There is a moment I have witnessed over and over again — in therapy rooms, classrooms, and living rooms. A child escalates. A parent feels overwhelmed. An educator feels stuck. And underneath it all is the same quiet question: “Why is this happening?” For years as a behavioral specialist and then a child and adolescent therapist, I have worked alongside children with big feelings, big reactions, and sensitive nervous systems — many impacted by trauma, toxic stress, or neurode