Beautifully Complex

It’s hard not to get overwhelmed when parenting neurodivergent kids. The chaos, the school meetings, the appointments, the seemingly never-ending need… it’s a lot to juggle. But what our souls crave — what we need to truly live — is joy, ease, and presence.  In this episode, Heather Chauvin of Emotionally Uncomfortable reminds us that overwhelm is just a symptom, not a lifestyle. Instead, focusing on how you feel and how you want to feel can create a transformation in your body, mind, and spirit. Listen in to learn how to take charge of your energy and how you feel.

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You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

Though our understanding of autism has greatly expanded, many autistic individuals are still missed or misdiagnosed. Not all autistics are severely outwardly impacted, like Rainman. Autism is a spectrum and it can show up in many different ways — even camouflaged.  In this episode, I’m talking with Donna Henderson, Psy.D. & Sarah Wayland, Ph.D., authors of the new book,  Is This Autism? A guide for clinicians and everyone else. We talk through the diagnostic criteria of autism in a new way — through a lens of understanding the deeper nuances of each area and what those symptoms might look like in a child, adolescent, or adult who has less-obvious autism. Those who are hiding in plain sight.

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You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

We talk a lot about strategies for when our kids get stuck, but what about us? Parents can certainly feel stuck too. I’m feeling it to the nth degree these days, and I’ve decided to share my current feelings of being stuck in the stuck of stuck and what I’m doing to slowly find my way out of that darkness.  In this episode I share my current stuckness, how doing simple things has been hard for me, and what my therapist is helping me do to feel better so I can do better. I hope that my openness in sharing some of my personal story helps you feel a little less alone and inspires a new perspective for yourself or your parenting.

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You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by your child’s behavior, numerous possible interventions, school struggles, medication trials, and your feelings about all those things when you have a child with ADHD or autism. And we can’t live our best lives, or help our children live their best lives, when we’re overwhelmed and trying to do too much at once.  “We’re living in systems that make it hard for [parents of ND kids],” says Dr. Kelly Fradin. That inherently brings more difficulty to parenting complex kids. In this episode, Dr. Fradin shares strategies on both coping with the emotional aspects for parents and helping our kids develop and grow in their own time. It’s a process, and Dr. Fradin is here to help you with it.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

The rate of suicide in children is rising sharply, not at a true crisis point. It’s something we worry about as parents, and rightfully so. Especially when we’re talking about a marginalized population like neurodivergent kids. Conversations with our kids about suicide are paramount, but often avoided because it’s a really hard topic to think and talk about.  In this episode, Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW joins me to talk about suicide. As an expert in the field, Jonathan shares the latest statistics, why the epidemic is increasing, and what we can do about it. He also provides examples of the conversations you should be having with your kids.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

Parents and teachers often worry that if they help a kid with lagging executive functioning skills that the kid won’t develop skills for independence — that they won’t be able to function on their own. But, the truth is, you can help a child with functioning skills and teach them independence skills. The first step is to replace doing things for the child with doing things with the child. In this episode, we talk about the difference between helping in a way that is enabling, versus helping in a way that is empowering. You can support and still teach a kid to be independent. In fact, that’s what good support actually does — it helps and empowers. Listen in to learn how to support a kid who struggles with time management, task initiation, planning, and organizing while also teaching skills and self-accommodations.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

There is a LOT online about ADHD and autism. A LOT! How do you know what to trust, what to try? It can be tough, especially when you’re searching through a lens of fear and worry for your child.    In this episode of Beautifully Complex, we offer some guidelines on knowing what to trust and considering what interventions are worth trying. We talk about ADHD medication, diet, brain training, and more.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

You want to help your child. So you make some assumptions as to why they’re upset, why they’re not getting things done, why they’re avoiding or disengaging… You show empathy and validation with that info, still trying to help, and then your kid gets more upset and you can’t figure it out because you feel that you did everything right. The hurdle you tripped over may be assumptions and judgment. We have an opinion about why the behavior is happening and act on it as fact, when it’s really just a guess, at best. This causes so many issues. Tune in to this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast to learn what assumptions you should make and how to check your judgment so you can actually be helpful more often than not.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

There are some tough and scary things in life that we need to talk to our kids about: divorce, serious illness of a family member, moving, death of a loved one, to name a few. As parents, we don’t want our kids to be hurting and often default to sharing as little painful information as possible with them. But, we do them a great disservice with that approach. Instead we need to be open and honest with them in an age-appropriate way.  What is age-appropriate for these conversations? My guest, Sara Olsher, shares a step-by-step process of talking to kids about hard things that helps parents have the conversation they need to have in a way that works for the child too. We discuss removing the unknown factor, answering questions, and talking about how the child’s day-to-day life may change because of this circumstance. Not only does Sara have the knowledge, but she’s developed the tools for this process as well.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

Instead of viewing ADHD and autism through the medical model, we need to view them through a strengths-based model as the neurodiversity movement does. A strengths-based model uses interests and strengths to help with challenges. We talk a lot about it in terms of parenting and educating, but now it’s time to teach our kids to operate through a strengths-based lens.  In this episode, Dr. Matt outlines the steps to help your child develop a strengths-based perspective specific to their own strengths and weaknesses. This puts challenges and non-preferred tasks through a lens that the child or teen cares about, making it much more doable. As Dr. Matt reminds us, “Rising tides raise all boats.”

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.