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

In this special kid’s POV edition of the podcast, Asher answers questions from listeners -- specifically our kid audience -- about his social life.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 talk with Jill Emmelhainz, the mother of a 14-year-old differently-wired daughter who struggles with severe anxiety. Over the years, Jill and her husband noticed their daughter Anna’s anxiety was greatly reduced when she spent time outdoors and in nature, so this past year, they decided to try something radical and fully immerse themselves in nature for extended periods of time to see what would happen. For six weeks in fall 2015 and five weeks in spring 2016, Jill and her daughter have hiked the Appalachian Trail in the eastern U.S. The result? During those weeks in nature, Anna’s anxiety all but disappeared, and she’s found ways to bring the learnings from those experiences back into her day-to-day life in a helpful way. JIll and her daughter’s story is fascinating…we have a sense you’ll think so, too! Jill Emmelhainz says: “I have had the privilege of raising and homeschooling our seven children. Travel and creativity have always been part of our family life. Now that we have only one child still at home, she and I enjoy outdoor adventures as a way to help her cope with significant life challenges.” THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: How trying something completely new and radical can sometimes have unexpected, positive consequences The power of having shared, powerful experiences with a child (especially one who’s a teenager) Suggestions for getting kids more excited about and engaged in outdoor time and nature  RESOURCES MENTIONED: Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv Jill’s blog, The Big Epic 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

For this episode I talk with Becca Wertheim, a second-grade teacher at an inclusion school in North Carolina. What I hear from so many parents in the Tilt community is that navigating the world of school is one of the biggest challenges their families face, so this episode is the first of what I hope will be many featuring the perspectives and voices of the teachers who work with our differently-wired kids every day.Becca tells us about her experience as a teacher charged with meeting the individual educational needs of a group of students with diverse learning styles, and her insight for parents who are looking for better support and communication with the teachers in their children’s lives. Becca Wertheim is a 2nd grade teacher at Claxton Elementary School in Asheville, NC. She is the creator GOAL Getters (Global Opportunities, Awareness, and Leadership), an initiative featured at Clinton Global Initiative University, which teaches youth about global citizenship and social responsibility. She is also the author of Live High on Life for Teens, an inspirational book that empowers teens to dream big, and was profiled in TiLT founder Debbie Reber’s inspirational book for teen girls, In Their Shoes. THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: How an “inclusion school” model works in the classroom Why inclusion schools can benefit all types of learners and work to everyone’s advantage Suggestions and strategies for navigating the parent-teacher relationship, from a teacher’s perspective Why honesty and open communication, as is true in any relationship, is key to a successful parent-teacher relationship How parents can approach a teacher if they are concerned about their child’s behavior either at school or at home What a teacher’s goals are in the relationships they have with their students’ parents  RESOURCES MENTIONED: Claxton Elementary School Becca Wertheim on Huffington Post 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

In this special kid’s POV edition of the podcast, Asher and I share our best tips and strategies for making travel run more smoothly and having successful vacations with neurodivergent kids. As much as many families and their children may love going on vacation, the change in routine, different foods, shifting expectations, and new stimuli can even turn a trip to “The Happiest Place on Earth” (Disneyland) into one full of stress, anxiety, meltdowns, and other challenges. And while we know this rings true for pretty much any and every family, for parents raising differently wired kids, the extremes highs and lows can bigger.In this episode, Asher and I share what we’ve learned over the years when it comes to making sure everyone’s needs and expectations on any given vacation are met, or at the very least, addressed, and walk listeners through the different schedules and planners we’ve we incorporated into our vacation prep. (We also share our planning templates below for free download!). We hope you take away a tip or two to make your next family holiday a more peaceful experience for the whole family!Debbie Reber is the founder and CEO of Tilt Parenting and the host of the TiLT Parenting Podcast. 11-year-old Asher is Debbie’s child and is regularly featured on the podcast.  Things you’ll learn from this episode The benefits of talking through and getting clear on expectations (for all members of the family) prior to leaving for a vacation A strategy for using the collaborative problem solving approach to identify, address, and pre-solve concerns ahead of time How to make departure day go more smoothly The benefits of exploring and researching aspects of a vacation time well in advance of the trip (including accommodations, activities, etc.) A strategy for using written schedules coupled with frequent reviews during a vacation keeps everyone’s expectations in check The benefits of bringing a child into the planning process (and letting them determine some of what will happen on vacation) Why it’s useful to work with your child to discover what they need most on vacation and then incorporating it into your daily plan (ie: rest, chill time, etc.)  Resources mentioned for successful vacations with neurodivergent kids Download a PDF of our Family Goals Worksheet Download a PDF of our Vacation Concerns Worksheet Download a PDF of our Daily Vacation Planner Worksheet Look at our Departure Plan whiteboard 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 week’s episode features a conversation with ADHD coach Margit Crane Luria (now Yafa Crane Luria) of Blocked to Brilliant. Margit, who has ADHD herself, brings a powerful perspective to the podcast as a passionate advocate for children and teens with ADHD. Her mission? To change the way ADHD and ADD is perceived by the rest of the world (educators, parents, and society at large) while also helping kids and teens with ADHD embrace their creativity and gifts and become the world changers they naturally are.We cover a lot of territory in this episode which, incidentally, is the first TiLT Parenting Podcast we’ve done on this topic. In forty minutes, we explore the myths, the misconceptions, the challenges, and the gifts of ADHD. If you have a child with ADHD, or you know of other children with ADHD (which we all do!), this is one episode you won’t want to miss.Yafa Crane Luria is a 30-year veteran teacher and school counselor, a Positive Discipline Trainer, and the author of the Mom’s Choice Award®-Winning book: How To Train Your Parents in 6 ½ Days and the Amazon Kindle bestseller: Getting Schooled: 102 Practical Tips for Parents, Teachers, Counselors, and Students about Living and Learning with ADHD. Margit specializes in helping ADHD families who have tried everything and are still frustrated and confused by their child’s or teen’s Blocked but Brilliant brain. Fun fact: Yafa was one of the first adults to be diagnosed with ADHD, back in 1980.THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: How ADHD and ADD are defined and what the markers look like in children What obtaining diagnosis can be challenging because of co-existing symptoms Why ADHD / ADD has such a negative stigma associated with it and why that needs to change Whether or not ADHD is being overdiagnosed The many (awesome) gifts that come with having ADHD A thoughtful way to consider the use of medication in children with ADHD How change can happen in the brains of people with ADHD What parents who suspect their child has ADHD should do to get started  RESOURCES MENTIONED: YafaCrane Luria / Blocked to Brilliant ADHD Videos Why French Kids Don’t Have ADHD (Psychology Today) French Kids DO Have ADHD (Psychology Today) Understanding the Challenges and Gifts of Dyslexia with Heidi Nord (Tilt Parenting Podcast) The Role of Executive Functioning in Differently-Wired Kids with Julie George (Tilt Parenting Podcast) 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

I’m excited to be bringing parenting coach Margaret Webb back to the podcast this week. Margaret helps parents find more peace in parenting the child they didn’t expect when they were expecting, and part of her work is supporting parents survive summer break. Many parents (and not just parents raising differently-wired kids) limp across the finish line of a long school year only to find themselves facing the stress of summer — new schedules and routines, different expectations, wants, and needs for everyone in the family, and lots of other changes.In our conversation, Margaret shares her personal strategy for not only surviving summer break, but thriving. She walks us through her Summer Survival Skills Package, a free toolkit comprised of MP3s and worksheets designed to help struggling parents have a summer that works for the whole family.Margaret Webb is a certified Master Life Coach, parenting coach, nature-based coach, former teacher, wife and mother. As a life and parenting coach, she weaves together her experience as an elementary education teacher with the tools she’s learned in Martha Beck’s Life Coach Training, Sagefire Institute’s Nature-Based Coach Training, and what she’s applied to her own life as a mom of a child with special needs. Things you’ll learn from this episode How “reality versus expectations” creates unnecessary stress for many parents over the summer Why having “leadership energy” as a parent can help a family thrive The importance of getting clear on both your personal needs as a parent and your child’s needs and wants for the summer break What scheduling, mapping, and tracking have to do with surviving summer holidays How focusing on our own experience and fostering personal self-care actually supports our children Why nature can be so restorative for parents raising differently-wired kids How to envision your ideal day as a way to begin creating a more peaceful reality  Resources mentioned for surviving summer break Margaret Webb’s Summer Survival Skills Package — download link The Families That Can’t Afford Summer – New York Times article Finding Peace in Parenting the Child You Didn’t Expect – Tilt Parenting Podcast Episode 1​ 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

In this special kid’s POV edition, Asher and I talk about screen time. Like many families with children (differently-wired or not), the issue of screen time — how much, what kind, and when — is something we are constantly grappling with. And because like many other differently-wired kids, Asher is really into the games and projects he’s got going on in his virtual world, we’ve struggled to come up with an approach that feels good for Derin and me as parents while also helping Asher learn how to be more responsible for his time and behavior online (and after he shuts down).In this episode, Asher and I detail our current approach for tracking screen time, which we co-designed in such a way that it will help him learn to track his own time, set intentions for how he will spend his time, and stay emotionally regulated both while online and when it’s time to get off (that's the goal, anyway). Debbie Reber is the founder of Tilt and the host of the Tilt Parenting Podcast. 11-year-old Asher is Debbie’s child and is regularly featured on the podcast. Find out more about Debbie and Asher by visiting the About Page. THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: The strategy we’re using to help Asher learn to be more responsible for his screen time, as well as support more peaceful transitions from screen to the real world Why time warnings might actually create anxiety rather than smooth transitions How frequent brain breaks can support healthy screen time habits  RESOURCES MENTIONED: Download a PDF of Asher’s New and Improved Screen Time Planning Worksheet The Productivity Planner from Intelligent Design The Pomodoro Technique Time Tracker Visual Timer and Clock from Fun and Function 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

For this episode of the Tilt Parenting Podcast, I talk with former teacher, reading specialist, teacher and parent educator, and coach, Heidi Nord about Dyslexia. I know many families are dealing with the challenges of dyslexia and I appreciate how tough it can be for kids with dyslexia to navigate school and their brains’ unique way of interpreting language.I’m excited to be bringing Heidi on the podcast because not only is she incredibly knowledgeable about dyslexia, but she’s spent many, many years coaching not only children with dyslexia, but teachers and parents. Heidi strongly believes that dyslexia can be an asset—her goal is to help students tap into their potential and increase processing speeds so they can let their true brilliance shine through.Heidi Nord has been helping students, parents, teachers, and administrators with training in the areas of dyslexia, student success, and mindset development since 2007. Before that, she worked as a teacher and and a reading coach for 16 years, helping hundreds of students and teachers at varying grade levels. Heidi has written four books, including Thought Flipping and Write Right. She helps clients learn easier, grow flexible brain pathways, and generate a positive mindset for success. THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: What exactly dyslexia and dysgraphia is Why dyslexia is being diagnosed late in children, and why that needs to change The connection between teachers’ mindset and a child’s ability to thrive in a classroom Why it benefits students to devote time focusing on their strengths and not just their deficits The many gifts that come with dyslexia and dysgraphia, and how these disorders are seen by many to be an asset Heidi’s tips for parents who have a dyslexic child or suspect their child might have dyslexia  RESOURCES MENTIONED: Heidi Nord’s practice The Brilliant Dyslexic Susan Barton: Bright Solutions for Dyslexia Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck An article about The Pygmalion Effect in Edutopia StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath 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

On this episode, I’m talking with preschool television show creator, executive producer, writer, and show runner, Angela Santomero about just that. I first met Angela while working on Blue’s Clues, a show that she, incidentally, co-created, and we’ve been friends ever since. I wanted to bring Angela on the podcast because not only do we share a lot of core beliefs when it comes to parenting, but the shows she’s creating are having a powerful impact on young children who are wired differently. In this episode, Angela and I talk about why children’s TV can be so powerful as a tool for education, the merits of screen time for young kids, the research foundation behind all of Angela’s shows that ensure the lessons and messages are landing with kids the way they’re intended to, and why some children’s TV shows can be a great way to present social and emotional learning opportunities for differently-wired kids.Angela Santomero is the cocreator, executive producer, and head writer for the award-winning Blue’s Clues and the creator and executive producer for the smash hit Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Super Why!, airing on PBS; Creative Galaxy and Wishenproof for Amazon Studios; and Charlie’s Colorforms City on Netflix. She is the Chief Creative Officer at 9 Story and the recipient of more than twenty-five Emmy nominations.  Things you’ll learn from this episode: What the research says about the merits of educational television programming and media for kids How some shows are trying to incorporate social stories that can support differently-wired kids’ social thinking about things like friendship challenges, anxiety, and aggression How parents can capitalize on social learning opportunities presented by preschool programs How approaching parenting from a playful perspective helps ground in social learning How you can use your child’s interests in fictional characters to encourage social thinking  Resources mentioned for SEL and Preschool TV Angela Santomero’s website Angela’s Clues Preschool TV Creator Angela Santomero on Her New Book Preschool Clues (podcast episode) Preschool Clues: Raising Smart, Inspired, and Engaged Kids in a Screen-Filled World by Angela Santomero and Deborah Reber Radical Kindness: The Life Changing Power of Giving and Receiving by Angela Santomero Daniel Tiger Becomes a Boy with Autism’s Guide to Social Life (article from New  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

In this special kid’s POV edition, I share a short conversation with my 11-year-old child Asher about the new morning routine we began doing in January 2016.The routine is based on author and speaker Hal Elrod’s book The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM). Because I’m always looking for ways to support Asher in developing more self-awareness, we agreed to start off the New Year trying out a new routine. In this episode, Asher walks listeners through what the new 6-step morning routine—consisting of meditation, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and journaling—looks like, and explains its impact, as well as why Asher thinks other kids would benefit. Debbie Reber is the founder of Tilt and the host of the Tilt Parenting Podcast. 11-year-old Asher is Debbie’s child and is regularly featured on the podcast.  THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: How implementing a purposeful morning routine such as the one highlighted in Hal Elrod’s book The Miracle Morning has the potential to positively impact a child’s day The benefits for children on beginning each day by focusing on presence, positivity, and intention Asher’s thoughts on whether other kids could benefit from a new morning routine like the one he’s doing How meaningful a change can be when a child is self-motivated by their own personal discoveries about the benefits of a new habit  RESOURCES MENTIONED: The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod Pat Flynn’s podcast, Smart Passive Income Kerbal Space Program, Asher’s favorite online game (at the moment) Asher and Debbie’s visualization soundtrack: Enya’s Caribbean Blue, Charles Atlas’ The Snow Before Us, and Badly Drawn Boy’s I Love NYE 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