In this episode of Beautifully Complex, Leslie Josel and I explore the crucial role of emotional rewards in building habits and fostering positive behavior in neurodivergent children. We highlight the significance of specific praise, genuine curiosity, and active listening in reinforcing routines and solidifying relationships. The conversation also delves into the challenges of effective communication and the importance of providing space for children to process. You’ll get practical insights an...
Nov 30, 2023•34 min•Ep 246•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Beautifully Complex, join host Penny Williams as she delves into the topic of childhood OCD with guest Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., MS. Brendan opens up about his personal journey raising a child with OCD and the challenges his child and family faced, and continues to face, along the way. From the early signs of OCD in his son to the impact of COVID on his family dynamics, Brendan shares the highs, lows, and important lessons learned about raising a kid with OCD. Join us as we explor...
Nov 16, 2023•47 min•Ep 245•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Beautifully Complex, I’m diving into behavior challenges at school. We'll discuss the common struggles faced by children with ADHD, autism, and other developmental delays, and explore effective strategies to help them navigate these challenges. From poor frustration tolerance and off-task behavior to big emotions and argumentativeness, we'll unpack it all. Join me as I share practical tips, insights, and stories to empower parents, educators, and professionals in supporting th...
Nov 09, 2023•32 min•Ep 244•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Beautifully Complex, we’re discussing the incredible power of music for those who are neurodivergent with Penny’s son, Luke. Luke shares his personal journey with music, starting from using it as a tool to assist his focus and mental clarity beginning in fourth grade. He also delves into his experience with creating digital music on his iPad and phone. Penny and Luke explore how this particular form of music — with its rhythmic and often heavy nature — has been instrumental in...
Nov 02, 2023•21 min•Ep 243•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, our host Penny Williams dives deep into a topic that many parents struggle with: how to stay calm in the midst of the storm. As a parenting coach, author, and mindset mama, Penny shares her personal journey of going from a parent who yelled and felt frustrated to one who responds calmly, compassionately, and clear-headedly. From reframing our children's behavior to understanding that it's not personal, Penny offers valuable insights and strategies on how to manage our emotion...
Oct 26, 2023•19 min•Ep 242•Transcript available on Metacast I have a special guest in this episode — Alice Gendron, also known as The Mini ADHD Coach. Alice shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 29 and the challenges she faced afterward. She discusses the misconceptions surrounding ADHD, particularly in women and girls, and highlights the importance of understanding the different ways in which ADHD can manifest. Join us as we dive deep into this beautifully complex topic and gain valuable insights into working with the AD...
Oct 19, 2023•26 min•Ep 241•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I’m diving deep into the topic of de-escalating challenging behavior with Dayna Abraham of Calm the Chaos. As parents of neurodivergent kids, we often face moments when our children's behaviors become overwhelming and difficult to handle. This discussion will provide you with valuable insights and strategies for navigating these situations. We explore the concept that all behavior is communication and how to approach challenging behaviors as clues of dysregulation, rather than a...
Oct 12, 2023•30 min•Ep 240•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I’m diving deep into the reality of frustration, particularly for mothers of neurodivergent children with Stephanie Rosenfield. Stephanie shares her insights and personal experiences, highlighting the challenges and struggles faced by moms who are constantly striving to balance authenticity and protectiveness. We'll explore the societal pressures of being the perfect parent and how it impacts our ability to be real with our children. Stephanie also offers valuable tips on how to...
Oct 05, 2023•33 min•Ep 239•Transcript available on Metacast I’m diving into the big picture goals of education and how refocusing on those overarching goals helps struggling learners thrive. Join me as I discuss how understanding the true purpose of education and the true purpose of each task or assignment can level the playing field for struggling learners and enhance a child's learning journey.
Sep 27, 2023•7 min•Ep 238•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I discuss the role of neurobiology in our ability to learn. Join me as we uncover the science behind how our nervous system’s state impacts our availability to learn. We will explore the concept of regulation and why it is crucial for optimal learning. Get ready for some eye-opening insights that will challenge the traditional educational norms we've been accustomed to.
Sep 26, 2023•6 min•Ep 237•Transcript available on Metacast The concept of the "just right challenge" plays a crucial role in supporting growth and success for neurodivergent kids in school. I share insights on finding the balance between pushing children outside their comfort zones and ensuring they can still achieve success. I emphasize the need to meet kids where they are and create opportunities for growth, all while understanding the ever-changing nature of neurodiversity. Tune in to learn more about the Zone of Proximal Development and how to navig...
Sep 24, 2023•6 min•Ep 236•Transcript available on Metacast Connection and a sense of belonging are integral to learning. Join me as I explore strategies for creating a community that not only supports academic growth but also celebrates individual differences. Tune in to discover how building a culture of community can positively impact students' emotional well-being and engagement in the learning process.
Sep 23, 2023•5 min•Ep 235•Transcript available on Metacast Normalizing differences in education is a key topic for creating schools that are equitable to all learners. I share valuable lessons learned from experts on how to embrace neurodiversity, different learning styles, and unique needs in the classroom. Join me as I uncover strategies to create a culture of acceptance, foster community, and encourage open conversations about alternative approaches to learning. It's time to make education a place where every student feels seen, understood, and succe...
Sep 22, 2023•5 min•Ep 234•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I explore the crucial importance of providing adaptable approaches to education for neurodivergent children and those who struggle in school. Prepare to discover three key ways to implement flexibility in education, ranging from the flexibility of the learning environment to accommodating different modalities of learning and allowing individualized planning and organization.
Sep 21, 2023•8 min•Ep 233•Transcript available on Metacast In 2022, 34 students and adults died in school shootings, while more than 43,000 children were exposed to gunfire at school. These are startling statistics, but an epidemic that many Americans have grown somewhat numb to. While we’ve become accustomed to expecting more school shootings, it doesn’t reduce the fear and anxiety kids and parents feel. In fact, the inevitability keeps the lack of control top of mind. In this episode, I’m joined by the Executive Director of the Trauma and Grief Center...
Sep 14, 2023•23 min•Ep 232•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone has eight senses — the five we know commonly, which are our “far” senses, and the three additional senses that are our “near” senses. The three additional senses of vestibular, proprioceptive, and interoception are vitally important to regulation. In this episode, I’m joined by occupational therapists, Rachel Harrington and Jessica Hill, hosts of the All Things Sensory podcast. Listen in to learn about the three “near” senses, how to put on your sensory goggles to decode behavior and he...
Sep 07, 2023•32 min•Ep 231•Transcript available on Metacast School is hard for neurodivergent kids — there's no question about that. Traditional educational systems are not designed for kids who learn differently. That means we have to advocate for our children and take steps to provide a path for success. First and foremost, we must understand the end goal of schooling: to provide our children with the education and skills they need to thrive as adults. We can't achieve that if we get caught up in just conforming to a rigid system. Instead, let's focus ...
Aug 31, 2023•25 min•Ep 230•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone needs grit for self-actualization. Without experiencing that we can do hard things and be okay on the other side, we don’t feel truly successful and fulfilled. Of course, we want this for our kids — we want them to have grit and to feel a great sense of achievement and purpose. So how do we foster grit in our kids (and ourselves, btw)? The short answer is that we allow failure and then learn and grow from it. As the executive director of SOAR, John Willson (or Big John as I and his camp...
Aug 17, 2023•26 min•Ep 229•Transcript available on Metacast Our culture is pretty rigid and it calls for parents to be rigid in their parenting as well — you set rules and limits, kids break them, you punish them. But, this is not good parenting! Kids do need structure but they also need the space to be authentically who they are and find their own path. Rigidity doesn’t allow kids to be true to themselves, it doesn’t allow parents to feel good about their relationships with their kids, and it doesn’t prepare kids for adulthood and independence. There is...
Aug 03, 2023•35 min•Ep 228•Transcript available on Metacast Parenting itself can be traumatic — it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders to protect your child while also teaching them to live their truth and live it fearlessly. When you add in neurodivergence, you amplify the stress, anxiety, and intensity. And your body holds onto that stress, anxiety, and intensity — it doesn’t feel safe and it signals you not just emotionally and mentally, but physically as well. I’m honored to have the founder of The Biology of Trauma, Dr. Aimie Api...
Jul 20, 2023•33 min•Ep 227•Transcript available on Metacast One of the struggles we hear from parents again and again is that their child lacks self-regulation. Being with a kid who can’t self-regulate day in and day out is challenging, no doubt. But you can help your kid calm and kids can learn to self-regulate — you just need the right strategies. In this episode of Beautifully Complex, outline five strategies to help your child get regulated or to foster their own self-regulation skills. Most of these can be woven into your everyday lives and things y...
Jul 13, 2023•37 min•Ep 226•Transcript available on Metacast It’s hard not to get overwhelmed when parenting neurodivergent kids. The chaos, the school meetings, the appointments, the seemingly never-ending need… it’s a lot to juggle. But what our souls crave — what we need to truly live — is joy, ease, and presence. In this episode, Heather Chauvin of Emotionally Uncomfortable reminds us that overwhelm is just a symptom, not a lifestyle. Instead, focusing on how you feel and how you want to feel can create a transformation in your body, mind, and spirit....
Jun 22, 2023•35 min•Ep 225•Transcript available on Metacast Though our understanding of autism has greatly expanded, many autistic individuals are still missed or misdiagnosed. Not all autistics are severely outwardly impacted, like Rainman. Autism is a spectrum and it can show up in many different ways — even camouflaged. In this episode, I’m talking with Donna Henderson, Psy.D. & Sarah Wayland, Ph.D., authors of the new book, Is This Autism? A guide for clinicians and everyone else. We talk through the diagnostic criteria of autism in a new way — throu...
Jun 08, 2023•38 min•Ep 224•Transcript available on Metacast We talk a lot about strategies for when our kids get stuck, but what about us? Parents can certainly feel stuck too. I’m feeling it to the nth degree these days, and I’ve decided to share my current feelings of being stuck in the stuck of stuck and what I’m doing to slowly find my way out of that darkness. In this episode I share my current stuckness, how doing simple things has been hard for me, and what my therapist is helping me do to feel better so I can do better. I hope that my openness in...
May 25, 2023•23 min•Ep 223•Transcript available on Metacast It’s easy to get overwhelmed by your child’s behavior, numerous possible interventions, school struggles, medication trials, and your feelings about all those things when you have a child with ADHD or autism. And we can’t live our best lives, or help our children live their best lives, when we’re overwhelmed and trying to do too much at once. “We’re living in systems that make it hard for [parents of ND kids],” says Dr. Kelly Fradin. That inherently brings more difficulty to parenting complex ki...
May 18, 2023•31 min•Ep 222•Transcript available on Metacast The rate of suicide in children is rising sharply, not at a true crisis point. It’s something we worry about as parents, and rightfully so. Especially when we’re talking about a marginalized population like neurodivergent kids. Conversations with our kids about suicide are paramount, but often avoided because it’s a really hard topic to think and talk about. In this episode, Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW joins me to talk about suicide. As an expert in the field, Jonathan shares the latest statist...
May 06, 2023•33 min•Ep 221•Transcript available on Metacast Parents and teachers often worry that if they help a kid with lagging executive functioning skills that the kid won’t develop skills for independence — that they won’t be able to function on their own. But, the truth is, you can help a child with functioning skills and teach them independence skills. The first step is to replace doing things for the child with doing things with the child. In this episode, we talk about the difference between helping in a way that is enabling, versus helping in a...
May 04, 2023•32 min•Ep 220•Transcript available on Metacast There is a LOT online about ADHD and autism. A LOT! How do you know what to trust, what to try? It can be tough, especially when you’re searching through a lens of fear and worry for your child. In this episode of Beautifully Complex, we offer some guidelines on knowing what to trust and considering what interventions are worth trying. We talk about ADHD medication, diet, brain training, and more.
Apr 27, 2023•34 min•Ep 219•Transcript available on Metacast You want to help your child. So you make some assumptions as to why they’re upset, why they’re not getting things done, why they’re avoiding or disengaging… You show empathy and validation with that info, still trying to help, and then your kid gets more upset and you can’t figure it out because you feel that you did everything right. The hurdle you tripped over may be assumptions and judgment. We have an opinion about why the behavior is happening and act on it as fact, when it’s really just a ...
Apr 20, 2023•23 min•Ep 218•Transcript available on Metacast There are some tough and scary things in life that we need to talk to our kids about: divorce, serious illness of a family member, moving, death of a loved one, to name a few. As parents, we don’t want our kids to be hurting and often default to sharing as little painful information as possible with them. But, we do them a great disservice with that approach. Instead we need to be open and honest with them in an age-appropriate way. What is age-appropriate for these conversations? My guest, Sara...
Apr 13, 2023•37 min•Ep 217•Transcript available on Metacast 
