Talking About Kids

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As we have discussed in previous episodes, trained advocates can help protect the rights of kids in IEP meetings and other legal proceedings. Unfortunately, there are times when additional help is required, times when a lawyer is needed. My guest this episode is Paula Yost. Paula is an attorney who is committed to, what she calls, “legal social work,” which is advocating for kids at the intersection of law and education or social service. Paula and I discuss her role, what you can do to avoid needing an attorney, and how you can tell when you do. More information about Paula, her law firm, and her book, Tumbleweeds: How to be an Advocate for Your Children and Yourself in a Failing System, is talkingaboutkids.com. 

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Do you have questions about the IEP process or even what an IEP is? You are not alone. Thankfully, my guest this episode can help. Vicki Christensen is an experienced, certified IEP advocate. As she describes in her forthcoming book – Uniquely, Fully, Enough: The Neurodivergent Parenting Journey, a Memoir and Handbook – Vicki has seen it all as a parent and as a professional. She and I discuss some of what she has learned and how you can apply the lessons to the kids in your life. More information about Vicki, Blue Glasses Advocacy, and Uniquely, Fully, Enough: The Neurodivergent Parenting Journey, a Memoir and Handbook is talkingaboutkids.com. 

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The challenges of transitioning from high school to college are difficult for everyone. For neurodivergent kids, these challenges can be overwhelming. My guest this episode is Tara Williams, owner and founder of Innovative Collegiate Consultants. As you will hear, Tara believes that by selecting the right school, connecting with the right services, and getting the right executive function coaching, neurodivergent students can do more than survive the transition:  they can thrive in college. More information about Tara and and Innovative Collegiate Consultants is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

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There are summer camp fanatics, individuals who attribute their best qualities to the counselors they had, the songs they sang, the skits they performed, and the friendships they made in mosquito-infested cabins in the woods near a lake. My guest this episode, Matthew Kaufman, is one such individual. Matt attended summer camp, was a counselor, and, eventually, became a camp director. But he did not stop there. Matt sought to understand the science behind the positive experiences that he and other people were having at summer camps in hopes of bringing those experiences to more people in more locations. The result was his book, The Campfire Effect: How to Engineer Belonging in a Disconnected World. Matt and I discuss his book and things that you can do to bring the summer camp experience to the kids in your life. More information about Matt and his book is at talkingaboutkids.com. 

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Darla Bishop likes to talk about a family’s relationship with money, like money is a person. The more I listened to her and thought about it, the more I recognized the parallels. A negative relationship with money, like negative interpersonal relationships, creates anxiety and fear, but a positive relationship is associated with health and longevity. In this episode, Darla and I discuss this and her ideas for improving kids’ relationships with money. More information about Darla is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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The guest for Talking About Kids’ second episode of National Children’s Dental Health Month is Shelly Buckholz.  Shelly is the Sealant Program Manager for the Arizona Department of Health Services, and she is going to describe what Arizona is doing to promote children’s oral health. Similar programs are available throughout the United States and in other countries. More information about Shelly and the Cavity Free AZ program is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. To kick it off, I asked David Krol on the podcast to provide an overview of children’s oral health. David is former Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Oral Health; the lead author of AAP's clinical report, Maintaining and Improving the Oral Health of Young Children; and an eloquent and passionate advocate for children’s oral health. In other words, the ideal Talking About Kids guest. More information about David is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it is a defined by a variety of conditions that, themselves, may exist on continuums. This can make it difficult…and anxiety provoking…for parents of kids with autism spectrum disorder and their care teams to find the optimal combination of interventions. Thankfully, there are sources like, Theresa Lyons’s Navigating AWEtism websites, that critically review the latest research, unpack jargon, and debunk the myths and fad treatments. I respect Navigating AWEtism and Theresa’s approach, so when she told me that she believes that grandparents play an important and underutilized role in treating kids, I wanted to learn more. Additional information about Theresa and Navigating AWEtism is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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In honor of Audre Lorde’s 1985 essay, "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," I devoted the mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. For this final mini episode, I read a poem by Lorde, titled “Hanging Fire,” which is an honest and moving portrayal of adolescence. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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I am devoting the mini Holiday Break episodes of Talking About Kids to poetry about the holiday season and issues related to kids. In this fourth mini episode, I read a classic: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. I am sure it is familiar to you, but, as you listen, please consider whether the narrator is finding emotional regulation in the moment being described. A link to the poem is at talkingaboutkids.com.