Special Guest Dr. Liz Angoff: Explaining a Diagnosis to Parents and Children

Brains can be confusing - how they work, what they do, how yours is different from other people's. And explaining brains to kids can be a challenge. Today’s special guest is Dr. Liz Angoff, an Educational Psychologist who specializes in explaining brains to kids and their families. She primarily works with families undergoing assessment and diagnosis, but her tools and language are helpful for anyone who has a brain. Leslie has been recommending her book and website to clients for years. 

About our guest:  Liz Angoff, Ph.D., is a Licensed Educational Psychologist with a Diplomate in School Neuropsychology, providing assessment and consultation services to children and their families in the Bay Area, CA. Dr. Liz’s mission is to empower children and families by helping them understand their amazing, unique brains. She is the author of the Brain Building Books, tools for engaging children in understanding their learning and developmental differences as part of the assessment process. More information about Dr. Liz and her work is available atwww.ExplainingBrains.com.

Timestamps:

7:50 Understanding the difference between the medical model diagnosis and neurodivergent affirming language approach

10:40 Different is not broken, different is a mismatch (between child and environment)

17:41 Diagnosis can be powerful tool, gives you the language that can help meet our child’s needs

20:10 Validating a child’s struggle is powerful

20:53 How do you tell your child about their assessment

28:12 How do I help my child to not have such a hard time

32:27 Three things that Liz wants parents to take away from this conversation

Resources:

• Visit her website, full of wonderful resources
• Here is the script for explaining a diagnosis Dr. Liz mentioned in this episode
• You can find her book, The Brain Building Book, here

Leslie-ism: Dr. Liz said "Talk to your child about their brain, do it early, do it often.” 

For a full transcript of this episode and more information about the host visit https://lesliecohenrubury.com/podcasts/ . You can also follow Leslie’s work on Facebook and Instagram. Join the conversation with your own questions and parenting experiences.

Credits: Is My Child a Monster? is produced by Alletta Cooper, AJ Moultrié, Camila Salazar, and Leslie Cohen-Rubury. Theme music is by L-Ray Music. Graphics and Website Design by Brien O’Reilly. Transcriptions by Eric Rubury. A special thanks to everyone who contributes their wisdom and support to make this possible.