Margaret Gilbert

Margaret has spent nearly three decades walking alongside families, young people, and professionals as they navigate some of the most challenging moments in their lives. Her work spans education, disability services, social care, and community healthcare, and she brings the same steady presence to every setting-from specialist preschools and home-based autism support to statutory family services and school communities across Kerry and beyond.

Her path has included roles as a Special Needs Assistant, an AS Home Tuition Tutor, and a practitioner within services such as HSE Family Support, Kerry Autism Services, Kerry Intervention and Disability Services, and the Aspect Support Service. Today, she combines this rich frontline experience with her work as an NVR Practitioner, Trainer, and Supervisor, a registered Further Education Teacher, and a Life and Parent Coach. She is also the co-founder of the NVR Family Support Hub Ireland and runs a coaching practice in Tralee.

In her NVR programmes - whether working with a group of parents, a single family, or a room full of teachers - Margaret focuses on helping people meet behaviours that challenge with calm, connection, and confidence. Her approach is grounded in the belief that change happens not through control, but through presence, not through power over, but through influence and

relationship. She supports families and schools facing a wide range of difficulties, including school avoidance, child-to-parent violence and abuse, anxiety, social withdrawal, risk-taking behaviours, and the complex needs associated with neurodivergence. Her work is about restoring hope, rebuilding relationships, and helping people feel less alone and more empowered in the face of behaviours that can feel overwhelming. Above all, Margaret is passionate about creating spaces where parents, carers, and professionals feel understood, supported, and capable-because when the adults feel stronger, the young people in their lives feel safer.

Conference Workshop

The Attuned & Divergent Parent Space - Working with Neurodivergent Parents

Many of the behaviours that challenge parents and strain the parent-child relationship in neurodiverse families often stem from underlying skill gaps - particularly in emotional regulation, social and interpersonal communication, independent living, and executive

functioning.

By using Non Violent Resistance (NVR) as a foundational approach, parents can be supported in responding calmly and constructively to these challenges while being very focused on their own self care and regulation. NVR provides practical tools for teaching emotional regulation, interpersonal skills, and independent functioning, while also guiding parents in how to address executive functioning difficulties with clarity and compassion.

This approach empowers parents to recognise their vital role in nurturing life skills through the everyday rhythms of the child-parent relationship. It transforms that relationship into a dynamic teaching space - fostering emotional connection, modelling regulation, and building a sense of positive presence. Ultimately, it enhances the wellbeing of the child while also helping them child achieve their potential and it improves the quality of life for the entire family.