Understanding Yourself: A Process to Finding the Person Inside
Neurodiversity Podcast
Today's episode is a heartfelt conversation about the importance of helping neurodivergent children understand themselves and their brain profile, and how this understanding can foster confidence and self-advocacy. Emily talks with Dr. Liz Angoff about the need for transparent communication with children about their diagnoses, and the use of relatable metaphors to explain complex concepts. They discuss collaborative approaches in assessments, the challenges of co-occurring diagnoses, and the role of parents in supporting their children. How can families find practitioners who align with...
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The Wall of Awful: Why Starting Feels Impossible
Neurodiversity Podcast
When people with ADHD struggle to start, return to, or finish a task, their inaction is frequently mislabeled as laziness, poor motivation, or chronic procrastination. In reality, the obstacle is rarely about logistics or effort. It stems from the emotional pre-work required just to get to the starting line. Brendan Mahan, an ADHD coach, speaker, host of the ADHD Essentials podcast, and author of Overcoming the Wall of Awful, joins Emily to talk about the emotional barriers that turn ordinary demands into overwhelming roadblocks. TAKEAWAYS Task paralysis is driven primarily by emotional...
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The Asynchrony Paradox: Why Capable Kids Struggle with the Basics
Neurodiversity Podcast
When raising or teaching gifted, twice-exceptional, and differently wired children, adults often face the emotional whiplash of asynchronous development. A child might engage in deep, high-level discussions one moment, only to struggle with basic emotional regulation, task initiation, or practical organization the next. Colleen Kessler, an educator, gifted specialist, author of The Homeschool Advantage, and host of the Raising Lifelong Learners podcast, joins Emily to discuss why supporting neurodivergent kids requires shifting away from one-size-fits-all expectations and becoming an active...
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Neurodivergent Capacity: Why Can They Do It Sometimes But Not Every Time?
Neurodiversity Podcast
When supporting neurodivergent kids, adults often struggle to balance when to gently challenge a child and when to pull back to prevent nervous system overload. Pushing too hard risks chronic distress and shutdown, but overprotecting can unintentionally create learned helplessness and limit opportunities for growth. Emily welcomes Dr. Emily King, a child psychologist, former school psychologist, and author of The Neurodivergent Learner, to talk about how parents and educators can work together to read a child's true capacity and build authentic engagement in school and at home. TAKEAWAYS ...
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Learning Differences And Emotional Well-Being Aren't Separate, and Here's Why
Neurodiversity Podcast
It's easy to view academic difficulties and mental health challenges as two separate issues when a child struggles. However, the emotional toll of an unaddressed learning difference often leads to chronic anxiety, low self-esteem, and a loss of motivation. Dr. Karen Wilson is a pediatric neuropsychologist and the host of the Diverse Thinking-Different Learning Podcast, and she joins Emily this week to talk about the deep overlap between learning differences and emotional well-being. TAKEAWAYS Learning differences and mental health challenges are deeply connected, with neurodivergent kids...
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The Evolution of Assessment: It's More Than Just a Score
Neurodiversity Podcast
As public understanding of neurodiversity continues to grow, evaluators face a shifting landscape when assessing clients whose traits don't match traditional, less nuanced pictures of autism. Many individuals—especially women and girls—learn to navigate daily social interactions through pattern recognition and learned strategies rather than intuitive processing, masking their traits enough to miss early identification. Dr. Jeremy Sharp, a licensed psychologist, founder of the Colorado Center for Assessment, and host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, joins Emily to unpack the realities...
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Autistic Girls Are Going Undiagnosed or Misdiagnosed
Neurodiversity Podcast
Often, autistic girls are called shy, introverted, perfectionistic, confused, anything BUT autistic. There is a pervasive impression, even in the medical community, that autism occurs in boys vastly more often than girls. The result is, autistic girls are missing out on services and tools that are available to them. Holly Blanc Moses is a therapist, and the host of the Autism ADHD Podcast, and she joins Emily Kircher-Morris in this encore presentation to talk about missing autism in girls. You can for our upcoming continuing education course for mental health professionals, Clinical...
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The Right to Be Heard: Reclaiming Communication Autonomy
Neurodiversity Podcast
The baseline premise of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) rests on the fundamental principle that communication is an inherent human right rather than a privilege to be earned through baseline cognitive compliance. Too often, school systems and clinical providers inadvertently stall access to verbal alternatives by requiring non-speaking students to prove communicative readiness or complete repetitive testing metrics. Brenda Del Monte, an AAC specialist and author, alongside Sarah Kinsella, an assistive technology specialist, join Emily Kircher-Morris to discuss ways to reverse...
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What We’re Learning About (Pervasive) Pathological Demand Avoidance
Neurodiversity Podcast
When an autistic child or teen consistently pushes back against daily expectations, traditional parenting and teaching methods often default to high-pressure enforcement. This pattern routinely triggers escalating defensive behaviors, creating a continuous loop of friction that strains the entire family system. In this encore conversation, Sandra McConnell, an advocate known as the PDA Mama Bear, joins Emily Kircher-Morris to unpack the nuanced framework of pervasive demand avoidance and explore how it reshapes typical social navigation. They talk about ways to shift the focus away from...
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The Parenting Long Game: Finding the Problem Under the Problem
Neurodiversity Podcast
Today we talk about how parent reactivity, historical family patterns, and systemic overwhelm inadvertently trap families in cyclical power struggles. Emily Kircher-Morris welcomes Diane Dempster, a professional coach, author, and co-founder of ImpactParents, to talk about how urgency often drives parents out of an objective problem-solving mindset, and toward reactionary behaviors that over-manage their kids, rather than supporting their neurological growth. They talk about the family as an interdependent system, and about how interpersonal traps of the traditional drama triangle can cause...
info_outlineWhen people with ADHD struggle to start, return to, or finish a task, their inaction is frequently mislabeled as laziness, poor motivation, or chronic procrastination. In reality, the obstacle is rarely about logistics or effort. It stems from the emotional pre-work required just to get to the starting line. Brendan Mahan, an ADHD coach, speaker, host of the ADHD Essentials podcast, and author of Overcoming the Wall of Awful, joins Emily to talk about the emotional barriers that turn ordinary demands into overwhelming roadblocks.
TAKEAWAYS
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Task paralysis is driven primarily by emotional labor and accumulated negative memories rather than simple executive dysfunction or laziness.
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The emotional work required to face an anxiety-provoking task is invisible from the outside, which often cause those around you to mistake genuine freeze states for willful procrastination.
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Smashing through emotional barriers using eleventh-hour panic and anger damages internal self-esteem and strains personal relationships.
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Putting a door in an emotional barrier involves shifting short-term states using external scaffolding such as body doubling, high-interest music, or novel environments.
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Climbing an emotional barrier requires a balance of active cognitive processing and passive mind-wandering to allow the brain's default mode network to metabolize stress.
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Healthy accountability separates functional impairments from moral worth by treating ADHD symptoms with the same matter-of-fact compassion as an asthma flare-up or chronic physical condition.
Mental health clinicians: Telling a child about a new diagnosis can feel like navigating a minefield, but it doesn’t have to. We’re hosting a training with Dr. Liz Angoff, called Explaining a Diagnosis to Kids in a Neurodiversity-Affirming Way, on Friday, September 11th from 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern. The course is worth 1.5 continuing education hours, and is approved through both the APA and NBCC. You’ll learn how to replace pathologizing jargon with empowering, neurodiversity-affirming language that builds self-advocacy and resilience. Register for this course today.
We're getting closer to our annual, free Creating Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools Crash Course. Our a panel of experts will talk all about how to approach the new school year and set our neurodivergent students up for success. The event is Tuesday, September 22 at 7:30 PM Eastern, and again, it is free to register and attend. Here's a link to register and join us!
Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., M.S. is an ADHD coach, speaker, and educator dedicated to helping neurodivergent individuals better understand and manage the challenges of ADHD. He is the author of Overcoming the Wall of Awful™ and the host of the popular ADHD Essentials Podcast, where he shares practical strategies and insights for navigating life with ADHD.
As a neurodivergent professional, Brendan brings both lived experience and professional expertise to his work with individuals, families, schools, and organizations. He serves on the board of the Men’s ADHD Support Group, is the Director of Professional Resources for Calmer Con Boston, and previously served on the planning committee for the International Conference on ADHD. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, LinkedIn, Understood, How to ADHD, Verywell Mind, and ADDitude Magazine.
BACKGROUND READING
Overcoming the Wall of Awful, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Twitter/X
The Neurodiversity Podcast is on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and you’re invited to join our Facebook Group. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com
If you'd like members of your organization, school district, or company to know more about the subjects discussed on our podcast, Emily Kircher-Morris provides keynote addresses, workshops, and training sessions worldwide, in-person or virtually. You can choose from a list of established presentations, or work with Emily to develop a custom talk to fit your unique situation. To learn more, visit our website.
Thank you for supporting neurodivergent people.