Parent & Caregiver Training Program

Reviewed by Chandana Dash, OTR/L — Co-founder, Synergy Therapeutic Group

The most important therapist in your child’s life is you. The Parent & Caregiver Training Program gives you the tools, the understanding, and the confidence to do that work well.

Your child spends a small fraction of their week with a therapist. The rest of the time — the meltdowns at bedtime, the resistance to the toothbrush, the school morning that falls apart, the unexpected sensory overload at a birthday party — they are with you. Or with a caregiver who cares about them as much as you do.

What happens in those everyday moments is what shapes your child’s nervous system, their behavior, their development, and their relationship with themselves and with you. The Parent & Caregiver Training Program is built for the parents who know this — and want to be ready.

What the program is

The Parent & Caregiver Training Program is a structured, in-depth educational program developed by Synergy Therapeutic Group to teach parents and caregivers the foundational skills they need to support a child with sensory, developmental, behavioral, or neurodevelopmental challenges.

It is not a quick fix. It is not a list of “calm-down strategies.” It is the real foundation that pediatric occupational therapists spend years learning — translated into language and tools that parents can use, today, at home, in real life.

What you will learn

• How your child’s nervous system works — and why their reactions make sense once you understand it
• The sensory systems that drive behavior, attention, and regulation
• How to read your child’s signals before a meltdown — and what to do in the moment
• The home environment changes that make the biggest difference for sensory and developmental challenges
• Practical routines for sleep, feeding, dressing, hygiene, transitions, and homework
• How to advocate for your child at school and in the community
• How to take care of yourself as the parent of a child with extra needs — because your regulation is part of your child’s regulation

Who the program is for

The Parent & Caregiver Training Program is built for:

• Parents of children with autism, ADHD, sensory processing differences, developmental delays, or other neurodevelopmental challenges
• Parents whose child does not have a diagnosis but is clearly struggling
• Caregivers — grandparents, nannies, family members — who provide significant daily care
• Foster and adoptive parents supporting children whose nervous systems are still finding regulation
• Parents who want to deeply understand what is going on with their child, not just manage the symptoms

Why this works

Research is clear that the family environment is the single most powerful factor in a child’s developmental outcomes — more powerful than hours of clinic therapy, more powerful than school programs, more powerful than any single intervention. When parents understand what their child needs and have the tools to provide it consistently, change accelerates.

This program gives you that understanding and those tools. It is the work we have always done with families one-on-one in clinic — distilled into a structured program that more parents can access.

The format

The program is delivered online so families across the country and internationally can participate. It combines video lessons, downloadable resources, structured exercises you do with your child, and live group support. You can move through the material at your pace, return to lessons as your child grows, and integrate what you are learning into your family’s daily life.

You do not need a clinical background. You do not need therapy experience. You need to know your child — and you do.

How the program complements clinic-based occupational therapy

The Parent & Caregiver Training Program is not a substitute for occupational therapy. It is the multiplier on it. Families who participate in both the program and clinic therapy see meaningfully faster, more durable change than families doing therapy alone — because the work continues at home between sessions, every day, in the natural environment where development actually happens.

Families using the program without clinic therapy still see meaningful change — particularly families in areas without strong pediatric OT access. The program was designed to stand alone or partner with in-person care.

Parent stories

These are two families who have done the work. The first mother is in the middle of it. The second is looking back.

When we first brought him here a year ago, he really enjoyed it with Chandana. After COVID, he started to regress — his behavior, his learning at school, everything. He didn’t want to learn anymore, and he used to be really good at school. I was so concerned. We had tried other occupational therapies before, and they didn’t work for us.

So we came back. I had a Zoom appointment with Chandana, and honestly I was worried it wouldn’t be worth the money. It turned out to be really good. She got to see my home, where my son does his work, and the little changes I could make to help him. I learned how to do his stretches and the things she does with him, at home. That changed everything.

He was behaving for Chandana at first. Then when she taught me these tricks, he started behaving for me too. He’s more confident. He’s using his words more — not just when he needs something, but just to talk. “It’s a sunny day outside.” “The sun’s going down.” Just to say it. It’s amazing.

He’s walking with his heels now, instead of his toes — and he feels very big when he does that. He sleeps better. I sleep better. I don’t get bad reports from the teachers every day. Just hearing a good report after so many bad ones — that first day is amazing. And this was only after two weeks.

Chandana gives me confidence. She talks to me and tells me how to do things without being critical, because she knows what it is to be the parent of an autistic child. She just knows. And when I feel confident, my son does too.

If you can possibly do it — if you have to take out a loan, whatever you have to do — it is completely worth it. We thought we didn’t have the money. We found it. I’m so glad we did. It is night and day. She’s amazing.

— Mother of a Synergy pediatric patient

My name is Connie, and I have a 24-year-old son. He was treated for ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and other behavioral issues. He had PT, OT, and speech therapy. He would run off from me. As a single parent, it was tough. I didn’t know what to do to help him.

The doctors recommended medication. I tried it. None of it helped. It just made things worse. We tried ABA therapy. He is addicted to video games. So I went searching online for something — anything — and I came across this program. It does help.

Approaching it at this angle is a lot better. I wish I would have found this when my son was born. If I could have started with him, I think he would have had a totally different outcome.

— Connie, parent of an adult son

These two stories sit at different points in the same journey. The first family is in the middle of the change — and watching it unfold week by week. Connie is looking back at twenty years of doing it the hard way, wishing she had found the right tools sooner. If you are reading this and your child is young, you are exactly the parent Connie wishes she could have been.

Enroll in the Parent & Caregiver Training Program

The program is open to new families. To learn more about the curriculum, the format, the pricing, and the enrollment process:

Related pediatric services

• Pediatric occupational therapy at Synergy
• Sensory processing therapy
• Autism spectrum support
• Developmental delays
• ADD and ADHD

You are not failing your child. You are looking for the right tools. The Parent & Caregiver Training Program is built to give you those tools — and to remind you that you are exactly the person your child needs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Parent and Caregiver Training Program?

A structured online program developed by Synergy that teaches parents and caregivers the foundational tools to support a child with sensory, developmental, or behavioral challenges at home. It combines video lessons, downloadable resources, structured exercises you do with your child, and group support.

Is the program self-paced or do I follow a fixed schedule?

Self-paced. You move through the material at your own speed, return to lessons as your child grows, and integrate what you are learning into your family’s daily life. There is no fixed cohort or deadline.

Can grandparents, nannies, or other caregivers go through the program with me?

Yes — and we encourage it. The more caregivers in a child’s life who share the same understanding and tools, the more consistent the child’s experience and the faster the change. The program is built for any adult who provides significant daily care.

What if my child has multiple diagnoses or complex needs?

The program is designed around foundational principles that cross diagnostic categories — sensory regulation, motor support, family environment, daily routines. It works well for children with multiple diagnoses or none at all. For very complex medical needs, the program is best combined with in-person therapy.

Will I have access to live support during the program?

The program includes group support so you are not navigating it alone. For direct 1:1 work with Chandana on your specific case, separate consultation is available — many families do both, using the program for foundations and consultations for case-specific guidance.

This page was reviewed by Chandana Dash, OTR/L, who has practiced pediatric occupational therapy for more than 32 years and specializes in family-centered care for children with sensory, developmental, and neurodevelopmental challenges. She is the co-founder of Synergy Therapeutic Group in Carbondale, Illinois.