Every classroom has a child who gets labeled difficult — the one left out, left behind or written off. Educator Niki Elliott has spent a career arguing that such children are misread, not incapable, and on Tuesday evening she brings that message to Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena to discuss and sign her new book, “Heart-Centered Connections: Seven Essential Skills for Helping Neurodiverse and Marginalized Children Thrive.”
Elliott’s work sits at the intersection of educational neuroscience and nervous-system wellness. She directs the Center for Embodied Equity and Neurodiversity at the University of San Diego, where the Heart-Centered Connections curriculum offers professional certificates, and she holds a doctorate in education from UCLA. A native of Southern California, she has trained thousands of teachers, parents and child-serving professionals in her approach.
The book grew out of years of work with more than 1,000 professionals — principals, teachers, foster-care directors and social workers — who serve children navigating learning disabilities, mental health diagnoses, foster placement and racialized marginalization. Its central claim is deceptively simple: when safety, compassion and trust come first, real learning can begin. Elliott offers concrete tools for adults to steady their own nervous systems so they can help a child settle enough to focus.
The seven skills at the book’s core range from interpersonal awareness and mindful communication to what she calls heart-centered repair — the practice of mending relationships after they rupture. The framework asks adults to view a struggling child with dignity and choice rather than judgment.
The evening includes a discussion and book signing. Vroman’s, the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California, hosts hundreds of author events each year.
Niki Elliott will discuss and sign “Heart-Centered Connections” on Tuesday, July 21 at 7 p.m. Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena. For more information and to RSVP, call (626) 449-5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com. Admission is free; an RSVP is requested.
