Self-care for caregivers: You’re tired and you know you need it. But how? And why would you want one more thing to add to your to-do list? This week on the podcast, I want to share with you how some things you’re already doing every day can be self-care.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Parents, let’s talk mental health (podcast)
• Fellow Parents, Let’s Talk About Mental Health
• Better parenting using self-regulation (podcast)
• "Calmness feels nice;" An interview about how tapping helped one mama's anxious child (podcast)
• Overloaded with Feelings: Could Tapping be the answer for your child?
• Self-care: What is it? Why is it so important for your health?
• Caring for Your Mental Health
• Emotional Self-Care: What It Is and How to Make It Part of Your Life
• The Relational Dimension of Self-Care
• 10 Spiritual Self-Care Tips To Be Happy

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

There is often confusion and fear and difficulty when talking about mental illness, especially when children are involved. There doesn’t need to be though. This week’s podcast focuses on how you can support parents of children with mental illness. Listen along as we share 3 ways to be a great friend.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• The Trevor Project: Help for LGBTQ+ Youth in Crisis
• Fellow Parents, Let’s Talk About Mental Health (blog)
• Parents, Let’s Talk Mental Health (podcast)
• About Mental Illness
• Important Teen Mental Health Statistics For Parents
• Children’s Mental Health: Understanding an Ongoing Public Health Concern
• Children with disability: mental health & physical health
• What is Sensory Processing? And can it help explain my child’s behavior? (blog)
• ¿Qué es el procesamiento sensorial? ¿Y puede ayudar a explicar la conducta de mi hijo? (blog)
• What are sensory processing issues? And do they explain my kid’s behavior (podcast)
• Is your child struggling with reading? Here are 5 ways you can help at home.
• Parental Criticism May Worsen ADHD Symptoms
• Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: The Basic
• How to Discipline a Child With DMDD
• Long waiting lists, long drives and costly care hinder many kids’ access to mental health care
• Mental illness in children: Know the signs
• Therapy to Improve Children’s Mental Health
• Mental Health and Children with Disabilities (video)
• Take a Mental Health Test

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

In honor of Occuptional Therapy Month, we are re-releasing on episode on occupational therapy.

If your young child has a disability or delay, you may have been referred to Occupational Therapy. But what does occupational therapy mean for a child? In this episode, we’ll talk about all of the ways OT can make a difference for your child. Kim Haynes and Anne Hindrichs of the McMains Child Developmental Center explains how OT can help a child with their most important work - play.

• McMains Child Developmental Center (Baton Rouge, LA)
• What Is Occupational Therapy?
• Sensory Smarts: Find an Occupational Therapist
• Kitchen Conversations: Therapies and accommodations to support young children with disabilities in school (webinar replay)
• One Quick Question: I thought OT was about workplace skills. Why does my child need OT if they don't work? (2-minute video)
• One Quick Question: "Will my young child with special needs need to do therapy forever?" (2-minute video)
• What are some activities for children who have difficulty accepting different foods or textures? (2-minute video)
• How to mix OT into summer fun (2-minute video)
• Am I doing enough? (2-minute video)
• Fellow parents: Let’s talk about mental health

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

“There’s no magic amount of knowledge.” This week I have a conversation with Nell Curran and she has some great insights into raising a neurodivergent child. Listen along as two neurodivergent moms talk about raising neurodivergent children.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• 5 things to do if your autistic child needs an ambulance (podcast)
• Body doubling and other parenting tips for neurodivergent adults (podcast)
• Neurotribes: The Legacy Of Autism And The Future Of Neurodiversity By Steve Silberman

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

Do you ever ask yourself, “as a neurodivergent parent, how can I teach my neurodivergent child skills that they’ll need?” This week on the podcast, I want to share some skills that I have discovered work for me and my family.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Neurodivergent: What Is It, Symptoms, And Types
• Stimming: Why It Happens And How To Manage It
• The Link Between ADHD and Object Permanence
• Body Doubling for ADHD: What It Is and How It Works?
• Body Doubling: Not Just for ADHD
• Body Doubling
• Adult Study Hall (online group for body doubling)
• WorkBuddies on TikTok
• WorkBuddies on Discord

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

“It’s tough and there’s some really, really hard days. Just don’t give up hope.” This week we talk to one parent about raising her child with disabilities. Listen along to hear some of the lessons she learned along the way.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Early Intervention (Louisiana)
• Early Intervention (Massachusetts)
• Six things you really, really don’t want to say to children with disabilities (try these instead) (Podcast)
• Exceptional Lives on Facebook
• Exceptional Lives on Instagram
• Exceptional Lives on LinkedIn
• Anne Punzak Marcus on LinkedIn

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

Do you know your rights under IDEA? It’s the law that requires schools to provide special education services to students with disabilities. Listen to this week’s podcast episode to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Federal law that supports Special Education
• Locate your state’s Department of Education website, then search for Special Education
• Locate your state’s Parent Training and Information Center (PTIC)
• Know your rights: navigating your young child’s transition into school (webinar)
• How to advocate for your child with a disability…and get results (blog)
• 6 ways to be a fierce advocate for your child with disabilities (podcast)
• Special Education Rights Video Series by Mass Advocates for Children

Important words to know and definitions

• FAPE (Free and Appropriate Education)
• IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
• Special Education
• LRE (Least Restrictive Environment)
• IEP (Individualized Education Program)
• Procedural Safeguards

Louisiana Resources

• A Good IDEA for Louisiana: A Guide for Parents and Students About Special Education Services
• Louisiana’s Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities: Special Education Processes and Procedural Safeguards
• Parent Training and Information Center: LAPTIC
• Dispute Resolution for Students with Exceptionalities
• Families Helping Families

Massachusetts Resources

• A Parent's Guide to Special Education (English)
• A Parent's Guide to Special Education (Spanish)
• Procedural Safeguards, available in English and 17 other languages
• Parent Training and Information Center: Family TIES of Massachusetts
• Mass Special Education Website

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

When your student with a disability is ready to transition to adult life, it may feel like they are striking out on their own. But there are programs and resources that will continue to support them in this next phase of their lives. Learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Program for Success Employment at Baton Rouge Community College
• A list of Comprehensive Transition and Post-Secondary (CTP) Programs by state
• Special Ed Terms 2 Know: Transition Plan (2-minute video)
• What is included in a Transition Plan?
• Special Ed Terms 2 Know: Vocational Programs (2-minute video)
• Find programs in Louisiana
• Find programs in Massachusetts
• State-by-state listing of parent support centers
• Resources for helping your child transition to adulthood

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

Processing emotions takes time, patience, focus, practice, and follow-through. It’s easy for anxious kids to get overloaded. In this podcast interview, Exceptional Lives Team Member Carey Luckey talks about how tapping helps her son.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Is your child highly sensitive?
• What is tapping and how does it work?
• EFT tapping
• Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs: a Tapping Solution Children’s Story
• EFT Tapping for Kids (video)
• Child-friendly tapping diagrams
• Tools for managing anxiety in young children

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn

Setting New Year's resolutions that you don't follow through with can leave you feeling defeated. Instead, focus on how amazing you are this year and share that with those around you!

We’ll be taking a short break from the podcast to celebrate the holidays with our families but we’ll be back in your feed the first week of January.

Where to find Exceptional Lives
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn