Does your child seem ‘fine’ at school, in a social situation or with grandparents, but melts down with you?
This blog explores what is happening for them through a trauma-informed, nervous system lens. Read more…
Advocating For the Disabled Community’s Rights with Emily Writes
Today on the podcast I sit down with three-time bestselling author, activist and mum of two disabled tamariki, Emily Writes to talk about the recent changes to the Whaikaha (The Ministry for Disabled People) purchasing guidelines. Some of the topics highlighted on the show: Further resources and links: https://awhi.substack.com/p/the-real-impact-of-funding-changes https://emilywrites.substack.com/p/pedicures-and-massages Awhi Ngā Mātua (awhingamatua.org.nz) Connect […] Read more…
Navigating Late Diagnosis In Mid-Life With Claire Fisher
On today’s episode, we chat with Claire Fisher. Claire shares with us her journey after being diagnosed in her forties with ADHD and Autism. Here are some of what we chat about in this episode: It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Claire and we can all learn so much from her lived experience. […] Read more…
Chronic Illness, Cycles and Rest With Rebecca Rae-Hodgson, The Chronically Resilient OT
Today on the show we sit down with Rebecca Rae-Hodgson who you might know as The Chronically Resilient OT. In this episode, we chat about: Here are ways to work with Rebecca or access her blogs and resources: Click here to find out more about the Neurodivergent Family Toolbox If you would like to join […] Read more…
Let’s Start This Journey Together
In this episode, Tanya Valentin shares her journey as a neurodivergent human raising other neurodivergent humans. Tanya shares why the inspiration behind creating the Parenting Neurodivergent Kids Together Podcast and what it is about. If you would like to join the conversation contact Tanya via email at tanya@tanyavalentin.com. You can find out more about The […] Read more…
The Importance Of Self-Compassion For Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
Cultivating Self-Compassion for Parents in the Face of Challenges Let’s face it, parenting is hard for all parents. For many of us, family is one of our most high-held values. We all want to do well for our children and it is important to us (to varying degrees depending on the person) that others see […] Read more…
Cycles Of Parenting – Parenting Neurodivergent Young Adults
A mum in my newsletter community recently reached out to me for advice with parenting her neurodivergent teen soon-to-be young adult. She shared that her autistic daughter was in her last year of high school and was contemplating going to university next year (college for those of you in the USA).
The mother asked me if our family could record an episode of our family podcast sharing the things, we did to prepare our eldest child and ourselves in the year leading up to them leaving home and moving away for university.
I read the email four times.
I reflected on her words and contemplated what the episode would look like. I thought about all its benefits… And then I remembered what actually happened in the year leading up to them leaving home.
I arrived at the conclusion, that in all honesty, this was something I unfortunately could not do. Read more…
How To Keep Your Relationship Alive As Partners While Co-Parenting Neurodivergent Children
Many parents whom I work with struggle with getting on the same page with and nurturing their relationship with their partner while co-parenting their neurodivergent children.
Parenting is one of the hardest and most complex jobs we will ever do as a person. We are literally responsible for taking care of and shaping the life of another human being. The pressure to get it right can feel intense!
A person would think with such high stakes and the momentous importance of the task at hand we would receive intensive training to match the significance of the job. However, that is sadly not the case. Many of us stumble into parenting having learned more about the mechanisms of giving birth than what it takes to raise a child.
In this blog I share some of the things my husband and Wayne, and I did to keep our marriage together while raising our three neurodivergent kids. Read more…
Understanding Autistic Burnout
Autistic burnout is a very real and serious condition that can affect all autistic children, teenagers and adults. This chronic condition can cause extreme exhaustion, loss of executive functioning and social skills and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
All autistic people are at risk for developing autistic burnout (even little children). However, the risk of developing autistic burnout is increased significantly if you are undiagnosed and or in the adolescent years or the transition years between teenager and young adult.
This blog explores what autistic burnout is and how you can protect your autistic child or teen’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
Read more…
Understanding RSD in ADHD
Rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD) is when you experience severe emotional pain because of failure or feeling rejected.
RSD is linked to ADHD, Autism, BPD and CPTSD and experts suspect it happens due to differences in brain structure. These differences mean your brain can’t regulate rejection-related emotions and behaviours, making them much more intense.
For a person who experiences RSD, their brain is wired to interpret neutral events/feedback as negative, and their brain is wired to discount positive events/feedback and their brain is wired to amplify the negative events/feedback. Read more…