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

A conversation with the author of The Gift of Maybe, Allison Carmen, about what happens when parents raising differently-wired kids let go of their need for certainty and embrace the possibility of "maybe."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 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

Brandi Stephens, single mom of an autistic, teen daughter, talks about her parenting journey, which includes going way outside her comfort zone and moving abroad to the Middle East to teach. 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

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Melissa Neff, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Missoula, MT in the United States who specializes in conducting psychological evaluations with children (ages 6-18) and adults. A lot of Melissa’s practice focuses on helping parents figure out what’s going on with their children and diagnosing things like ADHD and autism, although she shared with me that one of her favorite aspects of her practice lately is working with girls who are on the spectrum.There are so many things I could have talked about with Melissa, but for today’s episode, we focused our conversation on the diagnostic process—what it involves and when and how parents can take the steps they need to pursue a diagnosis—as well as the pros and cons of getting a diagnoses, and more specifically, of having one or more labels attached to a child, both in their educational journey, as well as their lives as they grow into adults.  Melissa Neff, Ph.D received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2008 from the University of Montana following the completion of an APA-approved pre-doctoral internship at Spokane Mental in Spokane, WA. She has extensive training in working with children and adults of all ages. Her areas of specialty are the diagnostic evaluation of psychological disorders and the assessment and treatment of trauma. Dr. Neff also has extensive experience in testing for ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, and anxiety disorders. She utilizes a strengths-based approach in her work in an attempt to foster resilience, preferring a team-centered approach to assessment and intervention. Things you’ll learn from this episode The typical / “best” ages for kids to be assessed What some of the early signs are that a child might be on the autism spectrum How subjective is the process of assessing / diagnosing a child? What makes a “good diagnosis?” Why the current diagnostic process isn’t catching everyone, especially girls (for both autism and ADHD) The value of a diagnosis or label—pros and cons Tips for navigating the process of getting a diagnosis Resources mentioned for the assessment process for kids Dr. Melissa Neff’s website A Conversation with Julie George About Girls on the Autism Spectrum ADHD is Different for Women Decades of Failing to Recognize ADHD in Girls Has Created a Lost Generation of Women  Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity  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

A special kid's POV episode, where Asher and I talk all about that rite of passage for millions of children around the world—sleep away camp. This summer, Asher is going to a sleep away camp for the second time in his life. The first time was two years ago, when he went to a very traditional outdoorsy camp with his best friend in the Pacific Northwest. All things considered, that experience went pretty well, and we learned a few things about what can be hard about camp and what kind of situations might be challenging for Asher (and for many differently-wired kids).This year, we’re going to give it another try, this time at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, something Asher is, shall we say, INCREDIBLY excited about. And at the same time, when we first signed him up, Asher recognized there would be situations at Space Camp that could potentially be especially tough for him. As you’ll hear, Asher came to me and asked to work with a therapist / coach to help him figure out strategies for navigating tricky situations that might come up.So, that’s what we’re going to talk about today…the different strategies we’ve used to help Asher get prepared for sleep away camp, as well as Asher’s own revelations about what he thinks will help him have a positive experience, even if and when things come up that push him mentally and emotionally.Debbie Reber is the founder of Tilt and the host of the Tilt Parenting Podcast. Asher is Debbie’s son and is regularly featured on the podcast. Things you'll learn from this episode: How Debbie and Asher prepped for the kinds of situations that might come up at sleep away camp Asher’s new strategy for getting “un-angry” How Maslov’s Hierachy of Needs has helped Asher learn more about his own emotional responses  Resources Mentioned: Camp Orkila  Space Camp Kate Berger on What Mindfulness Can Do for Kids and How to Get Started (podcast) Asher Talks with David Flink, a Social Movement Leader on the Front Lines of the Learning Differences Movement (podcast) Julie George on the Role of Executive Functioning in Differently-Wired Kids (podcast) Eye to Eye National Kerbal Space Program The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 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

Jill Goetz, owner and Early Child Education Specialist at Savvy Parents Safe Kids, walks us through how to have conversations around safety, consent, personal advocacy, and intuition, with our differently-wired kids.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 features a conversation with Giselle Marzo Segura, a designer, teacher, mentor, writer and solutions thinker based in Miami, Florida, who is also the parent of a differently-wired daughter. As a result of her journey with her daughter, Giselle was moved to create a venture called Strength Clusters, which is all about helping people understand and connect with each other through the language of character strengths. I’ll let Giselle tell you her whole story, because it’s very inspiring and personal, but for now, I’ll let you know that we’re going to be talking about his idea of why current systems aimed at supporting differently-wired kids do so by focusing on the deficits. We’ll also get into how truly transformational it can be, not just for the child but for the whole family, when we flip that on its head and focus on an individual’s strengths.THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: The cost of not allowing differently-wired kids to hang out in their areas of strength for large chunks of the day Why Giselle believes differently-wired kids need the opportunity to express what’s inside of them What the language of positive psychology and character strengths is What happens when the whole family views each other through the lens of character strengths and is on the same page The magic of looking at a child as a whole person That there are other types of learning beyond cognitive learning, such as learning through the body and emotions  RESOURCES MENTIONED: Strength Clusters (Giselle’s website) Character Strenths are Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson Via Character Strengths Survey Brene Brown’s website The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown Pamela Slim’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

Debbie and her husband Derin have an honest, open, and vulnerable conversation about their (up and down) journey as a couple navigating parenting a differently-wired child.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 week’s episode, I’m talking with Dr. Devon MacEachron, a clinician, researcher, author, and speaker who specializes in assessing and supporting twice-exceptional, or 2e, learners. As she’ll explain in our conversation, Devon actually went back to school to get her PhD as part of her own journey in supporting her own differently wired, 2e children. Since then, she’s founded a private psychology practice in New York City where she meets the psychoeducational, assessment, and education planning needs of the families of bright learners. Her mission is to help position these awesome students to achieve their goals and dreams, and to help parents feel confident their doing their best for their children. And that’s what we get into in this episode.As a specialist in twice-exceptional and gifted learners, dyslexia, ADHD, Asperger’s, and academic motivation with a positive psychology focus on strengths and interests, Dr. Devon is an expert diagnostician who provides an actionable game-plan to families enabling students to achieve their highest potential. Things you’ll learn from this episode How 2e or “twice exceptional” is defined How parents can recognize when something is “off” with their child or they suspect they may be 2e Why it’s important to look at a child’s behavior and their environment when doing a neurological assessment What the optimal age is for an assessment to determine if a child is twice exceptional Why there usually isn’t a good school option for kids who are 2e How parents can best support their twice-exceptional children, even if they are in a traditional school setting  Resources mentioned for supporting 2e learners Dr. Devon MacEachron’s website Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory of Intelligence Bright Not Broken: Gifted Kids, ADHD, and Autism by Diane M. Kennedy and Rebecca S. Banks The Mislabeled Child: Looking Beyond Behavior to Find the True Source and Solutions for Children’s Learning Challenges by Brock Eide Different Minds: Gifted Children with ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Other Learning Deficits by Deirdre V. Lovecky 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