We joined Guardian of Hope for a powerful conversation about emotional maturity.

👉 Watch here:https://thebumpyroadtohealing.captivate.fm/guardian-of-hope-interview

Dec 1, 2025 Guardians of Hope: Empowering Child Advocacy

Your child has an IEP or 504 plan. The accommodations are in place. The therapists are involved. So why aren't you seeing progress? The answer might have nothing to do with academics—and everything to do with emotional maturity.

Traci Glover, M.Ed., LSW, LPC, and Leena Weaver, Ed.S., NCSP, founders of Healing Children, [https://healingchildren.com/] reveal the truth educators and parents often miss: a 10-year-old functioning emotionally like a 3-year-old can't benefit from even the best IEP. Without frustration tolerance, emotional regulation, and developmental readiness, interventions fall flat.

Learn to recognize when behaviors are maturity-related (not defiance), how trauma and entitlement impact development, practical strategies for building emotional maturity through structure and boundaries, and why meeting children where they are developmentally—not chronologically—changes everything.

00:00 Introduction to Guardians of Hope

00:43 Meet Tracy and Lena from Healing Children LLC

03:14 What do we mean by maturity in the context of special education and how is it different from chronological age?

05:04 Skills Defining Child Maturity

09:20 Maturity and Educational Plans

12:46 Evaluations and Emotional vs. Learning Issues

19:14 What are some of the biggest things that parents, educators, and teaching teams can look for to identify children's progress at home and in the classroom?

30:03 Success Stories and Beliefs in Growth

35:03 Resources and Future Collaborations