the annual Bright & Quirky Child Online Summit, interviewing the leading psychologists and educators. To help 2e families thrive, she also created the Bright & Quirky IdeaLab learning community, the Bright & Quirky Action Plan digital course and a new series of fun online classes for 2e kids. She earned her undergraduate degree at Middlebury College and Masters in Child, family and couples counseling at Antioch University.
