Organizing Minds blog posts share the learning, teaching, mindset, values and practical suggestions of Shlomo Chaim, a retired child psychology professor and director of an international assessment and treatment program for children with developmental delays.

Organizing Minds challenges the dogmas that govern the lives of neurodivergent children. The prevailing systems—clinical, educational and bureaucratic—are often insufficient, missing the needs and the pulse of the child and their families.

The affection, the devotion, the understood attention and empathy, the intuition of parents, offer the foundations of genuine learning and development. Loving and informed parents and family are the best hope for leading children, and society, toward more effective, more humane and attuned ways to help children progress while being safe and feeling safe, and finding meaning, purpose and joy.

Children with developmental delays progress and live more fulfilling lives when there is meaningful co-development with their adult mediators. When there is a Parallel Development both partners learn better ways to discover each other and the world. All learn to communicate their deeper feelings and understandings.

As the adult learns more about the child, about themselves, and about the learning relationship the child learns to connect, learns how to learn and how to enjoy learning. As J.B. Priestley wrote, “Find the child’s delight added to your own, so that there is now a double delight seen in the glow of trust and affection, this is happiness.”

Every day the adult inspires and guides the child in practical and purposeful real-life experiences. The family and the child share what they have learned, and are learning, with all members of the child’s collaborative development team, and benefit from the feedback they receive from the team.

If you find you relate to certain experiences and ideas in these Organizing Minds blog posts then by all means make adjustments which better suit your child and your family and make them your own.