A simple, fail-proof road map for parents raising even the most challenging children—including those with ADHD, autism, sensory processing challenges, or big emotions—from the founder of the life-changing Calm the Chaos methodology and the popular parenting blog Lemon Lime Adventures.
Strong-willed, spirited, explosive, defiant, and highly sensitive are just a few of the most common labels for children with challenging behavior or emotional regulation difficulties. Whether your child has been diagnosed with a behavioral condition, struggles with executive functioning, or is just harder than other children you’ve met, you are in luck. Parenting expert Dayna Abraham is here to help.
Calm the Chaos offers a clearly organized, trauma-informed, science-backed, and positive parenting approach for raising neurodivergent children, children with sensory needs, or those who don’t respond to traditional discipline methods. Dayna has created a road map to help parents find peace, build emotional connection, and meet kids where they are—especially when conventional parenting books, punishment-based discipline, or behavior charts have failed.
There are five steps to calming the chaos—Getting to Safety, Restoring Trust and Energy, Finding Calm in the Moment, Getting Ahead of the Moment, and Defining Family Success. Each step employs a framework that is easy to remember, even when emotions run high: you ground yourself, you connect with your kid, you work with them to understand the catalyst and the issue at the heart, and then together you get curious about finding an empowered solution.
Backed by science and tested by hundreds of thousands of families, Calm the Chaos is a revolutionary gentle parenting guide perfect for families navigating ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety in children, or emotional outbursts.
“In a conversational, relatable way, Abraham helps families create safety through love for their high-needs child so each member can move from surviving to thriving. Calm the Chaos will be a fabulous tool for anyone seeking to give their child the power to be who they were born to be.” —Bookpage
"Calm the Chaos is truly a gift to parents who are looking to understand their child’s behavior and offer them the support they need. If parents are frustrated, overwhelmed or just looking for a few action items to get started with parenting their child through new lenses, this book is a perfect starting point. Dayna Abraham honors advances in neuroscience and shares this knowledge in parent-friendly language. With all the parenting advice out in the world today, there are numerous tips and strategies throughout the book where a parent may say ‘Hey, I can actually do that!’. This book is smart, authentic and leaves the reader with takeaways that they can implement immediately in their households." —Greg Santucci, MS, OTR Executive Director, Power Play Pediatric Therapy
“A compassionate program… The exercises are pragmatic, and Abraham’s account of learning to help her own son, who threw screaming fits so severe his principal threatened to turn him over to the police when he was in second grade, attests to her hard-won expertise. Overwhelmed parents will find this a boon.” —Publisher's Weekly
“Parents, this is the book we've all been waiting for. Dayna Abraham’s compassion for parents who are at the end of their rope and kids who don’t quite fit the mold is unprecedented. Where conventional parenting tactics trap families in a cycle of disconnection and mistrust, Calm the Chaos sets families free from power struggles – and the heartaches that go along with them. Using small, digestible steps and enlightening illustrations, Abraham equips parents to uncover the root cause of challenging behaviors so they can respond in ways that foster growth in their child and peace in their family.” —Rachel Macy Stafford, New York Times bestselling author of Hands Free Mama, Only Love Today, and Soul Shift
