Mission Statement
We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of exceptional children, their families, teachers, and caregivers through embodied learning, parent coaching, and advocacy.
We provide services to families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
CoPEC ….
At CoPEC, we see your child beyond their current limitations—we see their potential.
Through the power of brain plasticity, we create the conditions for real change.
New possibilities emerge.
And parents, caregivers, and educators are essential partners in this process.
We work with the whole family and your child’s school team.
Our Services
Movement-Based Learning
Also known as embodied learning, our movement lessons provide your child with highly varied movement experiences. We focus on establishing internal awareness—helping your child feel what’s happening inside their
body—to improve their external focus on action.
Through guided exploration, your child experiences all the functional connections within the musculoskeletal system as they relate to gravity. This is the foundation for proper organization of the whole body, including its internal physiological functions and external movement capabilities.
This process gives the brain the sensory input it needs to build extensive new neural pathways and refine existing ones. It integrates reflexes and accelerates your child’s development—improving gross motor, fine
motor, cognitive, and social-emotional skills.
This holistic approach creates an open-ended conversation with your child’s nervous system, setting a potent process of learning and empowerment into motion.
Parent Coaching
Every moment with your child is a learning opportunity. Recognizing these precious moments is the first step toward boosting your child’s ability to learn, build selfconfidence, and develop agency.
In a coaching session, you learn to be truly present with your child. Using our interactive communication model – infused with neuroplasticity principles – you’ll discover how to capture your child’s attention, increase their awareness, and enhance their ability to focus, reflect, and express themselves.
Our coaching gives you the knowledge and practice to effectively help your child move beyond their current limitations. Parents who practice what they learn are consistently surprised and delighted by the accelerated positive changes they witness.
How We Work with You
Most parent coaching sessions are held on Zoom and accessible from anywhere. We also provide in-home coaching, based on need, for families throughout the East Bay, North Bay, and San Francisco.
Mastering positive, empowering interactions with your child also enhances their learning during movement lessons with a practitioner in your local area.
Community Lesson Weekends
We host monthly community lesson weekends where children typically receive four movement lessons. We often combine weekend lessons with additional sessions on the days before and/or after to create an even more immersive experience.
Why Immersion Matters
As you know from other educational settings, immersion is essential for mastery. While repetition is the mother of mastery, repetition alone is not enough—it must be infused with novelty and meaningful, varied approximations along the path to the desired outcome. We are masters at providing these conditions.
Community Connection
Community lesson weekends offer parents the opportunity to connect in person. You may not realize it, but you are a valuable resource for each other. We also welcome other professionals who work with your child to come observe.
Getting Started
First-time registrants, please use this form. We will contact you to schedule an initial phone call with the program director and set up your child’s lessons.
Workshops
We offer workshops for parents, caregivers, paraeducators, and teachers.
Our approach helps you become a more skilled, confident guide for the children in your care—supporting them in moving beyond current challenges and accelerating their growth.
You’ll also develop practical tools: how to lead with focused presence and how to use transformational vocabulary that opens new possibilities.
Contact us if you’re interested in a workshop or presentation for a group of parents or a team of professionals.
CoPEC Café
CoPEC Café began during the pandemic as a safe, virtual space where parents could meet, share their stories, and support each other.
Currently, we meet on an irregular basis.
Meetings are announced in our newsletter.
IEP Meeting Support
Classroom Observation
Our director, Gabrielle Allen, attends the IEP meetings of every child we work with and consults with your child’s educational team. Team members consistently express their appreciation for the perspective Gabrielle brings to discussions and goal writing.
We offer to visit your child’s school to observe them in their classroom environment. Based on our observations, we provide suggestions for implementing neuroplasticity principles in the classroom.
What is NeuroMovement®
NeuroMovement is a non-medical somatic learning approach. It’s based on a fundamental insight: movement is the language of the brain.
Every movement—whether a reach, a roll, or a subtle shift—sends information the brain needs to grow, adapt, and organize itself. Through movement, the brain learns to generate not only physical actions, but also thoughts, feelings, and purposeful behavior.
NeuroMovement was developed by Anat Baniel, a clinical psychologist and movement educator. Her approach emerged from decades of work with thousands of clients and her extensive training with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the pioneering physicist and educator who first demonstrated how movement could transform brain function.
How NeuroMovement Works
NeuroMovement works by enhancing brain plasticity—the brain’s remarkable ability to form new neural connections and reorganize itself throughout life.
This capacity for change doesn’t diminish with age. It means the brain can always improve, regardless of a person’s current challenges or how long those challenges have existed.
By providing the brain with rich, differentiated sensory-motor information, NeuroMovement helps it discover better ways to organize movement, thinking, and feeling.
Our team is passionate about helping families
Our dedicated practitioners are certified in ABM/NeuroMovement® and NeuroHorizons® Experiential Movement.
Every team member has completed extensive, practice-focused training in working with children with special needs.
CoPEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
We rely on contributions from donors who share our commitment to children with special needs and their families.
Your support matters:
Most families need sponsored services for at least six months before Regional Center funding may be approved.
Your donation helps bridge that gap.
