As many of us know, being a foster or adopted child can bring up many conflicted and complex feelings, and connection is at the core of helping develop posttraumatic growth in each child. Noticing a child’s behaviors as emotional dysregulation can help us as parents and professionals show up with more compassion and understanding to build self-awareness, resiliency, and build connection. In this workshop, Mya will identify signs of dysregulation (some might not be as obvious) and strategies that can help. Mya is an inter-cultural adoptee and an Occupational Therapist who supports young clients and adoptive families in her Nature OT practice.

Mya feels incredibly fortunate to be able to combine her love for nature with her almost 20-years clinical experience as a bilingual (Spanish) occupational therapist to create her own Nature OT practice that boosts kids’ physical and mental health. That means she skill-builds with toddlers to teens while exploring in nature in the Central Coast of CA. She supports neurodivergent kids (with ADHD, Autism, Sensory difficulties, and anxiety) and kids that have experienced trauma and adoption. She believes in helping every child discover their own superpowers and feel more confident and grounded to live with greater joy and ease. Partnering with families to offer strategies and creative problem-solving solutions for their children is also essential to the deep impact she has with her young clients and families. When she’s not working, she loves to move – working out at CrossFit classes or getting outdoors walking with her sweet shih-tzu pup, her teen sons, husband, and friends along any body of water and among trees.