therealworkpdx

Small treasures, held with care. 🍂🐚🌼
This is what it looks like to slow down and notice what’s right in front of you. What are you holding onto today?

As summer winds down and we head back to school, so many parents are sitting with mixed feelings, and that’s completely normal.

If your child hasn’t had the easiest time in school, you might be feeling…

Anxiety and worry: about sensory overload, social challenges, whether the classroom will meet your kid where they are, and whether teachers will really see and support them.

Anticipation and relief: hope that this year brings a better fit, relief when accommodations are actually in place, and optimism about new routines.

Guilt and self-doubt: wondering if you’re advocating enough, second-guessing school choices, feeling responsible if the transition gets bumpy.

Exhaustion: from coordinating with schools and therapists, and from holding your own feelings steady while you support your child through theirs.

You don’t have to carry all of this alone. Jenn, our walk & talk therapist for parents, is currently accepting new clients 🍂 A chance to process it all while moving through the world instead of sitting across a desk.

Reach out to learn more or book a session.https://realworkwellness.com/jenn

It’s the last week of disability pride month, but certainly not the last we will loudly celebrate the disabled people in our community. Our list captures a few ways that disabled kids may show up, but it certainly doesn’t capture all of the unique expressions of disability. Disabled kids deserve to THRIVE. 🌈

As summer is winding down and back to school season is approaching- many families feel just like this picture.

Balls flying at you from every direction. New schedule, new expectations, new social stuff to figure out, all at once, and somehow you’re supposed to catch it all with a smile. If you’re a grown up feeling this then your kiddo probably is too. Kids are wired to pick up on emotions before they have language to pair with it.

That’s where coregulation comes in. Before we can help a dysregulated kid find calm, we have to find a little of our own first. Slow breath, softer voice, steady body.

Calming our own bodies amidst the chaos is the best thing we can do for our kiddos. 🌈

Meet Megan!

We’re excited to introduce Megan, the newest therapist to join The Real Work. Megan works with children, tweens, teens, and their caregivers, bringing a warm, relational, and deeply neurodivergence-affirming presence to therapy. Her work is especially supportive for kids and teens navigating anxiety, sensory processing differences, emotional dysregulation, trauma, and behavioral concerns.

Megan’s approach is play-based, person-centered, and strengths-focused, with a strong grounding in child development from her years as a Montessori educator. She works to understand each child’s nervous system, sensory profile, and communication style rather than focusing on compliance, and she deeply values partnership with caregivers, honoring each family’s story and strengths along the way.

Megan may be a good fit for your child or teen if they are:

Neurodivergent, including ADHD, autism, or sensory processing differences

Struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, perfectionism, or big feelings

Navigating shutdowns, emotional regulation challenges, or difficulty expressing feelings

Working through trauma or stressful experiences

A tween or teen exploring identity, social pressures, or family conflict

Needing a therapist who is warm, attuned, and grounded in curiosity rather than judgment

Megan is currently accepting new child, tween, and teen clients. If you’re curious whether working with Megan might be a good fit, you’re welcome to schedule a free initial inquiry call through our website. As always, we’re happy to help you think through clinician fit and next steps.

https://realworkwellness.com/megan

Would your little one benefit from a gentle step before full-time preschool and daycare? Would they thrive in an intentionally small environment led by a therapeutic play practitioner? Do they enjoy expressive arts? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, small steps might be right for your family. Follow the QR code or Head to our website to get more info and sign up. 💕

Mick is a drama therapist and therapeutic play practitioner working with kids and teens. All of their work, whether we’re talking about it directly or not, is rooted in the belief that play is a radical act of body liberation, something that belongs to all humans as our birthright.Learn more about the nuances to this question in our blog post. https://realworkwellness.com/therapist-blog/how-to-respond-if-your-child-asks-am-i-fat

Rainbows, potions, chalk art OH MY! Last day of fairytale magic camp. So many joyful memories made together. 🌈

Anywhere can be a stage if you use your imagination. 🌈

The campers were incredibly brave at their performance today. We also put together a little gallery with photographs of the campers took themselves. What a joyful, whimsical day. ☀️