Hi there! I’m Brenda.

I help educators turn understanding into action—building the self-regulation, confidence, and practical strategies they need to support their students with compassion and less overwhelm.

I’m an occupational therapist who learned that helping others regulate starts with regulating ourselves.

For 20+ years, I’ve supported children, families, and educators across schools in Italy, the UK, and the US.

But while working in the US school system, I found myself overwhelmed, exhausted, and struggling to be the OT—and the mother—I wanted to be. At home, I wanted to be more flexible, more engaged with my children, and take better care of myself. At work, I wanted to help my students regulate better and sensory strategies weren’t enough.

I knew I needed a different approach.

That’s when I discovered Self-Reg. What started as a way to better support my students became a powerful shift in how I understood myself, stress, behavior, and capacity.

I began seeing the why behind behavior differently—and saw how this understanding can transform connection, expectations, and the way educators support children.

Not only was I able to use the Self-Reg approach to help manage my stress and better regulate myself, it helped me understand my students from a more holistic perspective and better meet their needs.

I started to share the approach with my colleagues, but soon realized there was not enough time to go into the depth of conversation that was needed to help them take on this approach for their students.

That’s where Brain Spark began.

Experience That Makes a Difference

Supporting autistic students starts with understanding what's happening beneath the behavior. As a pediatric occupational therapist trained in sensory integration theory and practice, self-regulation, higher education and coaching, I bring that understanding to your teachers in a practical, classroom-ready way.

Throughout my career I've worked mainly with neurodivergent students, including those with autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, sensory processing differences, and dysgraphia. 

I have supported children, families, and educators across international schools in Rome, Italy, general and special schools and children’s centres in England, and public schools in Los Angeles.

While there are some cultural differences, I have seen that the problem is the same: teachers did not understand the needs of their neurodivergent students, how to support them, and felt ineffective with those students.

As a certified occupational therapist in sensory integration theory and practice, I show teachers how sensory processing can influence attention, participation, and learning. 

Once teachers learn more about sensory differences, it helps reframe the student behaviors and understand more of the “why” behind the behaviors. 

Based on my training as a Self-Reg facilitator (Stuart Shanker, The MEHRIT Centre), I utilize a model to teach and support regulation from an energy and relationship based approach. 

My experience as a senior lecturer to occupational therapy students and certification as a health coach, enables me to effectively support teachers after the PD session in order to build connections with their students, support regulation, and problem-solve rather than just manage behavior.

I'm a committed lifelong learner (my course budget can attest to it!), and as neurodivergent voices have increasingly shaped our understanding of autism in the last decade, I strive to ensure that my teaching and practice is informed from an evidence based and neurodiverse affirming perspective.