The Wavy Brain

Karen Faith, Founder and CEO of Others Unlimited, explains how her empathy training organization empowers individuals and teams to show up at work with curiosity, non-judgment, and self-awareness. Karen helps us deepen our cognitive empathy. We talk to her about the importance of self-witnessing, communicating with curiosity, and unconditional welcome. She also previews her baseball analogy for communication, which will be the topic of this week’s mini-episode.

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Affective empathy, or caring deeply for another person, is different than cognitive empathy, which is the practice of perspective-taking. By deepening our cognitive empathy, we can better understand one another’s needs at work. 

• Setting boundaries at work doesn’t need to be uncomfortable. The more we honor our own boundaries and demand that others honor them too, the more trustworthy we become and the more safe we all feel.  

• Self-witnessing is an integral part of the process since we can’t communicate our needs until we know what they are. 

• Karen previews her baseball analogy for communication, which Lauren & Lindsay will explain in this week’s mini-episode. 

Others Unlimited

Karen Faith’s TEDx Talk

Reach out with questions, comments or show suggestions! [email protected]

Lauren & Lindsay provide a worksheet with thought prompts to help you understand your needs at work: Understanding Your Needs at Work 

Learn about the resources the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides to help both employers and employees navigate workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. JAN Principal Consultant and Team Lead Melanie Whetzel explains the interactive process between employers and employees that should ideally result in solutions that meet everyone’s needs. She also provides real-life examples of success stories and common accommodations. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

• ASKJAN.org provides information to help employers hire and retain individuals with disabilities and employees understand their rights and what to do if they require accommodations. 

• When is it appropriate to disclose your disability? Will that information remain confidential? 

• It is important for employees to understand their needs and prioritize 2-3 accommodations that will have the biggest impact on their work. 

• Common accommodations include a modified supervisory method, adjusted schedule, or changes in work environment.

• Melanie provides guidance on what to do if your employer denies your request for accommodations. She also gives advice for employers about how to communicate with employees who might not be meeting their standards. 

HERE for the show transcript

AskJAN page for individuals

Practice Guide to Requesting and Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Your Employment Rights as an Individual with a Disability 

Disability Disclosure 

JAN Training Module and Videos Regarding Disability Disclosure

How to Request an Accommodation: Accommodation Form Letter

Sample Language for Accommodation Request Letters 

Your Accommodation Request Was Denied. What Now?

A to Z of Disabilities and Accommodations 

My JAN Portal 

Find JAN on Twitter @JANatJAN or Facebook at Job Accommodation Network

Reach out with questions, comments or show suggestions! [email protected]

Lindsay & Lauren discuss the ways that emotional regulation and communication challenges can impede partner communication and provide examples of strategies that sometimes work for them.

Email Erikka Baker at [email protected] for a free downloadable set of Fair Play Cards and mention ‘The Wavy Brain’ for 10% off any session packages.

Fair Play Worksheets referenced in this mini-episode:  HERE

Reach out with questions, comments or show suggestions! [email protected]

Erikka Baker (certified Fair Play coach) tells us about Fair Play, a program by Eve Rodsky to help couples share the mental load and rebalance their relationships. We explore the benefits of clearly defined roles, leaning into our strengths, and communicating with our partners when cognition is high and emotion is low, all of which are especially important for people with neurodivergent thinking. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Fair Play uses 100 cards to take the daily grind chores, childcare tasks, etc. from the abstract and nebulous and makes them concrete.  

• The conception and planning part of a task is just as important as the execution, particularly for those who struggle with executive function. Regular check-ins to debrief about how things are going are also very important.

• We also have to relinquish control and resist perfectionism in favor of a minimum standard of care to make the family system run efficiently.

• It's just as important for each partner to have time to "do nothing" to recharge and regain focus to avoid depletion. 

Fair Play, by Eve Rodsky

Find a Fair Play Coach

Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving, by Celeste Headlee

Email [email protected] for a free downloadable set of Fair Play cards and mention The Wavy Brain for 10% off any session package. 

Reach out with questions, comments or show suggestions! [email protected]

How do you access your college’s disability services and accommodations? Lauren & Lindsay provide a quick guide to the important steps, including registering with your school’s disability service office, meeting directly with instructors, and keeping track of your school’s add/drop deadline. They remind listeners to advocate for themselves and modify their accommodations if their needs change. They also provide examples of different types of accommodations and emphasize the importance of understanding your learning modalities. 

What is Assistive Technology? by Understood.org

Will My Child Have an IEP in College? by Additudemag.com

Types of College Accomodations and Services by Understood.org

Reach out with questions, comments or show suggestions! [email protected]

Lauren & Lindsay talk with Carrie Taylor Shea about how Journey College Planning guides students and their families through customized post-high school planning that takes each student’s unique strengths, passions and needs into account. It is especially important for students with divergent thinking to take a holistic approach to planning this next phase of their lives and to put together school applications that paint a picture of who they are and all that makes them unique. We talk about gap years, two-year colleges, transferring schools, and the importance of open and transparent communication among families as they navigate this process. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Journey College Planning slows down the planning process to look at each individual’s strengths and passions in order to find programs that are best suited for them, while also keeping finances in mind. 

• JCP then follows students through the application process, graduation, and school, helping them secure both academic and living accommodations and troubleshooting whatever problems arise.

• Anyone feeling overwhelmed by the planning process or stuck having made a choice that wasn’t right for them should know this resource exists.

Journey College Planning

Alternatives to a Four-Year College: What to Know, by U.S. News & World Report

Reach out with questions, comments or show suggestions!

[email protected]

Running a family means figuring out the optimal way to communicate with your partner and creating systems to keep it all from devolving into chaos. We discuss the importance of understanding the different ways partners process information, remember tasks, manage stress, and maintain focus, and share examples of some of the strategies we use in our own daily lives, like the Post-it system and a "to-go shelf". 

Link to Acrylic Calendar, on Amazon

HERE is the transcript

Jamie Ritchie is a home organization expert who helps her clients achieve realistic and practical organization systems. This week, we explore the way a cluttered home can emotionally and mentally overwhelm our already crowded brains. Jamie explains why it’s just as important to be intentional about the things we bring into our homes as the things we clear out, the power of accountability partners, using quick wins to build success, and the importance of creating a responsible donation plan for unwanted items. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

• As a mom of three, Jamie understands the importance of creating systems that are practical, easy to maintain, and can evolve with our kids as they grow older.

• Jamie encourages us to think about the time and space we give our things and determine our own personal “clutter thresholds,” which include visual clutter. 

• We need to ask ourselves how much stuff we can actually manage in our everyday lives, otherwise our stuff will end up creating physical clutter and emotional overwhelm, including feelings of shame and guilt.

• Use tricks like setting a timer and decluttering as much as you can to combat perfectionism or enlisting an accountability buddy.

• Inflow is just as important as outflow. Think carefully about what you allow into your home, including hand-me-downs, sentimental items, gifts, and toys. 

• Combat guilt about creating more waste by donating responsibly to appropriate organizations and joining your neighborhood’s Buy Nothing Group. 

Jamie Ritchie Home Organization Website

Jamie Ritchie’s Instagram Account

A Slob Comes Clean, Dana K. White’s podcast

Green Drop Pick-Up Scheduling

The transcript is HERE. 

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Lindsay & Lauren share a self-discovery tool called the VIA Character Strength’s Survey. This tool was developed by the VIA Institute on Character to reveal your greatest strengths based on positive psychology research showing that knowing and using your character strengths can lead to greater happiness. Lindsay explains that creativity is one of her top character strengths, which has helped inform her career path. Lauren shares some thoughts about how kindness and love are her top two character strengths.

Mentioned in this Episode:

VIA Character Strengths Survey

Reach out with questions, comments, or show [email protected]

Episode transcript:  HERE