Welcome to The Brain Friends – Where Big Feelings Make Sense!
Helping children understand their brains, bodies and big feelings—one Brain Friend at a time
At The Brain Friends, we believe every child deserves to feel safe, understood, and empowered to manage their emotions. Using playful, science-backed tools, we make emotional regulation simple, engaging, and accessible—especially for neurodivergent and SEN learners.
Meet The Brain Friends – Your Child’s Guide to Understanding Their Brain
Our lovable characters bring neuroscience to life, helping children recognise their feelings, respond to stress, and build resilience.
- Lenny Lizard – The protector, managing fight, flight, or freeze responses.
- Mylo Monkey – The emotional friend, helping with big feelings and connections.
- Orla Owl – The wise thinker, guiding problem-solving and self-control.
- Brilliant Brain – Bringing it all together for balance and learning.
How The Brain Friends Helps Children Thrive
- Teaches self-regulation in a way that makes sense
- Supports children with SEN, anxiety, and emotional challenges
- Expands their ‘Window of Tolerance’ for learning and social situations
- Promotes connection between children, parents, and teachers
Explore The Brain Friends Kit - COMING SOON!
Our Brain Friends Kit includes plush characters, games, a book, visuals, and a digital course, giving families and educators everything they need to introduce emotional regulation in a fun and interactive way.
Perfect for Schools, Parents & Therapists
From classroom behaviour management to home routines and therapy sessions, The Brain Friends offer practical, easy-to-use strategies that help children feel calm, confident, and ready to learn.
The power of The Brain Friends lies in storytelling and characterisation—children learn how their brain works without even realising it.
By using the characters, children connect with their brain’s functions through engaging metaphors and stories. Rather than memorising complex brain science, they naturally internalise key concepts by relating to the characters.
🌟 They remember the story, not just the science.
🌟 They use the characters to process real-life challenges.
🌟 They develop emotional awareness, problem-solving, and self-regulation skills.
When children encounter a big emotion or struggle, they instinctively use the Brain Friends to make sense of it—helping them understand, regulate, and respond more effectively.
This approach makes emotional intelligence and brain science accessible, engaging, and practical—helping every child build
resilience and self-awareness in a way that sticks.
The Science
The Science Behind The Brain Friends
The Brain Friends is grounded in neuroscience, psychology, and child development, offering a simple, engaging way for children—especially those with SEN—to understand their emotions and self-regulate. The model aligns with Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of the Brain, which explains how the brain develops from the bottom up and how emotional regulation builds on foundational brain structures.
The Neuroscience Behind The Brain Friends
Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model describes how the brain develops in a sequence, from basic survival functions to higher-level thinking. The Brain Friends characters represent different brain areas that must work together for children to feel safe, regulated, and ready to learn.
Lenny Lizard (Brainstem) – Survival & Regulation
-The first part of the brain to develop, controlling basic functions like breathing, heart rate, and reflexes.
-Reacts to stress with fight, flight, or freeze responses.
-Children stuck in Lenny Mode may struggle with meltdowns, shutdowns, or hyperactivity.
Mylo Monkey (Amygdala & Hippocampus) – Emotions & Connection
-Responsible for emotional responses, memory, and social bonding.
-Triggers strong feelings like fear, frustration, or excitement—which can be overwhelming without regulation.
-When Mylo is dysregulated, children may be impulsive, emotional, or struggle with relationships.
Orla Owl (Cortex) – Thinking & Learning
-The last part of the brain to develop, controlling problem-solving, reasoning, and impulse control.
-Helps children reflect, plan, and make good choices—but can only function when Lenny and Mylo are regulated.
Brilliant Brain – Integration & Self-Regulation
-When Lenny, Mylo, and Orla work together, children feel safe, focused, and ready to learn.
-The more children practice regulating, the stronger their self-regulation pathways become—helping them expand their
Window of Tolerance and handle stress better over time.
How The Brain Friends Supports Self-Regulation
Regulating Before Learning (Dr. Bruce Perry)
-Learning and behaviour depend on a regulated nervous system.
-If a child is in Lenny or Mylo mode (stressed or emotional), they can’t access Orla’s thinking brain.
-The Brain Friends helps children and adults recognise when they need regulation before expecting learning or
behavioural control.
Window of Tolerance (Dr. Dan Siegel)
-Children learn best when they’re in their optimal regulation zone—not too overwhelmed or too disengaged.
-The Brain Friends helps children expand this window by teaching self-regulation and coping strategies.
Polyvagal Theory (Dr. Stephen Porges)
-Lenny Lizard represents survival states (fight/flight/freeze), while Orla Owl supports calm, social engagement.-
The Brain Friends promotes co-regulation strategies, helping children feel safe and connected before expecting
them to self-regulate.
Interoception & Sensory Processing
-Many SEN children struggle with recognising body signals (e.g., hunger, fatigue, anxiety).
-The Brain Friends supports interoception by helping children identify physical cues related to emotions and regulation needs.
Why The Brain Friends Works for SEN Children
- Uses a Developmentally Informed Approach – Helps children regulate from bottom-up, following their natural brain development sequence.
- Supports Executive Functioning – Strengthens impulse control, flexible thinking, and emotional awareness.
- Encourages Co-Regulation First – Recognises that children need adult support to regulate before they can do it alone.Multi-Sensory Learning – Uses visuals, movement, play, and storytelling to meet diverse learning needs.
- Reduces Stress & Meltdowns – Helps children identify emotions early and use effective self-soothing strategies.
The Brain Friends is more than just a model—it’s a science-backed, engaging, and effective approach that helps children, parents,
and educators create a safe, regulated, and emotionally resilient environment for learning and growth.
"The Brain Friends® turn complex brain science into simple, relatable stories, helping
children understand themselves, regulate their emotions, and grow with confidence
from the inside out."
The Brilliant Brain Friends book on Amazon!
The Brilliant Brain Friends is an engaging story to help children understand more about how they experience and process emotions. The story introduces them to their Brilliant Brain Friends, Lenny Lizard, Mylo Monkey and Orla Owl.
Each character represents a different part of the brain and how we process feelings in our mind and body. By understanding more about how we do this children will develop more emotional awareness. The book introduces children to each Brain Friend's unique job.
Lenny Lizard runs the body and helps to keep us safe, Mylo Monkey helps us to notice our feelings and Orla Owl helps to make sense of them with our thinking mind.
The Brilliant Brain Friends is the perfect way to introduce children aged 5-11 to the power of the mind-body connection.
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