Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

TPP 182: A Conversation with Autism and Neurodiversity Support Specialist Kristy Forbes

Nov 5, 2019

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My guest this week is autism and neurodiversity support specialist Kristy Forbes of In Tune Pathways. Kristy is the parent of four autistic children, and has an abundance of emotional, practical, and lived experience both working with and raising children who are neurodivergent. She has an extensive background in early childhood education and psychology, and as you’ll hear from our conversation, is passionate about radical acceptance without the need or intention to fix, change or cure, particularly in regard to children.

Kristy was diagnosed as autistic at age thirty-three herself, and has committed herself to working with children and adults on the autism spectrum, with a special interest on people who, like her, have a PDA expression. In this episode, we share a deep conversation about how parents can truly tune in to who their children are and show up for them in a way that reflects true respect for their children’s neurodivergence. We cover a lot of ground, including the PDA profile of autism, how parents can get clear about their intentions when exploring interventions for their children on the spectrum, how to support families through periods of intensity and very difficult behavior, and the trauma that can result when children are perpetually in fight, flight, freeze or fawn mode because they’re being forced to conform to a way of being that isn’t true to who they are.

Kristy is a wise and genuine spirit who is doing healing work for so many families… I’m grateful to be able to share this conversation with you.

THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

What the PDA profile of autism looks like
What Kristy sees as the biggest challenges for families raising autistic and neurodiverse children
The reason so many neurodivergent families are in crisis
The role of intention behind the supports and accommodations parents seek for their children
Why Kristy believes it’s critical that parents stay connected with their intuition when making decisions about interventions
The ways in which fear can interfere with our making the best decisions for our children
Strategies for parents to better tune in with what their child needs
The trauma cycle for differently wired kids, and what recovery looks like
How Kristy works with parents to help them see and embrace who their children are
Kristy’s suggestions for how parents can handle big, aggressive, and violent behavior