My guest this week is Dr. Tasha Brown, and it is a good one for anyone loving and supporting dysregulated teens!

Dr. Brown starts off today explaining how she found her way to working with children with significant behavioral problems, and I ask about accommodations and if people ever view accommodations as enabling. We get into how to handle low distress tolerance, high reactivity, big emotions, and oppositional defiant disorder in adolescents. I bring up why some kids are more emotional than others, and Dr. Brown explains how we can dig deeper into what’s going on. We talk about global trauma & creating safety in our relationship. Dr. Brown reminds us how hard it is to be a teenager and why we need to come in with patience & empathy. She also shares her advice on starting conversations in neutral, collaborating with your teen, discussing coping strategies, and paying attention to positive behaviors. We end with a broad strokes chat on understanding neurodiversity in your teen, especially ADHD, and if we should share our children’s diagnoses with them.

Takeaways from the show

What are accommodations? Are accommodations just enabling?
Teaching teens to advocate for themselves
Distress tolerance and reactivity
Typical child development challenges versus oppositional defiant disorder
Patience & empathy for our teens!
Modeling regulation
Prioritizing special time & connection
Starting conversations neutrally & staying collaborative
Discussing coping strategies with teens
The more attention given to a behavior, the more the behavior will increase
Understanding neurodiversity, especially ADHD in your teen
Should we tell children about their diagnoses?

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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Eps 439: Parenting ADHD and ODD with Dr. Tasha Brown