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The Think Sensory Summit · Season 2 · Part 1 · November 16, 2026

Stubborn, Defiant, Manipulative? A Uniquely Human Approach to Behavior, Regulation, and Connection

Presented by Dr. Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP

Coming soon

Available November 16, 2026

55days
07hours
12minutes
54seconds
Audio version

Included with the All-Access Pass

Level
Clinical
For
Pediatric therapists and educators
Length
1:27:57

In this session, Dr. Barry Prizant, speech-language pathologist, author of Uniquely Human, and one of the creators of the SCERTS Model, sits down with host Greg Santucci to make the case that supporting young neurodivergent children starts with understanding their experience rather than managing their behavior.

Dr. Prizant traces how the field arrived at a vocabulary that still describes children as non-compliant, manipulative, obsessive, or non-communicative, and what shifts when we ask what he calls the deep why. He explains why social communication and emotional regulation belong at the center of any approach, why families are carrying unexpected events, uncertainty, and a loss of control long before they walk into our sessions, and how a child's sense of trust in their environment, their routines, the people around them, and their own body determines how available they are for learning and connection. He also draws a clear line between directive, compliance-based approaches and the facilitative, relationship-based work that neuroaffirming practice depends on.

Therapists and educators will come away with a framework for reading behavior as communication and regulation, practical ways to build predictability and choice into everyday activities, and a stronger sense of how to identify and build on a child's genuine interests. Dr. Prizant and Greg close by talking through what to do after a misstep with a child, a family, or a colleague, why burnt-out teachers are usually unsupported teachers, and how to start the conversation that brings this approach into a classroom.