Notice
Describe one recurring classroom moment.
Dr. David A. PalmerRewire the Response™Book a School Conversation Rewire the Response · Educator Coaching
Educator coaching for neurodiversity, emotions, and behavior.
The next hard moment deserves a clearer response.
Practical coaching for educators supporting neurodivergent students across emotional, behavioral, sensory, communication, and learning needs.
Indio, California · Coachella Valley · Nationwide support
Who it’s for
Teachers, special educators, and school teams.
What we work on
Adult responses, emotional support, and access to learning.
How we begin
One recurring moment. One manageable change.
Start where the work is hard
Start with one recurring classroom moment
We begin with a situation you can describe: a student who cannot get started, loses the thread of directions, leaves during difficult work, or becomes overwhelmed after a transition. Coaching examines the task, setting, student supports, and adult response together.
The goal is to improve access to learning while making the educator's next move clearer. Instead of adding several strategies at once, we select a small practice you can use and observe.
- Break initiation into an achievable first step.
- Use visuals, chunking, movement, and pacing with a defined purpose.
- Plan language that lowers unnecessary pressure.
- Coordinate practical responses with the student's team.
From conversation to classroom
A coaching cycle you can use
Choose
Prepare one useful adult response.
Practice
Try it in your real classroom.
Reflect
Review what changed and adjust.
Describe the moment, choose a practice, try it, and review what happened. Check-ins look at concrete observations: how a task began, how much prompting was needed, what preceded disengagement, and whether the student could return to learning.
INSPECT provides a shared lens for examining the conditions around behavior. Coaching can also attend to educator workload and response under pressure, because a practice has to be feasible to become consistent.
The Rewire position
Understand the moment.
Strengthen the adult response.
Neurodiversity-affirming. Nervous-system-aware. Grounded in the individual student and the conditions around the moment.
Decode before you decide
Look beneath the visible behavior and examine what may be making this moment hard.
Regulate the responder
Notice your tone, pace, urgency, and pressure before choosing the next response.
Match the moment
Adapt support to the student’s current capacity, communication, and context.
Build capacity, not compliance
Strengthen regulation, connection, communication, and access to learning.
ADHD, autism, and learning differences are part of this broader work. Frustration, anxiety, distress, shutdown, refusal, disconnection, and escalation require observation and individualized support. INSPECT and the CALMER Reset support adult practice within student plans and school procedures.
Explore the Six D’s and CALMER Reset →
Your coach
Dr. David A. Palmer, EdD
More than 30 years in education as a teacher, special education specialist, coach, school leader, and administrator. A current educator and parent of neurodivergent children who understands the pressure adults face in the hard moments.
Based in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley, with clients across the country.
Meet Dr. David →Plan your support
School-focused coaching in the Coachella Valley
Coaching is customized for the educator's role, the school setting, and the agreed goals. Individual educator work and team coaching can be discussed during a complimentary 20-minute school strategy conversation. Session count, delivery format, fee, and follow-up are defined in the proposal.
This is educational coaching for adults supporting students. It works alongside IEPs, 504 plans, and relevant clinical supports; it does not provide diagnosis or medical treatment. Student information can be discussed without identifying details.
Your questions, answered.
Is ADHD the only focus?
No. ADHD is one part of a broader neurodiversity-affirming approach that includes autistic students, students with learning differences, and varied sensory, communication, and regulation profiles. Support follows the individual student and context rather than a diagnosis-based script.
Who receives the coaching?
Educators and school teams receive coaching in adult response, emotional and behavioral support, and access to learning. The work is grounded in Rewire the Response.
Can an entire team participate?
Yes. We can discuss individual educator coaching or a team format so staff work toward a shared practice.
Do I need to be in Indio?
No. Dr. Palmer is based in Indio, California, and works with clients across the country. Delivery is agreed during planning.
One useful first move
Bring the moment you keep getting stuck in.
We’ll identify a practical starting point and discuss a coaching format that fits your role, team, and goals.
Book a 20-Minute Coaching Call