Lowering demands is how many parents start accommodating their PDA child or teen, and it's also where many get stuck. In this episode I talk through the mindset work that parents can do to get unstuck and be more successful with lowering demands. I also explain why lowering demands is a necessary but not sufficient accommodation for our PDA children and teens. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist f...
Nov 15, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Does you child or teen often try to control you, criticize you and/or destroy your things or things around the house. This is very common among PDA children and teens, because they are equalizing. Equalizing is a nervous system response - out of their control - in PDA children and teens whereby they try to regain sense of nervous system safety due to a perceived loss of autonomy and equality. In this episode I break it all down, and share lots of examples. I hope it's helpful. xo, Casey Are you ...
Nov 07, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Este episodio está en español. This episode is in Spanish. En este episodio hablo con Juliana Carrillo sobre PDA - la Evitación de Demanda Extrema - y como entender la discapacidad del sistema nervioso en niños y jovenes. Juliana es una psicologa y "coach" con At Peace Parents. Puedes leer más de ella y sus servicios aquí: https://www.atpeaceparents.com/Juliana-asesoria-personalizada Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to pe...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 86
It's very common for two parents to be on different pages or trajectories with PDA understanding and acceptance. Sometimes this is because one parent wants more "evidence" that PDA exists at all, which can be very difficult given that academia has not yet caught up to our lived realities. In this episode I provide a possible way forward - building your own evidence! I hope it's helpful. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to...
Oct 21, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 85
In this episode I share the techniques for using declarative language that I've seen are most effective for parents of PDA children and teens. And I snuck in a suggestion on how to get your PDAer's teacher to use declarative language, too ;) Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To lea...
Oct 17, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 84
There are tons of misconceptions about if and how we set boundaries with our PDA children and teens (spoiler - we do!), and in this episode I talk through the most common of them. I also explain the process I use - cost-benefit decision making within constraints - to help parents decide when they should set boundaries and how to do so with eyes wide open to the activation this will cause their PDAer. I hope it helps you! Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA ch...
Oct 10, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Hi everyone - in this episode I share some of the many messy, awkward and (in retrospect at least) kinda funny situations I found myself in during the many months I was in the process of changing my parenting approach to better support my PDA son. I share these as a reminder that this can be (almost always is) a chaotic transition, and that's ok. You're learning and implementing a new parenting paradigm, and it takes time for you, your family members, and you PDA child to get into a new rhythm. ...
Oct 08, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 82
ABA is helpful for some PDA children and their families. For other PDA children it doesn't help or can make things worse. With this in mind, I'd love to live in a world where ABA and additional options were available - and covered by insurance - to support PDA children and teens. In today's episode I provide more information about ABA and the how parents of PDA children can better understand the research supporting it. Also - here are links to the two articles I referenced: https://link.springer...
Oct 03, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 81
In this episode I share my experiences with the Safe and Sound Protocol, and also provide guidance on how parents can think about trying therapies with their PDA child or teen. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you ca...
Sep 30, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 80
This is a question I get frequently, and there's a lot of nuance that goes into answering it. I hope this is helpful to you! Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can take my FREE Clarity Masterclass at www.atpeacepar...
Sep 26, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 79
In this episode I explain the logic that underpins all my teaching, and why traditional behavioral parenting approaches - which are great for many children - don't work for PDA children and teens because of the way their brains and nervous systems work. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-pr...
Sep 24, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Like many parents, I spent years looking for a magic solution that would fix or circumvent my son's PDA. And then I came to accept that this is a disability he has. Only then was I able to make the decisions to truly support him and our family. In this episode I share the tool I teach in the Paradigm Shift Program™ to help parents accept the limitations they face and make decisions to move forward. I hope it supports you, too. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your ...
Sep 19, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 77
In this episode I explain why it makes total sense that we have PDA children and teens before academia has proven the existence of PDA, because research follows real life. (And while I love research, it is often slow and expensive.) But that doesn't mean we can't move forward and experiment with approaches that support our children. That's what parents have always done, and then studies come after that prove the effectiveness of those approaches. I hope this episode validates for you that what y...
Sep 16, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 76
One of our goals in accommodating the nervous systems of our PDA children and teens is to make them feel safe. And in this video I walk through nine ways we can signal safety (many of which aren't verbal) to help them feel safe, and safe in their connection with us. This podcast is the audio recording of a video I made, and you can hear me talk about some of the visuals I shared, which you don't really need, but are available here if you want to see them (https://youtu.be/FD_oHidffP4?si=R3EOQiBU...
Sep 12, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 75
I don't plan a single weekend - nor really any other free time with my PDA son - without thinking about the 4 S's. Just keeping them in mind buoys my confidence that I know how to prevent or interrupt my son's dysregulation. This podcast is the audio of a video I made explaining the 4S's in detail. I talk a bit about the graphics I drew for the video, which you don't really need to see, but can find here if you'd like (https://youtu.be/4hYEtJhbg7k?si=jZlWZLhawS-sZ0p4). Are you ready to start wor...
Sep 09, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Are you thinking about taking your PDA child or teen out of formal school for homeschooling? Or perhaps you've already done so and are finding what you've gotten into to be pure chaos? This episode is for you! Kelly Edwards is the mother of a PDA child and founder of 90-Minute School Day ( https://90minuteschoolday.com/ ), an organization that helps parents homeschool and unschool their neurodivergent children and teens. I loved speaking with her and know her insights will be supportive for so m...
Sep 05, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Raising a PDA child or teen is extremely challenging. Trying to be perfect in your implementation of accommodations makes it impossible and unsustainable. But here's the good news - you don't have to be perfect! Not when your child is in burnout, and certainly not when they're in equilibrium and you need to bring some nuance to your caregiving. I explain these distinctions in this episode, which I hopes helps you breathe a little deeper and recognize what a great job you're already doing! Are yo...
Sep 03, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can take my FREE Clarity Masterclass at www.atpeaceparents.com. You can also connect with me on: Instagram - www.instagram/atpeaceparents TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@atpeaceparents F...
Aug 29, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Are you dreading the start to school with your PDA child or teen? 😬 You are not alone! During this free training, I explored seven steps to help you feel more confident and empowered with skills that can help you solve problems and get your child or teen the support and access to learning that they deserve and have a right to 💪. Structure of the free mini training: 👉Tough love and radically accepting the constraints we can’t change in the moment. 👉Identifying decision points vs. strategies f...
Aug 26, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 70
In this episode I talk through the steps you can take to accommodate your PDA child or teen as they equalize against you. This is not easy stuff, but can be life changing over time. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, y...
Aug 19, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can take my FREE Clarity Masterclass at www.atpeaceparents.com. You can also connect with me on: Instagram - www.instagram/atpeaceparents TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@atpeaceparents F...
Aug 13, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 68
In this episode Donna Georgen - one of the expert coaches with At Peace Parents - shares her own amazing story of being a single mother raising two PDA daughters, one of whom also has Down Syndrome, into adulthood. Donna is a true inspiration, and a wonderful human. I feel so fortunate that she now brings all of her wisdom, empathy and practicality to her private coaching clients, and her work as a moderator in the Paradigm Shift Program online community. Want to learn more about coaching with D...
Jul 27, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 67
In my work with hundreds of families one thing I see often is that parents are wrongly made to feel shame for their parenting by well-meaning but shortsighted "experts." In this episode of the podcast I debunk the arguments and "evidence" that these experts use and show that none of us need to feel ashamed of the herculean parenting we're doing. Are you ready to dive deeper with me, my team and a cohort of other understanding families facing the same challenges you do? If so, I recommend joining...
Jul 17, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 66
This episode is a MUST listen! Kendahl Damashek, a gifted PDAer and parent coach with At Peace Parents, walks us through her experience as a PDA child and young adult. With vulnerability and courage, Kendahl shares her experience with burnout in her college years and her story of how she learned to balance raising four PDA children and her own access needs. I am grateful that I get to work with Kendahl every day as a member of the At Peace Parents team. She shares her wisdom in the online commun...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 65
We can use time-tested scientific methods to determine the best ways to parent our PDA children and teens. In fact, many of you likely already do so, and in this episode I discuss how we all can. To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can take my FREE Clarity Masterclass at www.atpeaceparents.com. You can also connect with me on: Instagram - www.instagram/atpeaceparents TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@atpeaceparents Facebook - www.facebook.com/atpeaceparents YouTube - www....
Jun 26, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 64
In this episode Dr. Alex Klein, clinical psychologist, discussed strategies for parents of children with both PDA and OCD, and how to handle violence and hitting, especially with the added challenge of keeping siblings safe. Also, Dr. Klein mentions two other practitioners in this episode, Dr. Melissa Neff ( https://www.melissaneffphd.com/ ) and Dr. Jeremy Shuman ( https://mindfulstl.com/providers/jeremy-shuman-psy-d/ ) To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can tak...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 63
The subject of this podcast can be triggering, but I'm committed to talking about it because so many parents of PDA children and teens encounter violence - and I am sending love and, compassion and deep empathy to all of you - and because part of the mission of At Peace Parents is to reduce violence at the individual, household and societal level. To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can take my FREE Clarity Masterclass at www.atpeaceparents.com. You can also conn...
Jun 14, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 62
In this episode I talk with At Peace Parents coach Kendahl Damashek about parenting twice exceptional children - who are both gifted and PDA. Kendahl shares her personal experience being 2E and raising 2E children. You can learn more about her and her coaching services at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/kendahl-private-coaching-1 To learn more about and figure out if your child or teen is PDA, you can take my FREE Clarity Masterclass at www.atpeaceparents.com. You can also connect with me on: Ins...
Jun 05, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 61
In this episode I share how Polyvagal Theory - cutting edge understanding of how the human nervous system works - can help us parent our PDA children and teens. Specifically, I look at how it helps us answer the following paradoxical questions: 1 - Why do things seem to get worse after I dive in on accommodating? 2 - How can my child turn their responses on or off if the behaviors truly aren't under their conscious control? 3 - Similarly, how can equalizing be social in nature if not under their...
May 28, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 60
In this episode I share the lessons I learned THE HARD WAY about advocating for my PDA son. Because you are truly not alone if you're feeling angry and exhausted after trying to convince teachers, doctors, therapists, grandparents, even spouses what your child needs and why - I've worked with hundreds of families who have gone through this. I share these lessons in the hope that it will short cut the process for you, so you can preserve some of your limited energy. Interested in the two books I ...
May 16, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 59
