Why Your Kid Isn't Doing Their Homework with Elyse Dworin
Complicated Kids
Behavior is never just behavior. In this conversation, holistic academic support coach Elyse Dworin joins me to look underneath school struggles, homework battles, and “I don’t feel well” complaints through a whole-child lens. We talk about behavior as a symptom, not a character flaw, and explore how challenges with executive function, overwhelm, social stress, or undiagnosed needs can show up as avoidance, lashing out, or shutdown long before a child has words for what’s wrong. Elyse walks us through simple, body-based tools to help kids (and parents) tune back in: grounding...
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Building Resilience with Dr. Kate Lund
Complicated Kids
Some families are living on an emotional rollercoaster. One minute everyone seems fine. The next, it feels like the wheels are coming off. In this episode of Complicated Kids, I sit down with Dr. Kate Lund, a licensed clinical psychologist, resilience expert, and twin mom, to talk about resilience as a way of living rather than a trait you either have or do not have. Instead of seeing resilience as “you hit a challenge and bounce back,” we explore what it looks like to build a steadier baseline so you can ride the waves of real life with a little more ease. Dr. Kate shares how she helps...
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It’s Not Just Autism with Dr. Jodie Dashore
Complicated Kids
Some kids are labeled “autistic” when their bodies are actually screaming for help. In this episode of Complicated Kids, I sit down with Dr. Jodie Dashore, an internationally recognized integrative practitioner and clinical herbalist, to talk about the kids who don’t fit neatly into “just autism.” These are the kids with paralysis, bone pain, rashes, fevers, breathing issues, crushing anxiety, or terror—and all of it gets folded under one word: autism. Dr. Dashore shares her personal and professional story, including her son’s terrifying descent into wheelchairs, tics, and...
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The Bad News About Untreated ADHD with Karin Varblow
Complicated Kids
ADHD is not just about attention. It is about self-control, self-esteem, and what happens when the brain goes offline. Living with untreated ADHD is not just about missing assignments. It is about moving through the world without a reliable connection between what you know and what you do. In this conversation, I talk with Dr. Karin Varblow, a behavioral pediatrician, former teacher and social worker, neurodivergent adult, and mom to neurodivergent kids. We look closely at what untreated ADHD really costs over a lifetime, from self-esteem and identity to health, safety, relationships, and even...
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Turning Autism Complexity Into Clarity with Dr. Theresa Lyons
Complicated Kids
Autism content is not the same thing as autism science. In this episode, Dr. Theresa Lyons joins me to talk about what it really means to follow the science of autism, and why parents cannot rely on headlines, algorithms, or outdated assumptions when the stakes are this high. Theresa is a Yale trained scientist and autism parent, and she breaks down how peer reviewed research actually moves, how easily it gets distorted, and why it can take 20 to 30 years for scientific conclusions to become common medical practice. We talk about how misinformation spreads online, including research showing...
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Play is a Nutrient Not an Indulgence with Annamarie von Firley
Complicated Kids
Play is where development lives, even when it looks simple, repetitive, or messy. In this conversation, Annamarie von Firley joins me to unpack why play is essential to early brain development and why children need hands-on experiences far more than screens, flashcards, or noisy battery powered toys. We talk about how babies learn to operate their bodies, how repetition builds neural connections, and why dumping, filling, banging, sorting, and mouthing objects are critical stages of growth. Annamarie explains how the brain develops most rapidly from birth to age three, why fine motor and...
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Clear Communication with Kati Morton
Complicated Kids
Trouble ensues when we avoid saying what we actually need and expect the people we love to just know. In this episode of Complicated Kids, I sit down with Kati Morton, a licensed marriage and family therapist and longtime mental health educator, to talk about why clear, direct communication is not just a nice-to-have, but a skill that can change relationships and, in some cases, save them. We dig into why so many of us avoid saying what we actually need, how resentment builds when we expect others to read our minds, and why discomfort is not something to run from, but something to move...
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What Not to Say to Your Anxious Teen with Sophia Galano
Complicated Kids
“Listening is fixing: what anxious teens wish their parents knew.” In this episode of Complicated Kids, I talk with therapist and author Sophia Galano about what teenage anxiety actually looks like, and why it is so easy for even the most caring parents to miss. Sophia explains that teens are not expert communicators. Their distress often shows up as irritability, withdrawal, “attitude,” or “teen angst,” and it can be brushed off as a phase when it is really a cry for help. We dig into the difference between everyday worry and clinically significant anxiety, and how to look at both...
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MTHFR Gene with Elyse Dworin
Complicated Kids
Could a common gene variant be quietly clogging the system for you or your child? In this episode of Complicated Kids, I sit down with holistic academic coach Elyse Dworin to talk about the MTHFR gene: what it is, what it does, and why it matters for neurodivergent kids and their parents. Elyse explains, in plain language, how this gene helps the body process folate, manage toxins, and regulate inflammation, and what can happen when a variant plus a modern “enriched” diet start to overload the system. We get into her personal story of brain fog, gut issues, anxiety, and years of “IBS”...
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Forever Parenting with Sarah Wayland
Complicated Kids
What happens when parenting doesn’t end when your child turns 18? In this special episode of Complicated Kids, I sit down with my friend Dr. Sarah Wayland to talk about “forever parenting,” those situations where parents remain deeply involved in their child’s life and care well into adulthood, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Sarah shares three common paths into forever parenting: children whose developmental differences are clear early on; kids who look “on track” until they hit a wall in college or young adulthood; and those whose lives change suddenly through accident,...
info_outline“Listening is fixing: what anxious teens wish their parents knew.”
In this episode of Complicated Kids, I talk with therapist and author Sophia Galano about what teenage anxiety actually looks like, and why it is so easy for even the most caring parents to miss. Sophia explains that teens are not expert communicators. Their distress often shows up as irritability, withdrawal, “attitude,” or “teen angst,” and it can be brushed off as a phase when it is really a cry for help.
We dig into the difference between everyday worry and clinically significant anxiety, and how to look at both how often anxiety shows up and how much it impacts daily life: school, sleep, friendships, appetite, and basic functioning. From there, we explore one of the core traps for parents: rushing in with solutions (“Have you tried meditating?” “Just go for a walk.”) instead of sitting with their teen’s feelings. Sophia offers a gentle but powerful reframe: active listening is not doing nothing. It is an intervention that helps teens feel seen instead of “fixed.”
We also talk about parents’ distress tolerance, how hard it is to watch your child suffer, and how quickly that can push you into fix-it mode for your relief, not theirs. Sophia shares why parents need (and deserve) their own support, how to model boundaries (“I want to hear this, but I’m too fried right now. Can we talk at X time?”), and why that kind of honesty teaches teens to care for their own capacity too. Finally, Sophia walks through holistic supports, from sleep, movement, and time outside to different therapy modalities beyond traditional talk therapy, so families can build a web of support around their anxious teen.
Key Takeaways
- Anxiety is a natural human emotion. It becomes a problem when it shows up frequently and starts to interfere with daily life (school, friendships, sleep, basic functioning).
- Teens are not expert communicators. Their anxiety often looks like irritability, withdrawal, “attitude,” or “teen angst,” and can easily be misunderstood or dismissed.
- When you are trying to figure out “Is this anxiety a problem?”, look at both how often it happens and how much it affects their quality of life.
- Parents are often right that strategies like sleep, exercise, or meditation would help, but leading with solutions can make teens feel dismissed or unseen.
- “Listening is fixing.” Validating and staying with your teen’s feelings is not passive. It is an active intervention that reduces shame and builds trust.
- A lot of “I need to fix this now” energy comes from the parent’s own distress. Your anxiety about their anxiety is real, and it deserves its own care and support.
- It is okay to set boundaries around capacity: “I really want to hear this, and I also need 30 minutes so I can be fully present with you.” That models healthy self-respect for your teen.
- Not all therapy has to look like sitting in a room talking. Teens may connect more with art therapy, drama therapy, movement-based work, coaching, or body-based modalities.
- Beyond therapy, it is important to consider sleep, nutrition, movement, time outside, and screen habits as part of an anxious teen’s support plan.
- Parents do not need to be perfect. Self-compassion, repair after hard moments, and willingness to keep showing up are more important than getting it “right” every time.
About Sophia Galano
Sophia Galano, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and author who has spent over a decade working with teens and adults across residential, inpatient, outpatient, medical, and educational settings. Now in private practice, she specializes in anxiety and supports both adolescents and the caregivers who love them. In addition to her clinical work and supervision of associate therapists, Sophia is a certified yoga instructor and Master Reiki Practitioner, bringing a holistic, mind-body perspective to healing. Her first book, Calming Teenage Anxiety: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Your Teen Cope With Worry, was published October 7, 2025.
About Your Host, Gabriele Nicolet
I’m Gabriele Nicolet, toddler whisperer, speech therapist, parenting life coach, and host of Complicated Kids. Each week, I share practical, relationship-based strategies for raising kids with big feelings, big needs, and beautifully different brains. My goal is to help families move from surviving to thriving by building connection, confidence, and clarity at home.
Complicated Kids Resources and Links
🌎 gabrielenicolet.com
📅 Schedule a free intro call: calendly.com/gabrielenicolet/free-15-minute-1-1-session
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👾 Grab Tell the Story (anti-anxiety tool for kids): gabrielenicolet.com/tell-the-story
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