Parents & Caregivers
I offer a helping hand through the world of neurodiversity—whether that’s with a listening ear, a sounding board, or clear, compassionate guidance that meets you where you’re at. Together, we’ll identify what’s working, tackle what isn’t, and build a toolkit for understanding, articulating, and responding to your child’s needs—and your own.
Whether you’re a neurotypical parent needing your own “autistic encyclopedia” or a recently-realized neurodivergent parent seeking ways to maintain your wellbeing, I am here for you.
Have you ever felt like your child was speaking a different language to the people around them?
Like they have so much to say—so much to offer—and the people around them just aren’t hearing it?
Have you fought tooth and nail to get your child’s school to acknowledge their strengths one day…
then had to fight for acknowledgement of their struggles the next?
Does advice from doctors and experts always seem to be something that you know in your heart would increase, not address, your child’s suffering?
Have you sincerely tried to comfort your child only to trigger a meltdown, leaving you wondering “what the heck did I say?”
Maybe, after years of research and experience, you know exactly what to do and say to support your child in an ideal world… but the “right thing” is so at odds with the resources you have right now.
(Or maybe, in the process of learning about your child, you’ve discovered you might be neurodivergent too. Maybe you love and understand the hell out of your neurodivergent child… but were never ever taught how to love and understand yourself.)
Let’s get this out of the way:
Parenting a neurodivergent child can be super freaking hard.
(Yep. You’re allowed to say it.)
Not because they’re not lovable, not because they’re not smart, and not because you’re a bad parent.
It’s because they’ve been marginalized: our society isn’t designed for them.
That’s not your fault—or theirs. And it certainly isn’t right. But it does mean that truly understanding and supporting autism and ADHD, and finding service providers that do the same, can take some extra know-how.
I offer guidance through the world of neurodiversity that is clear, compassionate, and meets you where you’re at. You’ll learn about the history, mechanisms, strengths, stigma, and struggles of autistic and ADHD minds. More importantly, you’ll learn to translate that knowledge into actionable ways to maximize your child’s confidence and well-being.
Together, we’ll identify what’s working, tackle what’s not, and build a toolkit for understanding and articulating your child’s needs.
Let’s get started!
What do you want to learn?
- Spiky cognitive profiles: why do we struggle to tie our shoes one minute and complete complex arithmetic the next?
- Inclusive education: What can be added to your child’s classroom to help them feel peaceful and capable? Is your child’s current IEP helping them gain skills—or is it teaching them to fit a mold?
- When school just doesn’t work: So you’ve decided to let your child stay home. Have you signed them up for failure? (Nope!) Are you a bad parent? (Not at all!) Can you still promote learning? (Yes, absolutely!)
- The problem with the pathology model: Why do research results and lived experience so rarely match up? Is “disabled” a dirty word? How can reframing our perception of autism, ADHD, and their associated struggles help to reduce the struggles in question?
- Transitioning to college/university: How could the new environment impact your child’s well-being? What’s the IEP process?
- Articulating experiences inside autism/ADHD: What do terms like “monotropism” and “hyperplasticity” really mean for autism/ADHD?
- The politics of language: “Autistic”? “Person with autism”? “ASD”? Why is how we refer to autism so contentious?
- Stimming and self-regulation: Why the heck do we keep flapping, stomping, and pacing? Should you intervene?
- Selfhood in parenting: Do you need to give up everything to raise a healthy autistic/ADHD child? (Spoiler: Please don’t!)