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Parenting in a neurodivergent family is many things. Boring is most definitely not one of them.

In this episode, I reflect on a listener message from Carla Berlin that perfectly captures something so many of us live every day: the exhaustion, the unpredictability, and those incredible moments where our children completely amaze us. The wins that might seem small to others, trying a new food, speaking up, managing an environment they couldn’t before, can feel absolutely monumental in our families.

I talk about why comparison to “typical” can so easily make us miss the brilliance right in front of us, and why our children’s strengths so often don’t fit neatly into the systems they’re expected to succeed in.

I also share a more personal story, about my own experience of being late-diagnosed dyslexic, the lasting impact of school, and why focusing only on outcomes rather than effort can be so damaging. This leads into a wonderful email I received from a parent whose child’s future may have shifted simply because someone finally listened.

This episode is about:

• Recognising and celebrating strengths
• Understanding why forced pathways can harm mental health
• And why those “small” moments are anything but small

If you’re parenting in a neurodivergent family, this one is for you.

Article mentioned in the episode:
More Than Words —  you can click here to read it

Chapters:

00:00 The Joys and Challenges of Neurodivergent Parenting
03:00 Personal Experiences with Dyslexia
07:19 Advocating for Strengths in Education

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

 “I learned quickly that I am my child’s voice. No one else will care the way I do.” 

 This quote from Greer captures the heart of our conversation. 

Greer shares her experience of autism, ADHD, school systems, and the realities of raising a neurodivergent child in the UK.

Originally from the US and now based in England, Greer opens up about trusting her “mama gut,” facing dismissal from professionals, advocating fiercely for her son, and discovering her own ADHD along the way. She also explores how community, therapy, and self-compassion became lifelines in what can often feel like an isolating world.

Together, we talk about the emotional toll of constant advocacy, the myths around “lazy parenting,” why parents must be included in support plans, and practical strategies that make everyday life more manageable.

This episode is for any parent who has ever felt unheard, overwhelmed, or unsure of their next step, and is a reminder that you are not alone.

Connect with Greer:

Podcast: Neurodivergent Conversations (formerly The Unfinished Idea)

Instagram: The Unfinished Idea

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

This week I share a comment from a listener. Sharon Thompson wrote what it’s like parenting in a neurodivergent family, the realities people don’t always see, and the strength it takes to keep showing up.

And in amongst that I’m bringing a little lightness too… because I’ve realised something about myself, I regulate with singing.
But I also think in songs.
Words and phrases trigger lyrics, and yes, sometimes I even treat everyone to a “perfect” song line… until my son reminds me it absolutely wasn’t perfect.

If you’re navigating neurodivergent family life, you’ll feel seen in this one.

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of foster care, trauma, low mood and suicidal feelings. If these topics are difficult for you, please take care while listening.
 If you are struggling, please consider speaking to someone you trust or seeking support. In the UK & ROI, Samaritans are available 24/7 on 116 123 or at samaritans.org. 

Jordan Garratt, founder of Sensory Class, joins us to tell the story few people know about: the teacher who fell in love with special education, brought AAC and sensory joy into her lessons, and opened her home to children with complex needs, and even more complex histories.

Jordan talks us through foster care: the lows and the highs. The assessment panels and nameless referrals. The school place that should have been a lifeline, but wasn’t. Jordan also shares a drawing she made of a child standing on their hands underwater, and the praise of “you’re doing great”, even though she was drowning.

If you’re a parent navigating SEND, a fellow foster carer, or a professional supporting children and young people in care, receiving respite or adopted, this episode can be a tough listen at times, but it’s also a conversation full of love, honesty and truth.

Thank you Jordan for sharing with us. 

If you would like to connect with Jordan you can find her here:

Website: https://sensoryclassroom.org/

Instagram: Sensory Class

Podcast: Sensory Classroom

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

In this short series, parents in neurodivergent families tell us what it's really like. In this episode Laura explains "parenting in a neurodivergent family is like riding a bike with a flat tyre, with a blindfold on, one hand tied behind your back… oh and I just realised the other wheel fell off". 

If this episode rings true leave a message in the comments to let other parents know they aren't alone. 

If you'd like to contribute to the show please just leave a comment and you could have an based around your comment. 

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

In this episode, Laura Kerbey, author and founder of PAST (Positive Assessments, Support and Training), shares her lived experience of growing up undiagnosed with ADHD, and how that shaped not only her childhood but adulthood and parenthood as well.

Laura talks honestly about how deeply she wanted to be a parent, alongside how challenging parenting felt while living with undiagnosed ADHD and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). She opens up about the overwhelm, the self-doubt, and the low moments, but also the joy that came with it.

Laura talks about how she and her boys have built a strong, trusting relationship, the kind of relationship so many parents hope for, and what helped her move from survival mode to understanding, compassion, and connection.

I am so grateful to Laura for sharing so openly how she experienced things. This is a raw, validating conversation for parents who feel like parenting is overwhelming them, they should be doing better, and who need reminding that they are not failing.

 Find Laura Online

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• PAST website: https://p-ast.co.uk/
  
  

Books by Laura Kerbey (Mentioned in This Episode)

• The Parents’ and Professionals’ Simple Guide to PDA
  Laura Kerbey & Eliza Fricker
• The Kids’ Simple Guide to PDA
  Laura Kerbey
• The Teen’s Guide to PDA
  Laura Kerbey & Eliza Fricker
• The (Slightly Distracted) Woman’s Guide to Living with an Adult ADHD Diagnosis
  Laura Kerbey & Eliza Fricker
• The Educator’s Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance
  An illustrated guide to PDA and learning — Laura Kerbey

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

In this bonus episode of The Untypical Parent Podcast, I admit something slightly embarrassing: I dropped a ball… a Christmas-shaped ball. Somewhere between broken legs, work deadlines, end-of-term chaos, questionable diary scheduling, and trying to remember if we own wrapping paper (I can't find any and the shops have sold out), I genuinely thought Christmas was still 1.5 weeks away. (It isn’t.)

So, let’s talk about the mental load, especially in neurodivergent families. If your brain feels like an open browser with 86 tabs running, you’re in the right place.

In this episode, I share:

• how juggling life as a neurodivergent family can make dates slide right past you,
• why parents feel extra pressure at Christmas,
• how “dropping a ball” doesn’t make you a bad parent (it makes you a human one),
• simple strategies to survive the festive season without combusting,
• and why self-compassion should be top of the shopping list.

We chat about lists (and forgetting to look at them), boundaries with family gatherings, tiny adjustments that make big differences, and the power of just stepping outside for a breather when things get a bit much.

Key Takeaways

• Neurodivergent parenting = Olympic-level multitasking.
• Christmas adds bonus pressure, lights, noise, lists… and more lists.
• Feeling unprepared is completely normal (especially this week).
• List-making genuinely helps, if you remember where you put the list.
• Communicating boundaries with family can save your sanity.
• Tiny changes > giant expectations.
• Breaks aren’t weaknesses; they’re survival tools.
• You don’t have to “do it all” to be a good parent.
• Looking back brings perspective; looking forward brings hope.

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

Untypical Parenting One Year On

The best stories start where the script stops working. Marking a full year of The Untypical Parent Podcast, we sit down with two people who helped shape it from day one, Charlotte from Badger Education, my first-ever guest, and Sam, from Something Profound, the first sponsor, to explore what it really takes to raise neurodivergent kids without a rulebook. This is a celebration, yes, but it’s mostly an unfiltered look at brave choices, messy progress, and the surprising wins that rarely make it into glossy parenting advice.

We dig into the heart of “doing it differently”: stepping away from social norms when they don’t serve your child, surviving the dread of school phone calls and local authority emails, and finding strength in a community that refuses to pretend everything is fine. You’ll hear how Charlotte reframed untypical parenting as courage in action, why Sam chose to pull her daughter from school, and how honest phrases like “we’re figuring this out together” can lower the temperature in hard moments. Along the way we talk sensory regulation that works in real life, running, texture rituals, movement, and small routines that calm busy brains.

There’s plenty of laughter, too. From coaching a bra fitting through a changing-room door to a disastrous upside-down roller coaster, we celebrate family humour as co-regulation and connection. We unpack the mental load behind dinner decisions, the secret superpower of finding lost things, and the micro-milestones that matter: a shorter outburst, a new food tried, a trip that softens a phobia. These stories don’t claim perfection; they show progress you can feel.

If you’re parenting outside the lines, or love someone who is, this anniversary episode offers practical empathy, relatable stories, and a reminder that small steps add up. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs to feel seen today, and leave a review to help other untypical families find us.

Badger Education: Facebook and Instagram

Something Profound: Facebook and Instagram

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

What if “perfect” parenting is the wrong goal, and honest repair is the real superpower? I sit down with David, the Dad behind NeuroDad’s Diary, to explore what changes when a late ADHD diagnosis reframes years of anxiety, overwhelm, and self-critique. He shares how sensory triggers, bedtime chaos, and the relentless unpredictability of young kids land in a neurodivergent nervous system.

We unpack the invisible load many neurodivergent parents carry: the thoughts you bottle during meltdowns and the guilt that piles up when you can’t process in the moment. David’s therapy-informed micro-journaling—quick notes you revisit later—turns swirling stress into a map you can actually navigate. We also talk masking as a parent: when to contain, when to be real, and why repairs matter more than flawless reactions.

David names the isolation many fathers feel at parent groups, the stigma that says men shouldn’t struggle, and the logistics that make support hard to access. He’s candid about burnout, seasonal lows, and the rituals that help him reset—decompression time, honest check-ins with his partner, and knowing when to tag out.

If you’re a neurodivergent parent—or love one—this is the episode for you. Listen, share with a dad who needs to hear this, and if it resonates, please follow podcast and leave a review so more families can find the support they deserve.

You can find David here on Instagram - neurodadsdiary

We also spoke about David's t-shirt on the podcast, so here is a shout-out to Born Anxious. You can also find them on Instagram here

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].

Enjoyed the episode, got a suggestion or a question send me a text

In this episode I sit down with Steph Simpson, a late-identified ADHD mom on a pathway for autism assessment, to explore how a simple language shift—calling ADHD “squirrels” and autism “penguins”—reshaped her family’s daily life. Instead of labels that freeze kids in place, her home uses playful cues to redirect with warmth. When she glitches mid-task, a quiet “Mom, squirrels” brings her back without shame. The same approach helps her children navigate transitions, toothbrushing, and sensory overload.

Steph takes us through the emotional whiplash of diagnosis: the relief of being seen, the shock of a double whammy, and the end of the “I’m making it up” refrain. 

We also dive into her book, Squirrels, Odd Socks and Side Quests—born as a manual for her husband and now a neurodiversity-affirming series. Bite-sized chapters, black-and-white illustrations for colouring, hidden squirrels for fidgety focus, it’s built for real brains in real homes. 

Steph closes with the habits that anchor her parenting: model the mess, own the repair, and let kids watch you be kind to yourself so they learn to do the same.

If you’re navigating ADHD, autism, masking, or just the relentless side quests of family life, this conversation offers language, tools, and a gentler way to measure progress. Listen, share with a friend who needs the reframe, and leave a review to help more families find us.

You can connect with Steph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SquirrelSideQuests

And you can find her book in places like Amazon.

Support the show

I'm Liz, The Untypical OT. I support parents and carers in additional needs and neurodivergent families to protect against burnout and go from overwhelmed to more moments of ease.

🔗 To connect with me, you can find all my details on Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/the_untypical_ot

And if you'd like to contact me about the podcast please use the text link at the top or you can email at:
[email protected].