Raising Neurodivergent Kids

When the pediatrician handed me a stack of referrals and said, “let’s follow up in 6 weeks…” I had no idea what would come next.

On today’s episode, we’re going back to the early days of navigating IDEA, IEPs, and therapies. We’re learning what Child Find is and what I wish the pediatrician told me.

No one tells us what to research or how - we’re left with cold cups of coffee sitting next to the computer that we’ve been staring at for far too long.

If you’re just off the diagnosis reveal, a few years into this journey, or taking a walk down memory land like me, this one’s for you.

TLDR:

• What Child Find is and what IDEA means for your child

• 18 month waitlist at KKI made 90 day school evaluation feel like a lottery win

• What OT, speech, vision, and hearing therapy is for autistic kids

• Which questions I found answers to - and which ones have me still guessing.

Read ahead + Off The Record:

Early Risers on Patreon get every chapter before it drops here, plus the Off the Record newsletter featuring behind the scenes and snippets of the book that didn’t make the cut.

The Links Live here ⬇️

Find me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ExperientialLife

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experiential.life.community/

Join the Community for families raising neurodivergent kids: https://experiential-life.com/experiential-life-app/

I walked into my first IEP meeting having no idea what IEP stood for. No idea about IDEA. 

I walked in with keys in one hand, my wallet in the other - all vibes - no pen and paper. 

I walked out feeling like I was hit by a freight train. 

I know I’m not the only mom who felt blindsided by the table full of people asking you to describe your child’s worst day - and then deciding if it warrants further assessment for special education services. 

Whether or not they’ll give your child the help you walked in expecting to receive. 

It’s not the way it works - and parents need to know that in advance. 

Tell me in the comments - were you also handed a stack of referrals and pamphlets when your child got diagnosed? What do you wish you got instead?

And if you want to keep following along, as I write this book in real time, be sure to follow me on Instagram, or join me on Patreon.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experiential.life.community/

Patreon: https://patreon.com/ExperientialLife?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

The Community for families raising neurodivergent kids: https://experiential-life.com/experiential-life-app/

As a perimenopausal ADHD woman… I fall into these traps where I start something, and then get bored with it.

Recently, I opened a document on my laptop and started writing. 

What I thought was just an exercise in reflective journaling turned into pages. 

Pages turned into chapters. 

And suddenly I had the start of a book.

But the pages I wrote made me feel like a writer - with something to say - something that should be shared. 

So I started sharing it on my Instagram stories. 

I started asking my community if I should keep writing - keep sharing publicly. 

And - they said yes. 

In an effort to hold myself accountable, and keep putting words on the page - I am going to write this book publicly. 

The raw, unfiltered, unedited pages as they are written, with - as one mom put it, “my calming voice.”

I can’t promise that the book will follow an order that makes sense. 

But I can promise it will be my experience, my words, and what I needed when my son was diagnosed - what I need now as he is about to turn 18. 

Support the podcast and the book: https://patreon.com/ExperientialLife?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experiential.life.community/

Find community, resources, and support: https://experiential-life.com/experiential-life-app/

At around 5am, on Thursday May 22, 2025, House Republicans passed the “Big Beautiful Budget Bill.”

I stayed up and listened to the debates, so you wouldn’t have to. 

In this episode, I’m not talking about how the cuts to Medicaid will pad the pockets of billionaires…

Instead we’re going to talk about what the changes and cuts to the Medicaid program mean for our kids - specifically our kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

There is SO much to unpack - but this episode comes in at just under 14 minutes. 

And in that time, we talk about:

• How Medicaid funding actually works,

• What federally mandated work requirements and 6-month redeterminations mean for people with disabilities and caregivers, and

• Why where you live could now determine how the changes and cuts to Medicaid could affect you and your family. 

If you’re exhausted by ongoing threats to your child’s future, frustrated by the spread of misinformation, or tired of making weekly calls just to keep the few services your child has - you are not alone.

Let’s talk about it.

Resources referenced in this episode:

• To find your state’s agency that manages Home and Community Based Services Waivers, type into Google: Developmental Disabilities State Government Program in [INSERT YOUR STATE].

• To find your state representatives’ contact information, type into Google: [INSERT YOUR ZIP CODE] state representative contact information.

• Medicaid Work Requirements: Do they work?
• Cuts to Medicaid: The effects on community hospitals.
• Use 5 Calls to contact your federal legislators.

AND…

If you’re a parent or caregiver raising a neurodivergent child, I created an app just for you.

There is a treasure trove of information on the web - but when you need an answer now, hours of searching the internet isn’t helpful - especially when keywords aren’t always intuitive to families.

Systems are siloed and hard to navigate, which is confusing for parents and caregivers who need help coordinating services and supports.

The Experiential Life App brings together parents and caregivers raising neurodivergent kids through:

 👉 community, 

⚡️ webinars, 

🤝 parent support, and 

 👏 downloadable resources, all contained in a convenient app on your favorite device.

You can learn more at ⁠Experiential Life⁠ or join me over on ⁠Instagram ⁠💕

If you’ve ever felt like an imposter - or that you need to go back to school for medical, educational, and legal degrees - just to help your neurodivergent child... this episode is for you.

Welcome to Raising Neurodivergent Kids - the podcast for parents, caregivers, and advocates who are done pretending the systems work.

I’m your host, Christy Russell, advocate, mom of three, and founder of Experiential Life.

I’ve spent the last decade as a disability and healthcare advocate, navigating the maze of disconnected systems that are supposed to support our neurodivergent kids.

In this first episode, I’m sharing the moment my son was diagnosed - and what happened next.

Spoiler: it wasn’t clarity, access, or support. It was 18 months of waitlists, confusing referrals, and being handed a stack of brochures that answered none of my questions.

We’ll talk about:

• Why systems feel impossible to navigate (even for the professionals),

• What happens when support is siloed, fragmented, and buried under paperwork, and

• Why I used to think we should burn it all down - and what changed my mind.

If you've ever wondered if you're the only one struggling to navigate the systems - to get your neurodivergent child the support they need - you're not.

Let's talk about it.

The links I promised to share with you:

- Dismantling of the Department of Education and what it means for our neurodivergent kids

- Reorganization of the Administration for Community Living and what it means for people with disabilities

- Potential cuts to Medicaid and why it matters for our kids

- The easiest way to find your representatives and talk to them about these issues

If you are a parent or caregiver raising a neurodivergent child, I created an app just for you.

There is a treasure trove of information on the web - but when you need an answer now, hours of searching the internet isn’t helpful - especially when keywords aren’t always intuitive to families.

Systems are siloed and hard to navigate, which is confusing for parents and caregivers who need help coordinating services and supports.

The Experiential Life App brings together parents and caregivers raising neurodivergent kids through:

 👉 community, 

⚡️ webinars, 

🤝 parent support, and 

 👏 downloadable resources, all contained in a convenient app on your favorite device.

You can learn more at Experiential Life or join me over on Instagram 💕