When I first met this incredible young person - whose mom shared he’d been referred to me by Dr. Stephen Porges himself - it was immediately clear just how profoundly complex his nervous system was. He had a long history of early developmental trauma, autism, severe misophonia, dyslexia, school-related trauma, extreme pathological demand avoidance (PDA), and many other significant challenges. His difficulties with writing were so intense that even getting him to sign a greeting card could turn into a major battle.
Because of his sensitivity, we moved through the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) at an extraordinarily slow pace - what I call SSP microdosing. His listening sessions during the first hour of SSP Core ranged in length between just 2 and 36 seconds. The one time we experimented with trying a full minute he seemed fine at the time but the next day did not get out of bed.
And yet, just three weeks into the process - only 4 minutes total into the five hours of SSP Core - something astonishing happened.
He began writing.
Not just a few sentences. He began writing a trilogy.
His trilogy word count has now soared past 300,000 words. At times, he paused the trilogy to write several pages of poetry each day. He even started designing a video game to go with the story and learned to use AI tools to bring his characters to life.
But the changes didn’t stop there.
Just a few of the additional improvements this young man has shown since starting SSP in July 2023:
By the time I presented my advanced SSP training to other providers I had over seven pages of slides outlining his incredible improvements.
This is the kind of transformation that becomes possible when we work with - not against - the nervous system. And it’s why I’m so passionate about tailoring SSP delivery to meet each person’s unique physiology.
SSP isn’t a one-size-fits-all protocol. But when delivered with the right pacing and attunement, especially for those with complex neurodivergence, the results can be nothing short of life-changing.
If you’re supporting someone with dyslexia, PDA, or complex trauma and wondering whether SSP could help—I’d be honoured to explore that with you.