Log 3 moments, free
No account, no card. Unlimited moments come with membership.
For the child the usual parenting advice doesn't fit.
LightMap, the app for parents. Stories to share with your child.
You’ve read the books and tried the charts, and your child still falls apart at 4pm. Nobody can see why from memory. LightMap can. It reads everything together: the hard moments, the diagnoses, the meds, the reports nobody read all the way through. You get the likeliest reasons, what to try next, and what to ask their doctor.
Start my 14 days free
Card required. Nothing is charged until day 14, and you can cancel anytime.
Not ready for a card? Log 3 moments first. No account.Explore the stories
Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Recipientfor the Birch & Light Method™ family resources.
Understand
You go first. Read the story yourself, listen to the Deep Dive podcast, and use the parent guide to see what may be sitting under the behavior.
Connect
Then you share it. Read the story together, listen to the songs, and use the reflection pages and conversation cards to find shared language with your child.
Apply
Then you carry it into everyday life, with coloring pages and songs, LightMap to capture what keeps happening, and Muse beside you in the hard moment.
Take the free guide first
What's Underneath is free: the three body-state triggers under most meltdowns, what to say in the minute before it tips over, and how to reset afterward.
You'll get the guide instantly, plus five free articles in your inbox every week. Real challenges (meltdowns, school mornings, picky eating, big feelings) and how to actually handle them. Unsubscribe anytime.
“It brought real awareness to things that were quietly making meltdowns worse.”
Joseph O.Read all reviews
“In my practice I see the same gap again and again. Parents misread dysregulation as defiance, lose confidence, and arrive at appointments without a clear picture of what has actually been happening at home.”
Carolyn Sluberski, MSOT, OTR/L
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
For your next school meeting
Have an IEP or 504 plan? Bring a clearer picture to the next meeting.
Upload your child's IEP or 504 plan to explore what needs a closer look and prepare questions for the team.
Explore the IEP and 504 toolFirst read free with an account. No card.
Illustrative example
Make the support specific.
A plan says “breaks as needed.” A useful question to bring:
“How will my child ask for a break, where can they go, and who will help?”
The Birch & Light Path
You are here. Everything else is open.
Five places to go, grouped by what you need. Start with LightMap, then take the rest in any order you like.
You are here: looking for a way to help your child.
Start hereI want to understand whyUnderstand my childOnce the hard moment has passed, log it. LightMap turns it into the trigger, what helped, and what to try next time, and over weeks into the reasons nobody else can see. Your guide, your coach, your lifeline. I want to read about what we're dealing withRead what actually helps280+ articles on what you are actually dealing with: ADHD, PDA, PANS and PANDAS, anxiety, sensory processing, shutdowns, school. Written for the children the usual advice misses, sourced, and free to read without an account. I want us to feel close againConnect with my childThis is the Method: stories, songs and podcasts built to help you and your child actually connect, not just get through the moment. It's award-winning, and it gives you everything you need to understand what your child is going through and find the words for it. I want to know what I'm doingBuild my confidenceFoundations is the 101 nobody hands you. Eight short video modules, about 70 minutes in all: steadying yourself first, co-regulation, transitions and repair at home, the school conversation, staying on the same page with a co-parent. What's Underneath is the lookup guide, twelve specific behaviors with what is driving each one and the words to use in the moment. What Foundations coversMembership
What's Underneath, the parent field guide Membership
I have a meeting coming upGet ready for the next conversationUpload the IEP, 504 plan, evaluation or care plan and see what it's missing. Walk into the meeting, whether it's with the school team, a therapist, a case manager or a psychiatrist, with the questions already written. Check an IEP or 504 plan, first read freeFree with an account
See a care-team report Membership
All access. At your pace. Membership opens the digital tools, the course and the workbooks, and you never have to use all of it. Personal coaching with Tara is booked separately.
Where we fit
The space between appointments.
Most families don’t move straight from everyday challenges to intensive care. Birch & Light sits in the in-between: real understanding, clear guidance, and tools you’ll actually use, right when you need them most.
1. Home Challenges
What families handle on their own, before anyone else is involved.
- • Big emotions and meltdowns
- • Sensory overwhelm
- • The 4pm after-school crash
More examples
- • Anxiety and transitions
- • School refusal or struggles
- • Food and mealtime battles
- • Sibling and family conflict
- • Bedtime, mornings, and routines
- • Googling late at night for answers
- • Facebook groups and Reddit threads
- • Parenting coaches and programs
2. Professional Support
Professional help brought in while your child still lives at home.
- • Weekly therapy
- • OT and speech therapy
- • IEP and 504 plans
More examples
- • Developmental pediatricians
- • Neuropsychological evaluations
- • Child Study Team meetings
- • Psychiatric care and medication
- • Intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization (IOP, PHP)
- • Group therapy and social skills groups
- • ABA and behavioral support
- • Specialist consults (neurology, GI, immunology)
Running alongside both, every day
The Daily Layer
Birch & Light
Traditional support happens once a week. Parenting happens every day. Birch & Light is the layer in between: understanding what sits beneath the behavior, tools for the hardest moments, and a record that makes every appointment count — working toward a calmer home and helping challenges settle before they grow.
- Why it keeps happening
- AI analysis with Muse
- Help in the moment
- Parent regulation
- Stories kids absorb
- Reports for your care team
Working toward fewer families ever needing what comes next
What we hope families never need
3. Higher-Level Care
Care that takes a child out of the home.
- • Inpatient hospitalization
- • Residential treatment centers
- • Crisis services
More examples
- • Psychiatric hospitals
- • Therapeutic boarding schools
- • Wilderness therapy programs
- • Emergency interventions
Hi, I'm Tara.
A mom of five. I spent two decades parenting through serious medical and emotional complexity before I built any of this, so everything here comes from lived experience, not theory. In 2026 I completed a continuing education program in current ADHD practice from Harvard Medical School.
More about my storyFrom the people who work with kids
“Tara has created something thoughtful, emotionally aware, and beautifully grounded in how children actually learn and connect. Birch & Light is a meaningful resource for families and classrooms alike.”
Katirose Destro, M.Ed.
Elementary Classroom Teacher, Mom of 3
“Birch & Light is built on the same principles I teach parents and educators every day. A gift to families.”
Rachel Wise, M.Ed., NCSP
Nationally Certified School Psychologist, Licensed Behavior Specialist, Parent Consultant, Mom of 2
Founder, Education and Behavior
From parents using it
What changed at home
5 out of 5 stars
“I used LightMap for two weeks and it brought real awareness to things I was doing that were quietly making meltdowns worse. When I tried to console my daughter with hugs or kisses, she actually escalated. Seeing the pattern helped me stop that go-to, and the next time, things didn't spiral.”
5 out of 5 stars
“You can log your child's behaviors and follow the patterns. It helps you figure out what's possibly causing the behaviors in the first place and how to stop them before they even happen.”
5 out of 5 stars
“I learned how to talk with my daughter about new sensory things she finds uncomfortable. My favorite part is when the taste bud realizes everyone around him has felt the same thing. It's sweet to be able to put those things into language.”
Parents talking about it, in their own words
It helped me see the patterns underneath the behavior.
— MaRanda Herring, PharmD, BCACP · Homeschool mom
These parents were given free access to Birch & Light. They were not paid for their reviews, except where noted.
What membership opens
All access. At your pace.
Membership opens the digital tools, the course and the workbooks. You never have to use all of it, and there is no program to keep up with. Stories, songs and podcasts stay free for everyone. Personal coaching with Tara is booked separately.
- LightMap and Muse, unlimited moments, every child in your family
- Every parent guide, conversation card, reflection page and coloring page
- Go Deeper is included, not an add-on.
- Every workbook in the Fast Brain and ADHD Brain series
- Foundations, the full 8-module course
- A co-parent seat with their own login
The 32 stories, songs and podcasts are free for everyone, with or without an account.
$12.99 a month or $99 a year.
14 days free, then $12.99/month or $99/year. Cancel anytime.
You can still buy any workbook or the course on its own. A month of membership costs less than two workbooks.
Card required. Nothing is charged until day 14, and you can cancel anytime.
Payments processed by Stripe. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express accepted.
Questions about LightMap?
What LightMap is, how it works, and what stays private.
Is my child's data private?
Yes. Your data is private to your account, never sold, and never shared with advertisers. You choose if and when to share a report.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel in Settings anytime. If you cancel before day 14, you're never charged.
Is this therapy or a diagnostic tool?
No. LightMap supports reflection and pattern-spotting. It does not diagnose, treat, or replace professional care.
What does it cost, and do I need a card?
Birch & Light Membership starts with a 14-day free trial. A card is required at sign-up and nothing is charged until day 14. After the trial it is $12.99 a month or $99 a year. If you want to look around first, you can log 3 moments with no account and no card.
Who it's for
Whatever it looks like in your house, it belongs here.
ADHD, autism, PDA, anxiety, OCD, ODD, DMDD, sensory differences, trauma, and PANS/PANDAS — including the kind with a medical root. And every child who feels everything more, with or without a name for it. Birch & Light was built for all of them.
Start here
Start with one hard moment.
14 days free, then $12.99/month or $99/year. Cancel anytime.
Start my 14 days free
Card required. Nothing is charged until day 14, and you can cancel anytime.
- Privacy first
- Evidence informed
- Parent built