CAREGIVER CONSULTATION & COACHING

Individualized Support for Children and Families

Open Path provides individualized support for caregivers seeking help understanding difficult behavioral patterns, making sense of conflicting information, and responding more intentionally in everyday situations.

Support may involve a focused consultation around a specific concern or continued coaching as caregivers try new approaches and make adjustments over time.

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WHEN SUPPORT MAY HELP

Practical Guidance When Things Feel Overwhelming or Stuck

Caregiver Consultation & Coaching may be helpful when you feel overwhelmed, burnt out, unsure what to try next, or tired of advice that does not fit your child or the realities of everyday family life.

Open Path works with parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, kinship caregivers, and other primary caregivers navigating autism, ADHD, complex behavioral or emotional needs, school refusal, trauma, repeated crises or hospitalizations, and involvement with multiple providers or systems.

A formal diagnosis is not required. Support is shaped around your child, your family, and what feels most difficult right now.

SUPPORT OPTIONS

Two Ways to Work Together

CAREGIVER CONSULTATION

Consultation is individualized around the concern bringing your family in. It provides an opportunity to step back, connect relevant information, and identify practical next steps based on your child, family, and current circumstances.

  • Help understanding an IEP, 504 Plan, evaluation, FBA, Behavior Intervention Plan, or other school document. Consultation may focus on explaining the terminology, findings, goals, services, behavioral recommendations, and how the different sections connect.

  • Support organizing concerns, identifying priorities, and preparing questions before an IEP meeting, treatment meeting, discharge meeting, or provider consultation.

  • Families may need support while on waitlists for in-home services, outpatient care, neuropsychological testing, care coordination, or another provider. Consultation can focus on current concerns, practical supports that may be appropriate in the meantime, and preparing useful information for when longer-term services begin.

  • Families may not know what services are available, what each service is designed to address, or where to begin. Consultation can help explain different types of behavioral, mental-health, educational, developmental, and community-based supports; the kinds of diagnoses, functional needs, or circumstances they commonly serve; and the usual referral or application process.

    This may include discussing in-home services, outpatient care, care coordination, school-based supports, neuropsychological or other evaluations, crisis resources, and more intensive services. Open Path can also help families identify which provider, agency, school Team, or insurer to contact and what questions to ask.

    Open Path can provide education and navigation support but does not determine eligibility, medical necessity, insurance authorization, or admission to a particular service or level of care.

  • Families may receive different guidance from school staff, clinicians, behavioral providers, or treatment programs. Consultation can help clarify what each recommendation is intended to address, where the guidance differs, and what questions may need to be brought back to the professionals involved.

  • Focused consultation around one behavior, routine, or recurring difficulty. This may involve looking at when the pattern occurs, what tends to contribute to it, how adults currently respond, and which practical changes may be appropriate to try.

CAREGIVER COACHING

Coaching is individualized around your family’s priorities, current challenges, and the areas where continued support would be most helpful.

Areas We May Explore

  • Behavior is communication. Together, we look at what may be driving the behavior, what needs the behavior may be meeting, and what patterns may be unintentionally keeping it going. The goal is to move beyond surface-level explanations and gain a clearer understanding of what is happening.

  • Relationships influence behavior. We explore interaction patterns, communication styles, expectations, and recurring cycles that may be contributing to conflict, frustration, or disconnection. The goal is not to assign blame, but to better understand the dynamic and identify opportunities for change.

  • Small changes in caregiver responses can have a significant impact over time. We focus on realistic, sustainable adjustments that align with your family's values, capacity, and daily life rather than strategies that feel impossible to maintain.

  • Support for caregivers of children with autism, ADHD, anxiety, sensory differences, executive functioning needs, or complex regulation profiles.

  • Many caregivers struggle to find the balance between being too strict and too flexible. We work on setting clear, compassionate boundaries and creating consistency in ways that feel manageable and effective.

  • Repeated battles can leave everyone exhausted. We identify patterns that may be contributing to ongoing conflict and explore practical ways to reduce escalation, increase flexibility, and create more productive interactions.

  • Emotional regulation is not just a child skill—it is a family skill. We look at ways to support your child's regulation while also helping caregivers respond thoughtfully during stressful moments.

  • Communication challenges can contribute to frustration, misunderstandings, and conflict. We explore strategies to improve understanding, express expectations more clearly, and support more effective communication within the family.

  • Small changes in caregiver responses can have a significant impact over time. We focus on realistic, sustainable adjustments that align with your family's values, capacity, and daily life rather than strategies that feel impossible to maintain.

  • Morning routines, bedtime, homework, screen time, getting out the door, and other daily transitions can become major stress points. Together, we identify what is getting in the way and develop practical solutions that fit your family's routine.

  • Many children present differently across settings. We explore why behavior may look different at home and school, identify patterns across environments, and discuss ways to improve consistency and collaboration.

  • Parenting can be exhausting, especially when things feel stuck. This work helps caregivers feel more confident, supported, and clear about how to move forward without adding more pressure or unrealistic expectations.

HOW IT WORKS

A Clear and Individualized Process

Step 1: Introductory Call

We’ll briefly discuss what is bringing you in, the type of support you are looking for, and whether Caregiver Consultation or Coaching may be the better fit.

Step 2: Intake & Information Gathering

Before our first meeting, you’ll complete a comprehensive intake form that helps me understand your child, family dynamics, current concerns, what has already been tried, and where things feel most challenging.

I’ll review the information before we meet so that our time together can remain focused and productive. Relevant records or recommendations may also be submitted when they relate to the concern being addressed.

Step 3: Consultation or Coaching Session

Caregiver Consultation includes one 90-minute meeting focused on understanding the concern, reviewing relevant information, answering questions, and identifying realistic next steps.

Caregiver Coaching includes 60-minute meetings focused on building understanding, applying new approaches, reviewing what happened between sessions, and making adjustments over time.

Step 4: Written Follow-Up & Next Steps

After a consultation, you’ll receive a written follow-up summarizing the main points discussed, recommendations, and suggested next steps.

After each coaching session, you’ll receive a brief summary of the areas discussed and the specific areas to focus on or practice before the next meeting.

Who I Work With

Caregiver coaching may be a good fit for parents or caregivers who are:

  • feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or stuck

  • dealing with repeated meltdowns, conflict, or power struggles

  • unsure how to respond to challenging behavior

  • struggling with routines, transitions, or daily family stress

  • looking for practical support that feels more realistic than generic parenting advice

What Caregiver Coaching Focuses On

Understanding the Pattern

We look at what is happening before, during, and after challenging moments so the behavior makes more sense and responses can become more intentional.

Responding With More Confidence

Coaching helps caregivers build clearer, calmer, and more consistent responses that fit their child’s needs and the situation.

Making Strategies Realistic

The goal is not to create a perfect plan. The goal is to identify practical shifts that can actually be used in daily life.

Reducing Power Struggles

Caregiver-Child Dynamics

Support includes looking at how communication, expectations, emotions, relationship patterns, and adult responses may be shaping the cycle.

Supporting Regulation

Coaching may include strategies for emotional regulation, co-regulation, transitions, frustration tolerance, flexibility, and recovery after difficult moments.

We identify where interactions may be getting stuck and look for ways to reduce unnecessary battles while still maintaining boundaries and expectations.

Our Services

Work With Us

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or schedule a free consult time to see if Open Path is a good fit.

Register

  • This support is personalized to your child, your family, and the patterns you are actually living with. Rather than offering broad advice, caregiver coaching helps make sense of what is happening and builds strategies that feel more realistic and usable in daily life.

  • No. Services are private pay only.

  • Yes. Sessions are conducted virtually, allowing caregivers to access support from the comfort of home without additional travel or scheduling stress.

  • Absolutely. Many families begin with a single consultation before deciding whether additional support would be helpful.

  • Absolutely. Some families find that a few sessions provide enough clarity and direction to move forward independently, while others benefit from ongoing support as new challenges arise.

    Families who complete a 3-session package are eligible for continued follow-up sessions at a reduced rate. Ongoing sessions can be scheduled as needed and may focus on troubleshooting challenges, refining strategies, addressing new concerns, or providing additional support during periods of transition.

  • No. Caregiver consultation is focused on supporting you — the parent or caregiver — because your responses, expectations, communication, boundaries, and routines are an important part of the overall pattern.

    This is not about blame. It is about understanding your role in what is happening and identifying realistic shifts that can help reduce stress, improve connection, and change what happens next.