Welcome to Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child's Support Group Page

 Instructor, Parent Behavior Coach and the Founder of HBCC. She has been using CPS since 2001 and certified since 2008. Her career in the field of behaviors started from being that challenging child herself, where she experienced how most adults treat challenging behaviors. Then she became the parent of two active boys, one born in 1994 and the other in 1995 and realized a heartbreaking number of kids are on the verge of losing their futures, simply because their behaviors are poorly understood.

Debra Ann became a leader in learning how to maximize the potential of ALL children by making sure that a child's behaviors were understood from a skill building lens.

Debra Ann, funded and supported by her husband, built the non-profit HBCC based on the neuroscience of leading professionals in the field of behaviors and evidence-based research. Today HBCC is self-supporting through donations, grants, fees for service and memberships. Her Certification is in an approach called, Collaborative Problem Solving®(CPS), which is owned and developed by Think:Kids, a program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, MA.  

Debra Ann happens to have been born and raised in Boston, residing in California when she learned about the CPS Institute at MGH. Through her frequent visits to Boston visiting family and her passion for the approach, she learned and was trained by the developers of the approach. That knowledge, coupled with her own experience and continued training, has made Debra Ann part of a growing field of change-makers who are passionate about how adults view behaviors and how to respond to maximize every child's potential.

Debra Ann learned early on by her own life experiences that rewards and consequences were never meant to teach complex thinking skills. She has had many hardships with mental health & behavioral challenges, namely when she lost her father after his death by suicide due to undiagnosed depression & alcoholism that was unfortunately misdiagnosed and mistreated.

Debra Ann's journey supports neurodiversity and breaking the cycle of generational trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the use of seclusion, restraint, power, control or motivational procedures over a child. Debra Ann strongly believes it's time for a more compassionate and effective approach.

Debra Ann now works to help teach adults to rethink conventional approaches that work solely to “gain compliance” and “extinguish behaviors” -- and to look through a lens of building skills. Debra Ann helps parents untangle dysregulation and break the cycle of power struggles and break the cycle of generational trauma in order to become the parents they always dreamed they could become, despite what gets in their way.

Collaborative Problem Solving®(CPS) not only changes challenging children it also changes adults too!

Debra Ann is passionate about sharing her experience, strength & hope to anyone who wants to listen to her story! 

Kevin leads the parent support group for the Men.  Born in 1972, he is a single parent of a 14-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter. Kevin has attended the CPS Parenting Workshop (three times!) at HBCC. He also participated in two of the HBCC Role-Play Enhancement Workshops and trained in a CPS Level I Essential Foundation 3-day Intensive Training. Kevin also did a book study group with HBCC on Stuart Ablon, Ph.D. book, “Change-able" and joined the Greater Orange County CHADD Parent Support Group on many occasions.  He is on track to becoming CPS certified himself.

Kevin has found solutions to the communication problems he had been having with his son and is passionate to join with his community and share solutions.  Kevin's relationship with his son, who is diagnosed with ADHD, has improved greatly and his communication improvements with his neurotypical daughter have been a side-benefit.

Additionally, Kevin has experience with the effects that drug addiction and alcoholism can have on relationships in the family as well, he sadly experienced these effects and the death of his former spouse, the mother of his children.

Kevin has many life experiences, and although no expert, he has been exposed to the many nuances of the LGBTQI+ community, including biological sex, gender identity and gender expression. 

Kevin is another parent, like you, who is traversing this challenging responsibility called parenting. He wants to share his experiences and hope with you to find solutions for those who are finding challenges in their relationships with their children.

Lisa is a Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, an author and program developer of "Taming the Inner Judge" and "Quiet Your Inner Critic to Stay Regulated", Lisa helps people transform destructive reactions into calm responses, fostering healthier relationships. A compassionate professional with a diverse background, now devoted to self-development through understanding emotional intelligence, our inner voices and the role they play behind the scenes.

She has taken the Collaborative Problem Solving parenting course through HBCC and Stowell Learning Center, also completed Essential Training Course and is on the path to certification through Think:Kids.

As an individual who learned compensatory strategies to live with undiagnosed ADHD most of her life (now officially diagnosed and taking medication) she has lived the many sides of a complex life with her husband and 3 children (now adults).  She understands the struggles and wins from an individual POV and from the parent's point of view. 

After leading the Women's support group weekly throughout this past Summer, focusing on Quieting the Inner Critic, she is excited to continue this group at HBCC on the third Wednesday of each Month.  

Since 1999 she has supported students with disabilities as a general education teacher, a special education teacher, a district-level special education program coordinator, and a school principal. Through her background and experience, she has gained a thorough knowledge of K-12 standards and curriculum; assessment and data analysis; effective classroom management strategies and positive behavior support strategies; development of individualized education plans (IEPs) and 504 accommodations plans; design, management, and revision of behavior support plans; design, procedures and legal aspects of special education; and, conflict resolution strategies. 

Dr. Lew possesses a Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a Level II Education Specialist Instruction Specialist Credential with Autism Authorization, and an Administrative Services Credential. In addition to her bachelor’s degree, she has also earned a master’s degree in educational administration and doctoral degree in education.  

Dr Lew founded, Special Education Advocacy Solutions (SEAS) which has a mission to ensure that every child is receiving the program, supports, and services that they require as well as the social-emotional support they need in order to feel safe and connected to their learning.  Dr. Lew is in the final stages of becoming CPS Certified and is proudly partnered with HBCC. 

 Renal has been an Occupational Therapist for nearly 22 years working in a variety of clinical settings with individuals who have diverse neurotypes.​ She has a Bachelors Degree in Health Science (Occupational Therapy) and a Master's Degree in Health Practice (Rehabilitation) from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. She has also served as OTA adjunct faculty at Stanbridge University in Irvine, CA and as the OTA Academic Fieldwork Coordinator at Pima Medical Institute in Las Vegas. Renal is a Certified ADHD Rehab Service Provider, Certified ASD Clinical Specialist, Certified PDA North America provider, Think:Kids Level 2 Advanced Training in CPS and currently completing her Ayres Sensory Integration certification with the Collaborative for Leadership in Ayres Sensory Integration.

Renal's greatest achievement of course, is being mom to her amazing neurodivergent son born in 2016. It was an extremely steep learning curve to get on board the neurodiverse affirming train and she is so grateful for the opportunity to have learned so much from him and to be able to offer her parenting knowledge, resources and clinical expertise to empower you to be your child's greatest advocate.​

Renal has a deep passion and personal experience for understanding how a parents' own neurodivergence impacts their own wellbeing and thus the wellbeing of their family. She knows what it's like to be raising a neurodivergent child in a neurotypical world - she is in the trenches with you in paving the path for a more neurodiverse affirming world for my family and yours. 

Dr. Hibbard has over 10 years of experience practicing a variety of evidence-based therapeutic techniques, customized to meet the specific needs of clients including cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, Collaborative Problem Solving, acceptance and commitment therapy as well as cognitive, subjective, and academic assessment. 

Dr Jolee's work has ranged in clients of all ages and diagnoses including bipolar and related disorders, depression, anxiety, autism, and trauma. She is passionate about supporting neurodivergent and high potential individuals and their caregivers/families. 

Beyond her work as a practicing therapist, she published a workbook and actively facilitate workshops for parents and caregivers called the Language of Advocacy which focuses on teaching parents and caregivers how to speak up for their children with mental health concerns. 

Dr Jolee is also the co-author of a case study assessing effective treatment modalities for treatment of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

It’s important to her to be involved in my community which is why she serves on the board at Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child (HBCC) here in Orange County as well as facilitate a group at NAMI for families of individuals with mental illness. 

Dr Jolee Hibbard's master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology were earned from Pepperdine University and Azusa Pacific University. She trained in Youth Intensive Outpatient programs and University of California at Irvine Medical Center Child and Adolescent Outpatient Program; an APA-accredited internship at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, Psychiatry Department; and my post-doctoral fellowship with Healthpointe Medical Clinics.