Parenting a child with behavior challenges can feel exhausting, confusing, and isolating—especially when the strategies that “should” work just don’t, or when recommendations conflict. Some children experience extra sensitivities that result in unique situations and dynamics that cannot be addressed by typical parenting techniques alone. In Dr. LaFleur’s experience, most children with behavioral concerns have loving, capable parents who are understandably frustrated that the application of their intelligence, wisdom, hard work, patience, and care has not been sufficient for solving this problem.

Dr. LaFleur’s approach is practical, compassionate, and grounded in research, with a deep respect for the realities of family life. She understands that parents thrive with the specifics of what to do, when to do it, and why, as well as how they’ll know it’s working, and when and how to troubleshoot. It’s in these details that families who have felt stuck find great success.

Common Behavioral Concerns

The families who work with Dr. LaFleur are often seeking support to address their child’s yelling, screaming, aggression, refusal to follow directions, irritability, anger, inflexibility, and power struggles. She also commonly assists parents in their efforts to troubleshoot toileting stalls and setbacks, as well as challenges with bedtime and sleep, including the separation anxiety that makes independent sleep difficult. Dr. LaFleur additionally specializes in anxiety and OCD. 

Progress Matters

Dr. LaFleur collects information to choose the right treatment approach and track whether it’s working. She wants to know what you’re noticing, and often, she’ll simply ask you about it. In addition, she also collects quantitative data using researched rating scales and custom surveys. Dr. LaFleur offers a progress monitoring program in which parents can choose to receive daily emails prompting them to complete a short survey about their child’s behavior. Dr. LaFleur then shares graphs and trends with patients’ families.

Treatments Available

Dr. LaFleur specializes in Behavioral Parent Training, which involves her working collaboratively with parents. Weekly appointments are used to discuss and practice treatment techniques, which parents then utilize daily at home and in the community. Because treatment occurs on an ongoing basis, during critical moments, and in more natural environments, treatment is often faster and more effective as compared to treatments that are limited to clinical environments and/or rely on treatment occurring only when a clinician is present. And when it’s time to discontinue therapy, families are often able to maintain or continue making progress due to a deep understanding of what works and why.

Dr. LaFleur also specializes in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a type of Behavioral Parent Training. PCIT has more than 50 years of research suggesting that it is an exceptionally effective treatment, including when delivered by telehealth. When children join appointments for in-person PCIT, the therapist is behind a one-way mirror and uses a microphone connected to parents’ headphones. Over telehealth, the therapist turns off their camera, which functions similarly to a one-way mirror. Telehealth offers convenience and the benefit of children demonstrating more of their typical behaviors during appointments, which helps therapists coach parents through these difficult situations. PCIT enhances the parent-child relationship while also reducing challenging behaviors and power struggles. Parents are often excited when they learn that PCIT does not involve points or prizes. More information about PCIT is available on Stony Run’s PCIT page. Dr. LaFleur has been a Certified PCIT Therapist since 2018. 

Parents of children with behavioral concerns commonly report difficulties with independent sleep and toileting. Dr. LaFleur treats both of these concerns by tailoring established treatments to family needs. She has presented on the treatment of toileting challenges at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America’s conference.

For children experiencing anxiety, Dr. LaFleur draws from PCIT and supports parents in facilitating Exposure Therapy so that their child may gain constructive practice facing their fears and tolerating discomfort with their parents’ warm and confident support. She also helps parents to reduce their accommodation of anxiety, which has been more recently researched and popularized by Dr. Eli Lebowitz via Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) Treatment. Dr. LaFleur has presented on these treatments at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America’s conference.