JOIN US ONLINE for a special scheduled class offering*
Making Sense of Hypersensitivity
Course Start Date: April 29, 2026
Wednesdays 10:00 - 11:30 AM PT
Runs for 7 weeks
This course provides a fresh look at the causes and consequences of sensory overload in the brain and its role in a spectrum of syndromes, including autism, and to a lesser extent, some forms of giftedness as well as attention problems. Uncovering this root neurological condition sets the stage for retreating from a battle against symptoms and creating a context for isolating and minimizing the resulting dysfunction.
* although students can take this course anytime on their own, this is a special opportunity to benefit from a guided learning experience with Neufeld Institute Faculty. Former and current registrants can enrol in this class for an addtional $50 CAD only.
Scheduled Class Details:
📌 Course Start Date: April 29, 2026
⌛ Duration: 7 weeks
🗓️ Wednesdays 10:00 - 11:30 AM PT
🏷️ Tuition: $250 CAD
We invite your participation in this Scheduled Class offering of 'Making Sense of Hypersensitivity', where you will gain further insight from Neufeld Institute Faculty members Jule Epp and Karen Bollman. They will offer a rich tapestry of unique perspectives, all within the attachment-based developmental approach.
Scheduled Classes combine Dr. Neufeld’s video lectures and supplementary course material with live faculty-facilitated support sessions. These interactive weekly classes are designed to deepen your understanding of Dr. Neufeld's teachings. It is a unique opportunity to join our experienced faculty and other students online to ask questions, discuss key insights, and explore practical applications.
All of the classes are recorded. If you miss a class, you can keep pace with the group by viewing the recordings at your own convenience during the week.
Please note: you will receive access to the course one week before the start date. There will be some material to review before the first class.
Meet our experienced faculty members, who will support you in this course
Psychologist & Therapist
Berlin, Germany
Her experiences with her own hypersensitive son paved the way for her passion for the field of autism and play. Having worked directly for many years with children diagnosed with autism, Jule developed an expertise that is unparalleled, which was why Dr. Neufeld sought her out as a collaborator in creating the Neufeld Institute course on hypersensitivity.
Infant Development Consultant
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Karen is ideally suited to anchor and coordinate this course. Absolutely passionate about the material, her unending curiosity, together with her lived experience in the day-to-day support of families raising children with special needs, has led to a deep integration as well as mastery of this approach.
COURSE SUMMARY
New understandings of how the brain works, when viewed through a comprehensive appreciation of attachment, human vulnerability, and the developmental process, hold great promise for unraveling some of the most confounding mysteries of childhood. Evidence is mounting that the neurological condition of sensory overload may very well be the root cause and common denominator of a myriad of diverse manifestations and syndromes, including autism, some types of attention problems, and even a form of giftedness. The huge diversity of symptoms results from both the degree of severity of the neurological condition as well as the domino effect on a child’s attachments, emotions, and resulting development. If understood and properly addressed, sensory overload issues can usually be compensated for and much of the secondary domino effect can be reversed. Dr. Neufeld will discuss the most promising interventions, including the cultivation of strong attachments, the priming of the human adaptive process, and the harnessing of true play as Nature’s own remedial and corrective process.
SUITABILITY/APPLICABILITY
Everyone in today’s world knows someone who demonstrates the signs of hypersensitivity in one way or another, but few will appreciate the meaning of what they are observing. This course will have special relevance for parents, grandparents, teachers, and therapists of the hypersensitive, as well as for those who suspect that hypersensitivity might be the explanation for their very own baffling experiences.
SAMPLE TOPICS
- the root neurological condition underlying a diverse set of syndromes
- an understanding of classic autism that revolutionizes treatment
- how hypersensitivity is different than being highly sensitive
- some telltale signs of sensory overload in the brain
- how parents can be the hypersensitive child's best bet
- why the hypersensitive are more impulsive, more alpha, and more prone to aggression
- understanding the attention problems of the hypersensitive child
- understanding the frustration of the hypersensitive child and how to come alongside it
- the attachment and emotional defenses of the hypersensitive child
- what is reversible and what is not reversible in hypersensitivity
- why play and relationship are the best answers for the hypersensitive
Course Outline for the Scheduled Class
In this course, Dr. Gordon Neufeld joins forces with a brilliant former university student of his - psychologist Jule Epp - who is a gifted specialist in autism operating out of Berlin. The material unfolds in four parts, each anchored by two sessions: first a lecture by Dr. Neufeld, followed by a companion lecture by Jule Epp that deepens and illustrates the themes through clinical and lived experience.
This Scheduled Class version runs over seven weeks and includes both an orientation and a closing debriefing session.
- Week 1: Orientation Session with Karen Bollman
An opportunity to familiarize yourself with our course setup, learn how to post questions, find resources, and review other practical details. - Week 2: Course orientation with Jule Epp
Jule introduces the course material, shares what to expect, and helps set the stage for the sessions that follow. - Week 3: Sessions 1 & 2 — Hypersensitivity as a sensory gating problem
Neuroscience has revealed that the brain’s first line of defense has to do with controlling the nature and amount of input allowed into the brain at any given time. In this session, the basic condition of hypersensitivity is described along with its primary impact on attention, emotion, and relationships. A checklist for hypersensitivity is provided and the main known causes of the condition are outlined. Strategies are given for how to compensate for sensory gating system problems. - Week 4: Sessions 3 & 4 — Hypersensitivity, vulnerability, and defendedness
The brain’s inability to sufficiently control the incoming signals greatly increases the inherent vulnerability of the child. Since the brain’s primary way of defending itself is compromised, other defenses within the brain are typically activated to compensate. Understanding these defenses is key to working with them as well as reversing them. - Week 5: Sessions 5 & 6 — Hypersensitivity, adaptation, and aggression
The irony of hypersensitive children is that they are in dire need of adaptation, yet less likely to experience the emotional conditions that are conducive to this process. Nothing could be more important than restoring the neural plasticity of the brain of the hypersensitive child. Strategies are provided for how to do this, as well as how to handle the aggression of the non-adaptive child in such a way as not to exacerbate the underlying problem. - Week 6: Sessions 7 & 8 — Hypersensitivity, attachment, and play
The focus of these sessions is on the two kinds of interventions that are most promising for deep and lasting change — relational-based and play-based. The more dysfunctional the hypersensitive brain, the more in need of strong emotional connections with caring adults to compensate. The play mode is being discovered as the context in which the brain heals itself: neural plasticity is maximized, attachments are more likely to form, attention is at play, emotions tend to self-regulate, and new neural networking takes place. We explore the kind of play that is most helpful and provide suggestions on how to activate the play mode in the child. - Week 7: Wrap-up with Karen Bollman
A final session to bring things together, debrief and reflect on the material, and consider next steps or further study for those who wish to continue.
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The Neufeld Institute is a registered Canadian charitable organization under the name Neufeld Institute Foundation and is also registered as a NPO in British Columbia. If you would like to make a contribution to us, please go to our donation page.
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