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PODCAST

STEPS Together

The STEPS for Development podcast offers practical support for adults who are nurturing children"s growth and development. Hosted by Debra Johnson, MS, OTR/L, pediatric occupational therapist, parent coach, educator and parent. STEPS Together dives into topics including typical development, neurodevelopmental differences, understanding what lies beneath challenging child behaviors, and exploring strategies that work to improve skills, strengthen relationships and empower parents and caregivers who

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

30:08

Realistic, Regulated & Rested: The Holiday Alignment...

STEPS Together ·

2025/11/26

Question? Comment? Send a text to let me know what's on your mind! Free PDF Guide to Aligning Expectations for Happier Holidays If the holidays tend to leave your family overwhelmed, overtired, and overstimulated, this episode is your reset button. We’re breaking down how to align expectations, routines, and rhythms so your child—and your whole family—can stay grounded in a season that often pulls everyone off balance. In this episode, we explore what it truly means to set realistic expectati...

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27:47

Holding Your Ground with Heart: Navigating Opinions...

STEPS Together ·

2025/11/20

Question? Comment? Send a text to let me know what's on your mind! The holidays often bring excitement, connection… and plenty of unsolicited advice. In this episode, we explore how to stay confident, calm, and compassionate when family and friends don’t fully understand your child’s neurodiverse needs or your parenting approach. You’ll learn how to anchor yourself in what you know works for your child, set boundaries with kindness, and respond to well-meaning advice without losing your footi...

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35:22

Creating Calm out of Chaos: How Being Proactive Will...

STEPS Together ·

2025/11/13

Holidays are stressful for everyone. The rush of holidays at the end of the year can be especially rough. Changes in routines, new people, new places, new foods. All of it can be overwhelming for our children, as well as us! In this episode, I'll share why being prepared and proactively setting things in place for success is crucial AND possible. I'll walk you through the steps to making the season calmer by helping you be confident in facing whatever changes or challenges are coming your way...

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45:22

Help without Controlling: The Skill-Building Power of...

STEPS Together ·

2025/11/06

How the “Just Right” support creates growth and eliminates struggles. When a child fails to follow directions, makes mistakes or struggles physically with a task it is easy for us to slip into control mode. So much easier to just do it for them, especially as we are rushing out the door or trying to get dinner on the table at the end of the day. But children learn by doing and they need support to learn in a way that is developmentally appropriate. In this episode, we’ll explore the pow...

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23:53

When It All Goes Wrong: How to Reflect, Repair, and...

STEPS Together ·

2025/10/30

We’ve all been there. You thought you'd planned for everything, used your tools and had it under control. But now your child’s having a meltdown at a family gathering, bedtime turns into a battle, or you miss an appointment because your child refuses to get in the car. In the moment, it feels like chaos. Later you blame yourself, worry about the mistakes or feel like you've lost control. But what if those hard moments could actually become your best teachers? In this episode, I in...

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41:31

Trouble with Transitions? Stop Battling Behavior and...

STEPS Together ·

2025/10/23

If leaving the park turns into a meltdown, bedtime drags on forever, or screen time always ends in tears, you’re not alone — and your child isn’t trying to make your life harder. Transitions are tough because they require a whole set of developing skills most kids are still learning. In this episode, we’ll dig into what’s really happening when your child resists a transition. You’ll learn about the developmental demands behind these moments — like shifting attention, managing emotions, planni...

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37:22

Co-Regulate Like a Boss: 3 Skills Every Adult Needs

STEPS Together ·

2025/10/16

Ever wonder why staying calm when your child isn’t feels so hard? Co-regulation, the process of helping a child manage their emotions by managing our own, is one of the most powerful tools adults can use. But it’s also one of the hardest, because it requires our emotional skills to be strong first. In this episode, I'll break down the three essential skills every adult needs to co-regulate effectively: Self-Regulation – Understanding and managing your own emotional state so you can be t...

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35:16

Self-Regulation Is A Journey, Not A Destination

STEPS Together ·

2025/10/09

Self-regulation is one of the most talked-about topics in child development today. But too often, it’s treated like a destination: a place we expect kids to arrive at with enough strategies, visuals, or practice. In reality, self-regulation is a lifelong journey that grows through relationships, experiences, and co-regulation with trusted adults. In this episode, Deb Johnson, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of STEPS for Development, explores why expecting children to “stay in the...

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31:29

Why Reacting To Meltdowns Doesn't Work – And What To...

STEPS Together ·

2025/10/02

Most parents want to know: “What do I do when my child is in the middle of a meltdown?” The truth is, by the time your child reaches that stage, there’s not much you can do except keep everyone safe and let the big emotions run their course. But here’s the good news, you can learn to be proactive with your tools and bring lasting change by influencing behaviors instead of controlling them. Reduce and even eliminate meltdowns by teaching skills before the meltdown ever happens. In this episode...

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37:19

Fact vs. Fiction: Clearing Up Common Misconceptions...

STEPS Together ·

2025/09/25

Is your child “too sensitive,” or do they just have sensory quirks they’ll grow out of? Maybe you’ve heard that sensory diets can fix everything—or that sensory seeking is just ADHD in disguise. In this episode of the STEPS for Development podcast, pediatric occupational therapist Debra Johnson takes on six of the most common myths about sensory processing and sets the record straight. You’ll learn: Why Sensory Processing Disorder isn’t a formal medical diagnosis—but sensory challenges are ve...

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35:20

Digging Deeper: Using Task Analysis to Unlock Better...

STEPS Together ·

2025/09/18

Look closer, stay curious, and find out what’s really going on beneath the struggle. Let's dig deeper and find solutions that work! Last week we talked about the power of focusing on just one challenge at a time—because narrowing your focus allows you to get make progress with specific challenges rather than being overwhelmed by the big issues. In this episode, we take the next step: digging deeper with task analysis. Rooted in Occupational Therapy practice, the process of task an...

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24:21

From Overwhelm to Focus: Tackling One Challenge at a...

STEPS Together ·

2025/09/11

Parenting can feel impossible when it seems like everything is a problem—your child never listens, can’t sit still, melts down at homework, interrupts every conversation. These big, vague concerns can leave you feeling stuck and exhausted. In this episode, we’ll explore how to shift from overwhelmed to focused by narrowing those broad worries into specific, manageable challenges. Once we have clear statements of a specific situation or task that your child is struggling with, we can then move...

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38:41

When Good Tools Fail: Finding What Really Works for...

STEPS Together ·

2025/09/04

You've tried all the tools - sensory breaks, behavior charts, all the "parenting hacks" from social media - only to end up frustrated when nothing seems to work. It's not that you or your child are failing, it's that the strategy isn't the right match. Too often, we are looking for the quick fix and don't stop to think whether this tool in this moment is the right choice. Sometimes the tool we try even escalates behaviors and increases stress! In this episode we'll explore why even tried and ...

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40:00

Rethinking Defiance: Harnessing Strong-Will as a...

STEPS Together ·

2025/08/28

Is your child’s “defiance” leaving you drained and second-guessing yourself? Are you feeling manipulated, controlled and lost about how to change the status quo? What if those daily battles were really signs of persistence, resilience, independence and creativity that are your child's strengths, just waiting to be guided? In this episode, we’ll reframe defiance and oppositional behaviors through a new lens—seeing the strengths behind strong-willed behavior and learning practical s...

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26:54

From Control to Connection: Reducing Stress by...

STEPS Together ·

2025/08/21

In this episode of STEPS Together, Debra Johnson, MS, OTR/L, explores what it really means to “work too hard” as a parent or caregiver—not in chores or daily tasks, but emotionally. When we try to control every behavior, feeling, or outcome, we often end up drained, stressed, and disconnected from our children. Instead of striving for control, there’s a different path: focusing on what is really yours to control and fostering connection. Tune in to learn how letting go of what’s not you...

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32:03

I See You: Acknowledging the Hard Work Behind Every...

STEPS Together ·

2025/08/14

Supporting a child with unique needs comes with layers most people never see — balancing school meetings, therapy sessions, sensory needs, and emotional ups and downs, all while trying to connect and guide. It’s a constant juggle of time, energy, and emotions that can leave you feeling misunderstood, second-guessing yourself, and wondering if you’re doing enough. Whether you are a parent, educator, childcare provider or healthcare professional you know how hard it is to be present and "on" fo...

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34:55

From Frustration to Connection: What to Do When Kids...

STEPS Together ·

2025/08/07

"Why won't they just listen?!" If you've found yourself asking this question (maybe even more than once today), you are NOT alone! In this episode, I explore what adults really mean when they say "they don't listen," unpack what really going on for the child, and identify a few simple strategies that you can implement today to shift that behavior and improve cooperation. From executive function challenges and sensory processing differences, to emotional regulation and language processing diso...

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44:51

Calm is Contagious: Connect, Co-Regulate, and Carry-On!

STEPS Together ·

2025/07/31

When your child is overwhelmed, crying, yelling or shutting down, it can feel impossible to know what to do. But what if I told you that the most powerful tool isn't a strategy, sensory activity or consequence? Is this episode, we'll explore the power we as adults have in supporting children when they are dysregulated. Your calm presence can help regulate your child's nervous system during moments of emotional distress. You'll learn what's really going in your child's brain when those ...

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30:26

Start Strong! The Value of a Strength-Based Approach...

STEPS Together ·

2025/07/25

Start Strong! The Value of a Strength-Based Approach to Support Development In this episode of STEPS Together, we’re diving into the heart of what makes our work truly transformational—a strength-based approach to supporting children’s growth and development. You’ll learn what a strength-based model really is and why it’s essential for meaningful progress. We’ll walk through three powerful reasons this approach matters: It builds a positive mindset and nurtures compassionate relationships.It ...

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64:24

Understanding Behavior for Real Change

STEPS Together ·

2025/07/19

In this episode, we dive into one of the most misunderstood areas of child development—behavior. If you've ever felt stuck trying to manage your child’s challenging behaviors using strategies that just don’t seem to work, this is for you. You’ll learn why common approaches often oversimplify what’s really going on, and how taking a developmental, relational lens can create lasting change. We’ll explore what truly influences behavior—from nervous system regulation and skill development to sens...

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