In the season finale episode of The Playful Psychologist podcast, I am joined by Educational & Developmental Psychologist, Sandhya Menon. Sandhya is the founder of Onwards and Upwards Psychology and has a huge passion for neuroaffirming practice in allied health. She is also the brilliant author of the most beautifully, neuroaffirming picture books for children. In this episode, Sandhya shares her insights into neuroaffirming practice. We will explore the following questions:

• What is neuroaffirming practice?
• How does this differ to types of therapeutic approaches we have seen in the past?
• How does neuroaffirming practice change the way we view social skill development in autistic people?
• What are the positive outcomes of neuroaffirming practice?

To follow Sandhya on social media, follow @onwardsandupwardspsychology 

You can also check out her incredible resources, including her picture books and upcoming professional development courses, via her website: https://www.onwardsandupwardspsychology.com.au/

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist Podcast, I am joined by Jess from the instagram account @aussieautismfamily. Jess is the mother of two beautiful kids. Her son Jacob is autistic and her account if full of raw and real challenges and successes of raising an autistic child. 

As I also have a younger brother who is autistic and I am extremely passionate about supporting the family as a whole, as they navigate a diagnosis. In this episode, Jess shares the diagnostic journey for her son Jacob, what that process was like for the family, and the emotions that come with receiving a diagnosis. I am so grateful to Jess for sharing her experiences with us. If you would like to follow Jess and her beautiful family on social media, her handle is @aussieautismfamily

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist Podcast, I am joined by Mariah Apostolopoulos from Sound Adventures to explore speech delay. Mariah is a speech pathologist based in Melbourne. This episode will explore the following points:

• What is the role of a speech pathologist?
• What is a speech delay and are there different types of delay?
• What is the difference between a receptive and expressive speech delay and what are some things to look out for?
• In Australia, what is the referral process to see a speech pathologist and when should parents seek support?
• When should parents start to consider speech therapy for pronunciation difficulties?

To keep up to date with Mariah and her incredible work, follow her on Instagram:

@sound.adventures

Website with details about speech pathology consultations and group offerings:

https://soundadventures.com.au

Teachers pay teachers (TPT) for freebies and low cost downloads:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sound-Adventures-Speech-Pathology

Sound Adventure Books:

https://soundadventures.com.au/book

In this week's episode of The Playful Psychologist Podcast, I am joined by Sarah Bolitho from Secure Foundations.  Sarah is a Master's qualified Child & Family Play Therapist and a mother of three. In this episode, we explore the negative impact labelling children can have. We focus heavily of the negative connotations associated with labelling a child as 'SHY.' We explore why it's time to drop the 'shy' label, give you some ideas of how to respond if someone calls your child shy, and how to reframe 'shy' behaviour more positively.

Sarah is a wealth of parenting knowledge. You can follow her on socials at @securefoundations or check out her website and incredible parenting 'POP Club' here: https://www.securefoundations.com.au/

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist podcast, we are going to talk all thing 'toys.'

So often, we get sucked in as parents and think we need ALL the latest toys, ALL the new toys and everything in between to keep our kids entertained, But what ends up happening? The more toys they get, the more overwhelmed they get, the less time they spend engaged in quality play, and the MORE we hear ‘I’m bored’ which in turn makes us think we need to get new toys, creating a never ending cycle and cluttering up your home with unnecessary items.

Let's break down the topic of toys and figure out what we actually need.

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist, I am joined by Jayde Gutterson to discuss communicating with daycares, kindergartens and pre schools. Jayde is an educator and has worked in childcare settings for many years. Her role is currently based in sessional kindergarten. In this episode, we discuss:

• What are the biggest difficulties educators face in a daycare setting when it comes to behaviour or a diagnosis?
• How can allied health professionals work with educators?
• Are strategies that are suggested to daycares 'unrealistic?'
• What are the best ways to approach a daycare as a parent or allied health clinician?
• What are three things you wish people knew about early childhood educators?

In this weeks episode of the Playful Psychologist podcast, I am joined by Dr Kathryn Hackman, to explore toddler anxiety. Dr Kathryn is the founder of one of the most brilliant apps for anxious/sensitive kids, Courageous Kids. 

Developed by Dr Kathryn Hackman, in collaboration with a leading paediatric occupational therapist and psychologist, all mothers, the Courageous Kids app is specifically designed to build children's confidence and resilience through the use of editable social stories and story boards. 

In this episode, the following questions will be explored:

• What is anxiety?
• Can toddlers be anxious? Or is it just a reflection of our own anxiety as parents?
• What makes toddlers anxious?
• What does toddler anxiety look like?
• How do we help anxious toddlers?

You can learn more about Courageous Kids here, or download it in the App Store: https://www.courageouskidsapp.com/

In this weeks episode of the Playful Psychologist Podcast, I am joined by Ali Fiorentino to discuss the role of a school psychologist.  Ali is an Australian school psychologist with experience working across primary, secondary and education support centres in rural and remote schools. Ali’s passion areas include suicide prevention, case management, incident management, mental health, staff wellbeing and positive behaviour support.  and in this episode, In this episode, we answer the following questions:

• What is a school psychologist?
• What are the roles of a school psychologist?
• How does school psychology differ to private practice?
• What are the biggest challenges you face as a school psychologist?
• What are three things you wish people knew about being a school psychologist?

https://psychology.org.au/aps/media/resource-finder/framework-delivery-school-psych-services-practice-guide.pdf

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist podcast, I am going to share with you how I prepared my clients for going on maternity leave. A lot of these tips are relevant for going on any type of extended leave as an allied health professional, with a few tips specific to going on maternity leave.

But, by far the trickiest part of being a pregnant psychologist, was informing the families I work with, that I would be going on leave. Now, don’t get me wrong, 99% of my families were absolutely ecstatic for me and started buying me little baby gifts almost immediately. However, as anyone who has changed jobs or gone on extended leave as a psychologist knows, transitioning your clients to colleagues is a complex and tricky experience. For me, this happened in four stages. This episode will walk you through those stages.

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist podcast, the topics of selective mutism and social anxiety are explored. In this episode, I am joined by Dr Melissa Giglio, who is a child clinical psychologist from the US and the director of a multidisciplinary clinic in Hong Kong. Together with her colleague Daisy Geddes they specialise in treating Selective Mutism and Social Anxiety Disorder in kids, and their clinic is the only one in Asia that has an intensive group therapy program called Confident Crew. In 2022 they published their children's book, Bravery Grows, about a girl who's building up her confidence to do "brave talking" in social situations. The book has been recommended by the the Child Mind Institute and the Selective Mutism Association. 

This episode will explore:

1. What is social anxiety?

2. What is selective mutism?

3. Is the term 'selective' appropriate? Or does it suggest children are actively choosing to be 'mute?'

3. How do these two diagnoses differ in presentation/cause?

4. How can parents help their children if they are concerned?

5. Tell us a little about the book you guys have released.

You can use code PLAYFUL15 to grab a copy of 'Bravery Grows' via this link: https://bravemightyminds.com/store/p/bravery-grows

To follow along on social media, check out: @braverygrows @drmelissagiglio @daisygeddes