Complicated Kids

Is mouth breathing just annoying or can it massively affect your health? Speech Language Pathologist and myofunctional expert Dr. Dawn Moore joins me to talk about the importance of nose breathing and how it influences many aspects of our lives. We talk about Dr. Moore's personal and professional experiences with tongue thrusts, how the size and shape of human faces is changing (and not for the better), and why that matters for both kids and adults. To find out more about Dawn, visit her website at www.thetonguedr.com.

When the family of a child with disabilities or delays gets support alongside that child, they all thrive. CEO and Founder of Grounded Learning, Martha Hoffman joins me to discuss the importance of a whole family approach to therapy and support. Martha is a long time educator who stresses the importance of prioritizing the needs of each, individual family member in order to help deal with the unique challenges of living with a child with disabilities. From societal pressures to challenging homework policies, Martha and I cover it all. To find out more about Martha, visit her website at groundedlearningdc.com.

As a teen, Jerry Bures had a conflicted relationship with his authoritarian father. So, he decided that when he had children, he would be a different kind of parent to his 6 children (including one with severe and complex medical needs). It sounded simple enough, but it isn't an easy journey. Join us for this conversation about Crisis Parenting, parenting complicated kids, balancing sibling relationships, and taking care of ourselves in the midst of it all. To find out more about Jerry and classes he runs for parents, visit www.instituteforconfidentparenting.com.

Who is forgiveness for? Whom do we need to forgive? And Why? Dr. Layla Salek is a psychologist who works with families of children with developmental disabilities. Those are some of the questions that we talked about in a conversation about growing up with and then treating kids with trauma, as well as lessons learned from those experiences. To find out more about Dr. Salek, visit her website at www.drsalek.com.

Pathological Demand Avoidance or Pervasive Drive for Autonomy -- what is PDA? Join me and Casey Ehrlich, of At Peace Parents, to unpack the acronyms and what they mean. We'll talk about kids' nervous systems and the high levels of stress that kids with an ASD (autism spectrum disorder) PDA profile have. We'll make sense of their behavior and discuss some "bad parenting" techniques to make things smoother at home. To find out more about Casey and how she may be able to shed some light on PDA issues with your child, visit her website at www.atpeaceparents.com.

This week's episode of the Complicated Kids Podcast features fellow SLP, Ayurvedic health counselor and founder of Evolved Therapy, Erin Browning. Erin shares with us her extensive experience and innovative approach to therapy. We talk about how traditional education in speech and language therapy often focuses narrowly on specific aspects without considering the broader context of a person's needs, the importance of breathing properly in order to support all functioning of the body and the importance of building rapport, trust, and genuine connections with clients. To find out more about Erin, visit her website at www.evolved-therapy.com.

I was delighted to be joined by Ayelet Marinovich, founder of Learn with Less. We covered a RANGE of topics, including how becoming parents changed the way we think about our roles, how Ayelet leveraged her need for connection as a new mom into the programs she now runs for families and facilitators, how all of child development is interrelated, and how toys are OPTIONAL. As we gear up for the holidays, you'll want to stay tuned till the end of the episode for some pro tips on toy selection. To find out more about Ayelet, visit her website at www.learnwithless.com. Or find her on all the socials at learnwithless. If you want to grab her Infant and Toddler Blueprint, go to www.learnwithless.com/blueprint.

Ron Shuali came on the podcast to not only inform with his knowledge of child development and education but also to entertain and delight with his "neurohacks" for staying calm and his larger-than-life persona. Suffice it to say that we both had a blast recording this episode. We hope you have a blast listening to it: there are so many nuggets! To find out more about Ron and how you can get him to speak at your organization, visit www.ronspeak.com. You will not be disappointed.

What are Emotional Support Parents? Well, they are NOT Helicopter Parents or pushovers or permissive parents. They ARE parents who are highly attuned to the needs of their highly sensitive (often anxious) children. Being an ESP is often necessary (because the child in question has a lot of emotional needs) but also exhausting for parents. Join us to talk about Emotional Support Parents and how parents can both support their complicated kids while also guarding their own parental mental health. Claire Lerner is trained as a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and child development specialist with over 30 years of experience working with children and families in a range of capacities. She is also the author of "Why Is My Child In Charge?" which can be found on her website www.lernerchilddevelopment.com.

Dr. Taylor Day is a child psychologist in private practice who is thinking about autism a little differently from many others in the field. She and I sat down to discuss how to support all the family members, not just the autistic ones; why early intervention and early diagnosis is so important, and how an autism diagnosis can be made as early as 14 months. (DON'T WAIT!) We talk about "Mommy Gut" and how that's a real thing, and we also give some tips for managing the mental (and TIME) load of having a child with an autism diagnosis. Don't miss this engaging conversation with a wonderful and experienced professional. To find out more about Dr. Day, visit her website at www.drtaylorday.com.