DCSocialHikes

There’s something powerful that happens when you take kids out of structured environments and into nature.

Today wasn’t about perfect turn-taking or following directions.
It was about:
• walking side by side
• sharing space
• navigating small social moments
• laughing, pausing, and figuring things out together

At DC Social Hikes, we focus on building real connection—the kind that supports flexible thinking, resilience, and relationships.

Nature gives us the perfect setting to slow things down and let growth happen naturally 🌿

If you’re looking for a space where your child can build social confidence in a supportive, low-pressure environment, we’d love to have you join us.

Listening & Attention 👂

Today on the trail, we slowed things down and practiced something powerful — really listening.

Not just hearing sounds… but tuning in to the world around us and to each other.

🌱 Mindfulness Focus:
Noticing near and far sounds, and discovering how many layers of sound exist when we pause

🎧 Activities:
• Sound Detective — remembering and repeating sound sequences
• Echo Walk — following rhythms together

🤝 Co-Regulation: Partners worked together to match pace, stay in sync, and move as a team

One of the most meaningful moments today was watching the group slow down together — listening, adjusting, and staying connected without needing words.

These are the small moments that build:
✨ attention
✨ flexibility
✨ connection
✨ confidence

🏡 Home Connection:
Try a 2-minute “sound pause” outside this week and notice what you hear together. You might be surprised what shows up when things get quiet.

🌿 Growing calm bodies, listening minds, and connected hikers — one step at a time.

What if growth didn’t happen at a table…but on a trail? 🌿

What if emotional regulation was practiced in real moments —not worksheets?

What if social confidence grew naturally…
through shared experience?

DC Social Hikes is back for Spring 2026.

RDI-informed.
Nature-based.
Inclusive.

Sundays | Rock Creek Park
Ages 7–18

Registration is open 💚

DC Social Hikes | social skills *Inclusive* hikes for kids and teens in DC! Improve social skills, have fun, and connect with nature--our hikes are all about making friends and getting moving. Hikes are run by experienced professionals.

Final Hike • Trust • Friendship • Celebration 🌿✨

Today we had our last session together with connection, reflection, and joy.

🤝 Trust & friendship activities
🧠 Co-regulation through shared rhythm
💚 Reflection on growth and connection

Every child mattered. Every contribution belonged.
This is what learning looks like when it’s grounded in nature, relationship, and respect.

Thank you to our families for being part of this journey. 🌿
NeurodiverseOutdoors NatureHeals CommunityCare GrowingTogether

💙 Excited to Attend the 2025 RDI Annual Conference! 💙

On Saturday, November 15th, 2025, I’ll be attending our One-Day Conference: RDI Essentials in 2025 — a full day of learning, reflection, and growth.
As an RDI professional, these conferences always recharge me, deepen my understanding, and inspire new ways to support the amazing families I work with.

This year’s lineup is incredible:

🌟 Dr. Steve Gutstein — 2025 RDI Essentials
🌿 Claudia Perez-Andreessen — Essentials in the Relationship Development Assessment
🧠 Dr. Tom Adkinson — Helping Parents Reduce Stress
💛 Dr. Sarah Wayland — Understanding Autism: What Autism IS and IS NOT (and how to help parents understand)
👣 Kat Lee — Working with Parents of Adults

I can’t wait to learn, grow, and bring everything back to the families I serve through MyVoiceOurVoice and Dcsocialhikes.
Supporting parents is at the heart of what I do — and staying connected to evolving RDI knowledge helps me guide with clarity, empathy, and confidence.

Here’s to continuing the journey, together. 💙✨

Co-Regulation Before Self-Regulation

Children learn to calm through us, not apart from us.
In Relationship Development Intervention RDI, we call this co-regulation — the process of sharing calm, rhythm, and emotion together.

Before asking a child to self-regulate, ask:
🫶 “Can they borrow my calm first?”