01Leadership keynote
Behavior Systems Fail When Adult Responses Remain Inconsistent
Principals, administrators, special education leaders, and student services teams.
Dr. David A. PalmerRewire the Response™Book a School Conversation Rewire the Response · Education Keynotes & Speaking
Education keynotes that give teams a shared starting point.
Memorable ideas. Classroom-grounded stories. A shared direction your audience can carry into practice.
Dr. David A. Palmer, EdD · 30+ years in education
Indio, California · Coachella Valley · Nationwide work
Designed forConference organizers, principals, district administrators, special education leaders, and professional learning hosts.
The shared goalConfident educators. Consistent responses. More students connected to learning.
Signature Speaking Topics
Four talks.
One shared thesis.
A school’s response capability is trainable, observable, coachable, and improvable.
02Educator workshop / webinar
What Do I Do Next? Responding to Shutdown, Refusal, and Escalation in Real Time
Classroom staff and mixed practitioner audiences.
03Conference / professional learning
Track the Ramp, Not the Rupture
Early recognition, adult decision-making, and prevention.
04Thought-leadership session
You Cannot Punish a Nervous System Into Calm
Move from consequence-first thinking into practical response design.
Built for real school moments
Four signature topics, one school-facing thesis
The school's response capability is trainable, observable, coachable, and improvable. Each signature topic approaches that work from a different angle: leadership alignment, in-the-moment decisions, earlier recognition, or response design.
The flagship leadership keynote is Behavior Systems Fail When Adult Responses Remain Inconsistent. Practical educator audiences may begin with What Do I Do Next? Responding to Shutdown, Refusal, and Escalation in Real Time.
A clear direction for your team
Make the next response more useful.
A shared perspective
Name the adult-response problem your audience recognizes.
Relevant examples
Connect the ideas to the role and the room.
A useful next step
Give the audience a clear direction after the talk.
What the work looks like
Choose a session that fits the room
Before planning a keynote or workshop, we discuss who will attend, the recurring challenge, and what you want the audience to carry into practice. Leadership audiences need a system-level lens; classroom staff need language, examples, and useful next moves.
Speaking engagements can include a customized keynote, audience-specific examples, and a clear next-step resource. A workshop can add guided response practice when included in the scope. Format, delivery time, and customization are specified in the proposal.
- 01
Know the room
Discuss the audience, event, and recurring challenge.
- 02
Choose the topic
Match one signature session to your goals.
- 03
Make the next step clear
Agree on delivery, customization, and a practical audience resource.
The Rewire position
Understand the moment.
Strengthen the adult response.
Neurodiversity-affirming and nervous-system-aware. Support follows the student’s individual emotional, behavioral, sensory, communication, and learning needs.
ADHD, autism, and learning differences are part of the broader work. Frustration, distress, shutdown, refusal, disconnection, and escalation call for careful observation and individualized support.
01Decode before you decide.Examine what may be beneath the behavior.
02Regulate the responder.Notice adult tone, pace, urgency, and pressure.
03Match the moment.Respond to current needs and capacity.
04Build capacity, not compliance.Strengthen connection and access to learning.
A guide who knows the work
Experience from both sides of the hard moment.
Dr. David A. Palmer, EdD brings more than 30 years in education as a teacher, special education specialist, coach, school leader, and administrator.
A current educator, neurodivergent adult, and parent of neurodivergent children, he pairs practical experience with respect for the adults and students doing the hard work every day.
EdD30+ years in educationTEDx speaker
Meet Dr. David →Educator feedback
“Dr. David coaches through great examples of self regulation and coregulation. He is engaging and interesting as a great storyteller and is super knowledgeable about the topic.”
Debbie Chiong
Plan the right engagement
Book a speaker for Indio, the Coachella Valley, or a national event
Local school and conference hosts can discuss delivery in the Coachella Valley. Out-of-area organizations can discuss travel or virtual delivery. Speaking fees are quoted according to preparation, customization, and delivery requirements; applicable travel and lodging are separate.
Start with a 20-minute speaking call. Share the audience, event timing, and the challenge you want to address. We will identify an appropriate topic and discuss the next step for a proposal.
Your questions, answered.
Can I see the topics before booking?
Yes. The Speaking page lists the four signature topics with formats and intended audiences. You can then book a call directly from that page.
Can a keynote lead into staff training?
Yes. A keynote can establish the shared perspective, followed by applied staff training or implementation support in a separate or combined scope.
Are talks available outside California?
Yes. Dr. Palmer has worked with clients across the country. Travel or virtual delivery is discussed during planning.
A practical next step
Bring a shared direction to your next event.
Start with a complimentary conversation. We’ll identify the audience, format, and scope that fits.
Book a 20-Minute Speaking Call