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

In week’s podcast episode, we’re talking about bad behavior. Specifically, The Good News About Bad Behavior. That’s the name of a new book by journalist, author, speaker, and parent educator, Katherine Lewis, and in this episode, Katherine and I talk about what our kids’ behavior is telling us and how we as parents, teachers, and other adults in kids’ lives can best respond to it while encouraging our kids to develop into healthy adults.In researching and writing her book, Katherine connected with one of our favorite parenting thought leaders, Dr. Ross Greene, and reframed her own thinking about bad behavior as being a child’s way of demonstrating lagging skills. Katherine’s book aims to help parents navigate tricky behavioral situations and work with their children toward better solutions. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope it offers you some good food for thought.Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning journalist and author of The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever – And What to Do About It. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, Fortune, Money, Mother Jones, The New York Times, Parade, Slate, USA Today’s magazine group, the Washington Post Magazine and Working Mother. She holds a BA in physics from Harvard University and is a certified parent educator with the Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) in Kensington, Md.  Things you’ll learn from this episode How parents can shift their mindset in the way they think about behavior Why our kids’ need to experience failure, and why modeling it for them can be so powerful  How to let go of what others think of our approach to parenting and discipline Ways parents can compassionate advocate for and educate others about our children What Katherine hopes her book does in the world in terms of changing the conversation surrounding behavior What the good news about bad behavior actually is  Resources on the good news about bad behavior Katherine Lewis’ website The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever, and What to Do About It by Katherine R. Lewis Katherine Lewis on Facebook  Katherine Lewis on Twitter Katherine Lewis on Instagram The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Dr. Ross Greene Lives in the Balance (Dr. Greene’s website) 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

Supporting 2e students continues to be one of the biggest challenges for those of us raising twice-exceptional children, and today we’re going to do a deep dive into how to do this. My guest is Maria Kennedy, director of the Bridges Educational Group at Bridges Academy, and host of Crucial Conversations on Cognitive Diversity, produced by the Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development. Maria is also a speaker, author and advocate and has been featured on “Bright and Quirky” and has received several awards for her teaching and leadership. Maria is passionate about supporting 2e students and training teachers how to tap into the strengths of their gifted and challenged learners.During this conversation, we’ll talk about how the definition of giftedness in some countries keeps gifted students from getting into gifted programs, the importance of appreciating every child’s unique strengths and value, and ways parents can advocate for their children’s unique learning profile, even within their existing school systems that may not be designed to support or understand neurodivergent learners. Things you’ll learn from this episode How the definition of giftedness in some countries prevents gifted students from getting into gifted programs Why we should lean into widening the scope of what giftedness means so we can properly identify everyone’s gifts What appreciating everyone’s unique value can bring to a child’s education and development What the roadblocks are for our educational system to be more open to embracing the changes needed How parents who are navigating a traditional educational system can advocate for their 2e children  Resources mentioned for supporting 2e students Bridges Academy Scott Barry Kaufman Ungifted: Intelligence Redefinedby Scott Barry Kaufman Bridges Symposium Dr. Susan Baum Stanford Neurodiversity Conference 2e News Variations Magazine 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

Ever considered homeschooling your gifted children? My guest, educator, author, and blogger Celi Trepanier, became a passionate advocate for gifted children after tiring of her battles with schools and their misunderstanding of how to support gifted children. A teacher who has taught in both public and private schools, Celi is the author of the book Educating Your Gifted Child: How One Public School Teacher Embraced Homeschooling, a parent group facilitator for the organization SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted), and keeps a blog at Crushing Tall Poppies.In our conversation, we talk about why many schools, even sometimes those designed specifically to cater to gifted children, aren’t able to support these unique learners, and Celi shares why she believes homeschooling gifted children is such a great option if it’s something that is possible for families, as well as gives us her advice for how to get started.Celi Trépanier is the author of Educating Your Gifted Child: How One Public School Teacher Embraced Homeschooling, as well as a writer, passionate advocate for gifted children, an anti-bullying proponent, MEd, former public school teacher, and a homeschooling mom.Things you’ll learn from this episode What giftedness is, as well as why there are negative stigmas attached to the label Why most public schools are failing our gifted kids Why sometimes even programs for gifted kids don’t really “get” gifted kids (they teach to kids who are “high achieving” rather than than “gifted”) Why homeschooling can be such a great fit for gifted children How parents can determine if homeschooling is a doable option for their family Resources mentioned for homeschooling gifted children Crushing Tall Poppies (Celi Trepanier’s website) Educating Your Gifted Child: How One Public School Teacher Embraced Homeschooling by Celi Trepanier Parenting Horizons—Parenting Coach Julie Ross Why Fostering Cultures of Respect in Our Schools is Absolutely Critical (podcast episode) Gifted Homeschooler’s Forum 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

Matt Barnes, Co-Founder and Parent Coach at The Education Game, inspires parents to embrace a new learning model that deemphasizes grades and academic compliance and emphasizes learning, problem-solving, and engagement.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

Author and lecturer Alfie Kohn challenges traditional parenting approaches, discussing the concept of unconditional parenting and the negative effects of conditional parenting. They explore how mainstream practices may not align with parents' goals, emphasizing the importance of meeting children's needs, patience, and communication. They also discuss implementing and challenges of unconditional parenting, promoting their books and Patreon support.

Dr. Melanie Hayes, educator, therapist, and founder of the Big Minds model, advocates for twice-exceptional adults. She discusses shifting from forcing conformity to radical self-acceptance. Topics include masking and exhaustion, discovering 2E identity later in life, sensory self-care and escape hatches, workplace and relationship needs, and building extended support for launching into adulthood.

For this episode, I’m talking with Dr. Gail Saltz, a psychiatrist, speaker, podcaster, media commentator, and an expert on a variety of psychological and mental health issues. Dr. Saltz is also the author of the new book, The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius, which explores the strengths of neurodiversity.Dr. Saltz is mental health advocate and is passionate about fostering acceptance and understanding for differently wired ways of being. In our conversation, Dr. Saltz and I talk about the connection between neurodiversity and strengths, how kids can be best primed to tap into their gifts and reach their full potential, what needs to happen to eliminate the stigma associated with being differently wired, and much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation.Dr. Gail Saltz is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of medicine and a psychoanalyst with the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. A frequent contributor in the media, she is a columnist, bestselling author, podcast host and television commentator and one of the nation’s foremost go-to experts on a variety of psychological and mental health issues, especially those pertaining to women’s emotional well-being, relationships, and the mental health aspects of current news. Things you’ll learn from this episode The inspiration behind and audience for Dr. Saltz’s book, The Power of Different   How Dr. Saltz defines genius (both with a “big G” and a “small g”) The connection between neurodifferences and strengths What do our kids need to tap into their inner genius How we as parents can help our kids connect with their untapped potential and strengths The benefits of neuropsych testing and getting data about a child’s strengths and weaknesses The 80:20 ratio of teaching to kids strengths versus deficits What Dr. Saltz thinks it will take for the conversation around neurodiversity to change  Resources mentioned on the strengths of neurodiversity Dr. Gail Saltz’s website The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius by Dr. Gail Saltz The Power of Different podcast The Powerful Connection Between Creativity and Neurodiversity, with Kathryn Haydon (podcast) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Music and brain scientist turned multimedia creative Dr. Christine Koh talks about ways we as parents can intentionally tend to our own mental and emotional well-being during challenging times.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 special kid's POV edition, I share a short conversation I had with my 11-year-old son Asher about FRUSTRATION. Being easily frustrated is an issue many differently-wired kids deal with on a regular basis, and it can lead to challenging situations in the classroom and at home. For this episode, Asher and I examine what happened on a day when he made a mistake on an art project. 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

Pediatric and occupational therapist Rosemary White explains the philosophy behind DIR / Floortime as a powerful modality to support children's sensory, motor, and social / emotional development.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