Map your child's Neurodynamic Quotient in real time — and know exactly what to do right now.
By Dr. Jennifer Imig Huffman, PhD, ABPdN | The Able Center
The Neurodynamic Navigator CoPilot™ is a guided check-in tool built on the NNS framework. It helps caregivers, parents, and support professionals quickly assess a PDA-profile child's current neurodynamic state — and receive an immediate, personalized action plan for right now.
A structured, interactive check-in tool that walks you through rating 8 key nervous system variables to calculate your child's Neurodynamic Quotient (NDQ) — a real-time map of their nervous system state.
Primarily designed for parents and caregivers of PDA-profile children and teens. Includes a Co-Pilot mode for sharing read-only briefings with teachers, therapists, and support staff.
An NDQ score (0–100), a flight zone (Green / Yellow / Red), a personalized protocol for right now, and a Co-Navigator Briefing you can share with anyone supporting your child today.
A longitudinal record of your child's nervous system patterns — zone distributions, NDQ trends, seeker profiles, and strengths — so you can see the full picture across weeks and months.
"You cannot make a Pilot fly. You can only create the conditions where flight becomes possible."— Dr. Jennifer Imig Huffman, PhD, ABPdN
Every check-in begins with the Preflight Safety Protocol — a three-step process that ensures you and your child's safety are considered before any assessment begins.
Before assessing your child, the app asks you to check your own three gauges: your Connection (how emotionally grounded you feel), your Battery (how rested and regulated your nervous system is), and your Thermal Signature (your current stress and urgency level). If your own gauges are depleted, the app flags partial capacity and asks you to proceed with awareness — because your nervous system is the most powerful co-regulation tool your Pilot has.
The app screens for post-high-demand fatigue — the collapse that can follow school, social events, or structured environments. If significant decompression is detected, the app notes it before proceeding to the full NDQ assessment, ensuring the snapshot reflects true baseline capacity rather than a misleading post-demand low.
Your child is identified by a Call Sign — a nickname or code name chosen for privacy, never their legal name. You choose their Pilot Type, Color, and Animal identifiers. The app then runs a quick safety screen: if there is an active safety concern, it immediately routes to the MAYDAY Safety Crisis Protocol rather than the standard assessment. If safe, you proceed to the full NDQ rating.
The Neurodynamic Quotient (NDQ) is calculated from eight slider-rated variables, each grounded in the NNS framework. Together they produce a score from 0–100 that reflects your child's current flight readiness.
Does your Pilot feel fully safe right now — with you, with the environment, and with the situation? Connection is the multiplier. When high, the nervous system opens to co-regulation and engagement. When low, nothing else can work.
0 = Does not feel safe → 10 = Totally safe in this moment
How much external control does your child feel right now? When autonomy is low, the child feels perceived, watched, or overwhelmed. When high, the nervous system is open and receptive — the child can problem-solve and engage.
0 = Total external control → 10 = Full agency & choice
How much does your child know about what is coming? When information is low, the threat system is on maximum alert — chaos and surprise overwhelm the nervous system. When high, the child has a complete map of what's coming and can stay regulated.
0 = Total chaos / no map → 10 = Full clarity & schedule
Demands drive Dynamic Safety directly. At 0, no demands exist — maximum safety. At 10, heavy commands and pressure flood the system. Lower is always safer — reduce demands before anything else when NDQ drops.
0 = Zero pressure (safest) → 10 = Maximum commands/pressure
Capacity is the battery. When battery is low, even simple tasks feel impossible — the child may withdraw, shut down, or become irritable. When high, the child has energy, bandwidth, and resilience to shift and recover.
0 = System overload / no fuel → 10 = Fully charged
External scaffolding that preserves and extends capacity. When low, the child is unsupported and flying blind. When high, every needed tool, safe person, and support system is in place — capacity stretches further.
0 = No scaffolding / flying blind → 10 = Fully supported
How fast is the environment draining the tank? Quiet environments preserve; transitions, sensory overload, and masking drain the system rapidly. Lower Strategic Cost is always better — it means the environment is not burning reserves.
0 = Quiet / peak efficiency → 10 = Total overload / max burn
Motivation adds lift — but it cannot replace safety or capacity. When motivation is low, the task feels pointless — avoidance, stall, or negotiation follows. When high, interest-based engagement hooks in and the child can initiate and persist. Adds lift to NDQ, but cannot override low safety or low capacity.
0 = Passive / no interest → 10 = Preferred interest / full flow
After the NDQ assessment, the app generates a complete Flight Report: a score, a zone, and a personalized action plan for this moment — not a generic strategy guide, but a specific protocol based on your exact inputs.
Every Flight Report includes a Co-Navigator Briefing — a read-only, shareable summary of your child's current flight status, support options, and framework context. Designed to be sent to teachers, therapists, grandparents, or anyone supporting your child today. The briefing includes framework-suggested approaches, not directives — it explains the "why" alongside the "what." A copy button lets you share it with one tap.
Each check-in is saved to a longitudinal record. Over time, the Flight Dashboard reveals patterns your daily experience can't show — zone distributions, NDQ trends, seeker profiles, and areas of strength.
A donut chart showing the breakdown of Green, Yellow, and Red check-ins over time. See at a glance how often your child's nervous system is in each zone — and whether patterns are shifting.
A line chart plotting every NDQ score across check-ins — color-coded by zone. Reveals day-of-week patterns, high-demand recovery curves, and the impact of accommodations or changes.
A narrative journal entry alongside each check-in, capturing your preflight state, context notes, and the full picture for that day. Entries are tagged with Pilot NDQ, zone, and navigator state — searchable and reviewable over time.
Set behavioral and support objectives, track milestones across Active, Achieved, Paused, and Abandoned categories. Goals can be shared with coaches and clinicians through the Coach Portal.
A profile radar chart showing your child's NDQ variable strengths and watch areas across 26+ check-ins. Identifies primary and secondary Seeker types (e.g. Sensory-Regulation Seeker, Connection-Focused Seeker) — each with an anchor phrase calibrated to their nervous system.
Proactive insights drawn from your check-in history — identifying your child's most common stressors, highest-cost environments, and patterns of strength, so you can plan ahead rather than react.
Beyond the check-in, the app includes a full suite of in-the-moment tools and reference resources — all organized in one place so you can act quickly when it matters most.
🔴 In-the-Moment Tools
📚 Reference & Insights Tools
The app adapts its language to the user. Switch between modes at any time — the underlying assessment is the same, but the words change to match your context.
Default language using the full NNS aviation framework — Pilots, Navigators, Flight Zones, NDQ, and all framework terminology. Best for caregivers already familiar with the NNS model.
Simplified, child-friendly language for younger families or those new to the framework. Reduces jargon while preserving the full assessment structure.
Designed for co-navigators — teachers, therapists, grandparents, and support staff who receive a shared briefing and need context without the full framework background.
Every design decision in the CoPilot app reflects the lived reality of PDA-profile families — including a careful approach to privacy, safety, and the ethical use of automated estimates.
The Neurodynamic Navigator CoPilot™ is available now. Start your first check-in today — and see your child's nervous system in a whole new way.
Get the CoPilot App →Questions? Contact The Able Center at theablecenter.com
This app is for educational purposes only and is intended to support, not replace, the judgment of a qualified professional or the autonomy of the individual. The NDQ score is an automated estimate based on user-provided inputs and requires independent parental and/or professional judgment to interpret and act upon. It is not a clinical diagnosis, assessment, or recommendation from a licensed professional.
© 2026 Dr. Jennifer Imig Huffman, PhD, ABPdN. All rights reserved. The Neurodynamic Navigator™ framework is distributed under license by The Able Center.