Building Essential Behavior Skills Through a Neurodiversity Lens  

Many of the more complicated behaviors we see at camp (intense reactions, rigidity, shutdowns, sensory overwhelm, difficulty with transitions, or big emotions that escalate quickly) are especially common, and even more heightened, when the camper is neurodivergent. In this webinar, Emily focuses on essential, immediately implementable behavior management skills and explains why those skills are particularly effective for neurodiverse youth, while also benefiting all campers. 

Rather than starting with diagnoses or definitions, we’ll jump into real camp scenarios and break down the practical strategies you'll want to teach your staff. We'll explore a small set of highly impactful behavior skills applied to common behavior situations, and each strategy will be paired with clear explanations of how different brains process stress, expectations, and environmental demands. The goal is to help your staff move from reacting to responding with intention by pairing increased understanding with practical, actionable tools. This session goes beyond theory to focus on what works, why it works, and how to train staff to use it consistently, without requiring camp leaders to become clinicians or special education experts.

Learner Outcomes

• Identify common behavior challenges frequently experienced by campers who are neurodivergent, and explain how those behaviors are often rooted in nervous system overload, processing differences, or unmet support needs, rather than defiance.
• Apply a set of essential, concrete behavior management skills (such as environmental adjustments, language shifts, regulation supports, and proactive structures) to reduce escalation and increase success for all campers.
• Translate these skills into training and daily practice, helping staff understand not just what to do, but why these approaches work - leading to more consistency, confidence, and follow-through across the camp team.

Meet the Presenter

 Emily is a keynote speaker and presenter whose sessions get called many things, some of her favorites being: “tremendously helpful,” “definitely not the same-old-same-old,” “fun and informative,” and “not to be missed — a reason to come to the conference!” Following her retirement from a 15-year role as executive director at the therapeutically based Camp Starfish (NH), Emily founded Bright Moose, LLC (brightmoosetraining.com) to provide training, coaching, consultation, and professional development to camps, schools, towns, and youth organizations, guided by the motto “Help others shine bright!” Emily is an education advocate for youth with special needs and a certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor and is honored to be the recipient of the Peter Kerns Award for the Advancement of Professional Development. She holds a BS (Health Psychology) and MS (Camp Administration and Leadership) and recently completed her Higher Education Teaching Certificate through Harvard. She is president of the NH Camp Directors Association, and she is active as an accreditation visitor and Board Stewardship committee member for ACA, New England. You can find her in Camping Magazine, ParentingNH, on the Project Real Job blog, and on multiple podcasts. Fair warning: she is also a member of the National Sarcasm Society and an avid collector of terribly awesome puns.