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

Educator and learning advocate Heather Clarke talks about dismantling ableism in schools, advocating for neurodivergent learners in school, and shifting toward Universal Design in mainstream education.Connect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the TiLT Parenting Podcast, I’m bringing to you a conversation with the fantastic Dr. Robyn Silverman, a child and adolescent development specialist who focuses on nurturing kids’ character strengths, and body/self esteem development during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. As a strong believer that children are assets to be developed not deficits to be managed, Robyn’s work reflects a positive approach that shows that with the right tools, all young people have the ability to thrive and succeed. Dr. Robyn has so much insight to share and this is definitely one of those rich conversations with many insights and useful nuggets, but the core focus of our conversation is character development, character strengths, and self-growth and how we as parents can best nurture the values and character traits in our differently-wired children that are so important to us. Dr. Robyn Silverman has spent more than 15 years researching, writing and working in the areas of leadership development, character education, body image, developmental psychology, social-emotional learning and most recently, grit, “strength-finding” and success. She recently launched a podcast, How to Talk to Kids About Anything, and is a frequently featured expert in the national media, including The Today Show and Good Morning America. Things you’ll learn from this episode How to see kids as assets to be developed, not deficits to be managed Ways to help your child tap into his or her strengths What character is and why we need to help kids develop it The value in answering the questions: What would I want people to say about my kid? When I’m not there, what would I hope my child would do or say? What would my child say is really important to me? How to avoid the pit of getting sucked into the “Fictitious Facebook Family” comparison What to do when your child isn’t embodying the values and character traits you hold dear How children benefit when we look at them through their strengths  Resources mentioned for nurturing our kids’ character Dr. Robyn Silverman’s website How to Talk to Kids About Anything (Dr. Robyn’s podcast) Jess Weiner’s website A Deep Dive into Assessments, Diagnoses, and Labels with Dr. Melissa Neff (podcast) Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon Andrew Solomon’s TED Talk, Love No Matter What Learning to Lie (article in New York Magazine) Dina Alexander—Educate and Empower Kids Support the showConnect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m bringing you my conversation with Dr. Ned Hallowell, who has spent the past four decades helping thousands of adults and children live happy and productive lives through his strength-based approach to neurodiversity, and has ADHD and dyslexia himself. During our time together, we talked about Ned’s strength-based approach to ADHD and how it can change the outlook for someone with ADHD, his thoughts about ADHD medication, what finding the “right difficult” means and how parents can help their kids find theirs, and how to create safe and stellar environments for our children to thrive as themselves. Edward (Ned) Hallowell, M.D. is a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist and world authority on ADHD. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tulane Medical School, and was a Harvard Medical School faculty member for 21 years. He is the Founder of The Hallowell ADHD Centers in Boston MetroWest, New York City, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Seattle.Dr Hallowell is a New York Times bestselling author and has written 20 books on multiple psychological topics. As the host of the twice-weekly Distraction podcast, Dr. Hallowell explores with guests how to better connect with others and how each of us can implement strategies that can turn modern problems into new-found strengths. Things you’ll learn from this episode What inspired Ned Hallowell to write his new book ADHD 2.0 How having a strengths-based approach to ADHD can change the outlook for someone with this diagnosis What VAST is and how it relates to ADHD Ned’s take on and approach to ADHD medication What the vestibulocerebellar system is and how exercises and other strategies targeting it support kids with ADHD What finding the “right difficult” means and ideas for parents to help their kids find theirs How we can create environments that truly support our kids in being the best version of themselves  Resources mentioned for Ned Hallowell’s ideas on supporting children with ADHD Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell’s website Dr. Hallowell: Wonderful World of Different podcast ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction – from Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey, et al. Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell M.D. and John J. Ratey M.D.  Support the showConnect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is all about getting organized—specifically organizing our spaces, and our lives, not to mention all the paperwork / material that we parents of differently wired kids have to track and keep records of. To talk about all this, my guest is a dear friend who also happens to be an organizational guru…Lisa Viscardi, owner of Clarity by Lisa Viscardi. Lisa is known for helping her clients create systems that truly transform their lives.In our conversation, LIsa talks about how getting organized and creating more clarity in our homes directly corresponds to the way we feel and experience our day-to-day lives. If you are a fan of Marie Kondo’s book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you will love this episode because it takes things to a whole new, deeper level. It’s about less overwhelm, less stress, and more clarity and peace, with a special focus on the unique circumstances for parents with atypical kids. I hope you enjoy it! Lisa Viscardi is a professional organizer, but the work she does goes so much deeper. People invite her into their homes to help them organize their offices, kitchens and kids’ rooms, but what they don’t realize is that their physical clutter is a reflection of their internal clutter. Lisa’s business is called Clarity because that’s what she brings to people’s lives. Lisa helps people create order out of chaos by designing aesthetic, simple systems that are easy to use and maintain, and encourages people to free themselves from things they’ve held on to for the wrong reasons, or that they no longer need. Things you’ll learn from this episode Why you need to have a “Command Central” in your home How to deal with a backlog of disorganization How having more clarity in your home and life helps you be responsive rather than reactive How to implement Lisa’s C.L.E.A.R. system (Categorize, Learn, Edit, Arrange, Revisit) How to move forward by making intentional choices  Resources mentioned for organizing & getting clarity at home Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You by Debbie ReberSupport the showConnect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emily Kircher-Morris, a licensed professional counselor, specialist in helping gifted and twice-exceptional kids, and host of The Neurodiversity Podcast, talks about destigmatizing neurodiversity and how to support twice exceptional children. Connect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is the first of a new regular feature of the TiLT Parenting Podcast—a special kid’s POV edition. Every few weeks, I’ll be sharing a conversation with my 11-year-old child Asher, in which we discuss an issue that’s particularly relevant to families with differently-wired kids. Asher hopes that by sharing his perspective on the kinds of things we as parents can struggle to navigate, moms and dads everywhere will better understand what’s happening with their child, as well as gain new inspiration for moving through tough situations in a way that best serves everyone involved.In this episode, we tackle what ADHD feels like, and specifically the issue of DISTRACTION, something that has been a significant challenge for us as a family, and more recently, has become frustrating for Asher himself. In our short conversation, Asher shares what the experience of getting distracted actually feels like for him, as well as how frustrating getting distracted can actually be. We also discuss some of the strategies we’re using to help Asher stay on-task as we work to develop his focusing muscles.Debbie Reber is the founder of TiLT and the host of the Tilt Parenting Podcast. 11-year-old Asher is Debbie’s son and is regularly featured on the podcast. Things you’ll learn from this episode Asher’s thoughts on what ADHD actually feels like, including what it’s like to always be distracted Why it’s frustrating for the kids themselves to get distracted What might motivate a child to work on staying focused The strategy we’re using to help Asher stay focused and on-task while using his screen time  Resources mentioned for Asher’s perspective on what ADHD feels like Download a PDF of Asher’s Original Personal Goal Planner Download a PDF of Asher’s Screen Time Planning Worksheet Support the showConnect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York Times' bestselling author Katherine May (Wintering) talks about her new book, The Electricity of Every Living Thing, about her journey of discovering her identity as an autistic woman.Connect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode I sit down with my dear friend and super talented life coach Kanesha Baynard to talk about the relationship we have with our parents and in-laws while also navigating our own journey as parents. Kanesha is an expert in multi-generational family dynamics and in this episode, we cover a lot of ground — the common challenges, tackling uncomfortable conversations, designing an alliance with our parents and in-laws, and much more.If you’ve ever had a communications fail or conflict or disagreement with your own parent or parent-in-law over some aspect of raising your own child, Kanesha’s perspective and practical strategies will undoubtedly inspire you to foster a dynamic that will best serve the whole family and meet everyone’s needs in a respectful way moving forward. Kanesha Baynard is a workshop facilitator, creativity coach, and inner wellness author who has been featured on the Dr. Oz Show. Her work has also been featured in many local and national publications. Kanesha is the author of The Self-love Playbook for #boldthinkers, 52 Powerful Questions: A Journal and Planning Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs, and Focus on What Matters: A Guided Journal.She is the founder of the Bold Living Today community focused on helping members disrupt unfulfilling patterns through creativity and navigate transition with confidence and boldness. Kanesha has created several card decks designed to help busy professionals, caregivers, and teens reconnect with activities and behaviors that foster imagination, joy, creativity, and space to refuel. Kanesha works with non-profit organizations, wellness groups, caregiving resource providers, women business owners, leadership teams, youth organizations, and individual clients to improve productivity habits, manage mental wellness through creativity, expand outreach opportunities through focused brainstorming sessions, and provide life skill mapping. Things you’ll learn from this episode How to recognize and understand generational differences between our parents parenting style and our own Strategies for handling difficult conversations with our parents How to handle it when we feel judged by our parents or in-laws How to take care of our needs and our kids needs during difficult moments How to ask for what you need from your parents and in-laws in a respectful way Resources mentioned for navigating tricky family dynamics Kanesha Baynard’s website Bold Living Today PAL Protocol: Managing Challenging Conversations in Multigenerational Settings The Self-Love Playbook for #BOLDTHINKERS by Kanesha Baynard 52 Powerful Questions: A Journal and Planning Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs by Kanesha Baynard Focus on What Matters: A Guided Journalby Kanesha Baynard Support the showConnect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Behavioral optometrist and children’s vision expert Dr. Juanita Collier talks about vision-related learning difficulties, and racial disparities in school vision care and its academic impact on children of color.Connect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clinical psychologist and researcher on giftedness Dr. Matt Zakreski talks about suicide, suicidal ideation, and suicide prevention, with special consideration to unique needs of neurodivergent children and teens and the Covid 19 pandemic. Connect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices