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Look Beyond the Behavior. Understand What’s Driving It.
Regulation-First™ education, training, and practical tools for therapists, parents, and educators supporting children with emotional regulation, feeding, toileting, sensory processing, interoception, and more.
Whether you're a professional looking to deepen your clinical skills or a parent trying to understand what your child needs, you'll find practical, whole-child strategies designed to help you move from “What do I do?” to “Now I understand why.”
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Regulation-First™ Professional Certifications
Specialized training for pediatric professionals who want to understand what's happening underneath the behavior—and know what to do next.
AOTA Approved CEUs and Professional Certification Approved through the International Association of Therapists (IAOTH)
The Regulation-First™ Certification Trifecta
Three Specialty Pathways. One Whole-Child Framework.
Feeding, toileting, sensory processing, interoception, and emotional regulation don't exist in isolation. The Regulation-First Certification Trifecta brings all three specialty pathways together so you can better understand the interconnected factors driving a child's challenges.
Build expertise across emotional regulation, pediatric feeding, and toilet training—and learn to look beyond individual behaviors to understand the whole child.
One child. Three systems that often overlap. One Regulation-First approach.
Explore the Certification Trifecta →
Regulation-First™ Resource Hub
Practical Regulation Tools. Ready When You Need Them.
You don't always need another course—you need the right tool for the child in front of you.
The Regulation-First Resource Hub gives therapists, educators, and families access to a growing library of practical, ready-to-use tools for emotional regulation, sensory processing, interoception, nervous-system support, and more.
Use the resources in therapy sessions, at home, or in the classroom to help children better understand their bodies, build regulation skills, and get the support they need.
New resources are added as the library grows.
Explore the Hub Free
Get access to the growing library and start using the resources before deciding if the Hub is right for you.
Start Your Free Trial →
Courses for Parents and ProfessionalsÂ
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Practical Help for the Challenges You're Facing Right Now
You don't always need a full certification or comprehensive program. Sometimes you need help understanding one specific challenge—and practical strategies you can start using right away.
Explore focused Regulation-First™ trainings for emotional regulation, meltdowns, feeding, toilet training, and more.
Potty Without PressureÂ
A step-by-step, Regulation First™ program for parents of children with accidents, refusal, withholding, sensory challenges, fear, or ongoing power struggles around the toilet.
Start Potty Training Without the PressurePotty Training 101
Learn the Basic Steps for Potty Training using a Sensory and Readiness Perspective (For Therapists and Parents)Â
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Learn the Potty Training Basics
What to Do When Your Child Won't PoopÂ
This course reviews an issue facing so many children....chronic constipation and stool holding as well as the underlying causes, including fear and sensory related difficulties. (For Therapists and Parents)
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Help My Child Stop Holding PoopCalm the Chaos
A practical, Regulation-First™ training designed to help parents and caregivers understand what’s underneath their child’s big emotions and build the skills that support emotional regulation and resilience—without relying on power struggles, punishment, or constant battles.
Learn how to respond differently to meltdowns, support your child's nervous system, and help them develop regulation skills they can carry with them as they grow.
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I want to Raise an Emotionally Resilient Child!
Why Yelling Doesn't Work During MeltdownsÂ
What is actually happening in your child's brain and nervous system during a meltdown—and why can yelling make things worse?
This practical parent training will help you understand what's happening underneath the behavior, why your child may not be able to respond to reasoning or directions in that moment, and what you can do instead to support regulation, connection, and recovery.
Learn What to Do Instead →Feeding Made Easy PeasyÂ
Overcome your questions about introducing new foods to your child and learn how to help them advance in their eating skills with this introductory course for Parents and Professionals.Â
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Make Feeding Easier
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Hi, I'm Kathy.
I'm Kathleen Yopp, MOT, OTR/L, a pediatric occupational therapist, educator, and creator of the Regulation-First™ approach.
Throughout my career, I've worked with children and families navigating emotional regulation, sensory processing, feeding, toileting, interoception, and other challenges that don't always respond to traditional strategies.
One thing has become increasingly clear:
When we focus only on the behavior, we can miss what's driving it.
That's why I created Helping Hands Therapy Resources—to give therapists, parents, and educators practical, whole-child tools that help them better understand why a child is struggling and what they can do to support them.
More about me
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Looking for Something Specific?
Explore the complete collection of courses, guides, downloads, parent resources, professional tools, and Regulation-First™ resources.
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