Connect with Samantha: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Get the Ultimate Guide to Parenting Your Neurodivergent Child: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Join the Neurodivergent Parenting Community: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/membership

Samantha and Lauren discuss out-of-the-box ways to teach neurodivergent kids kitchen skills. They share practical strategies to include kids without overwhelm by breaking cooking into clear steps, assigning specific tasks, and using visuals, play kitchens, and practice activities like pouring between measuring cups or “mud pie” measuring. They cover progressive knife and cutting practice with kid-safe tools, softer foods, and Play-Doh, while emphasizing safety routines.

The episode also highlights sensory considerations (smells, textures, loud appliances, heat/steam) and executive-function supports (picture recipes, checklists, timers, color-coded tools), encourages experimentation when safe, and suggests building independence in stages and finding ways to say yes.

00:00 Podcast Welcome
01:42 Kitchen Skills Topic
01:58 Cold Oven Practice
04:02 Why Cooking Matters
05:43 Visual Steps and Roles
08:12 Play Kitchen Practice
10:01 Kid Safe Cutting Skills
13:37 Sensory Friendly Cooking
16:58 Food Reactions and Gloves
18:29 Executive Function Supports
21:25 Experiment and Independence
24:42 Find a Way to Yes
26:06 Resources and Wrap Up

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

Connect with Samantha: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Get the Ultimate Guide to Parenting Your Neurodivergent Child: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Samantha and Lauren discuss Samantha’s weekend camping trip with extended family and how a recent change in her son’s ADHD medication affected his behavior. Her son had previously thrived on stimulant medication, describing a “quiet” brain and better focus, but after switching meds due to appetite concerns, he became unusually emotional, restless, and reactive which led to conflicts, safety concerns, and relatives criticizing Samantha’s parenting strategies and implying he needed more discipline.

Once Samantha realized the new medication needed a higher dose and adjusted it, he returned to baseline and listened better, though others attributed it to discipline. Samantha and Lauren emphasize advocating for neurodivergent kids, using teachable moments to educate family, balancing compassion with expectations, and offering positive feedback amid frequent negative comments.

00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:14 ADHD Meds Success Story
02:24 Switching Meds Camping Meltdown
04:33 Family Judgment and Discipline
09:15 Safety and Fixing the Dose
10:30 Counting Consequences Reset
12:06 Advocating and Educating Family
14:01 Teachable Moments Sensory Needs
16:54 Positive Feedback and Wrap Up

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

Get the Guide to Parenting Your Neurodivergent Child: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Connect with Samantha: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Samantha and Lauren discuss sensory-friendly hygiene routines for neurodivergent kids, emphasizing that hygiene is a health skill, not a test of compliance, and the goal is a safe, sustainable routine that supports autonomy and sensory needs.

They review how sensory factors (noise, bright lights, smells, water pressure/temperature, textures) and executive-function demands can make tasks like showering, hair washing, deodorant, toothbrushing, menstrual care, and shaving difficult, and they encourage parents to “get curious, not furious.”

Using a notice–name–modify framework, they suggest practical adaptations such as adjusting the bathroom environment, using handheld showerheads, keeping preferred towels nearby, offering shortened routines on hard days, trying different toothpaste/toothbrush options, and using visual schedules and timers.

They also cover respectful prompting, privacy and dignity during puberty-related care, when to involve professionals, and the takeaway that sensory distress is information, not defiance.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
00:29 Hygiene Is a Health Skill
02:01 Sensory Barriers in Bathrooms
04:21 Executive Function and Toothbrushing
06:21 Get Curious Not Furious
08:36 Notice Name Modify Framework
10:41 Sensory Friendly Shower Setup
12:36 Shower Modifications and Short Routines
18:19 Haircare Without the Meltdowns
20:06 Skincare and Deodorant Choices
23:28 Toothbrushing Adaptations
26:02 Prompting Toward Independence
28:44 Puberty Privacy and Dignity
30:43 Routines for Hard Days
32:32 Define Done and Use Supports
35:08 When to Call a Professional
37:08 Key Takeaways and Next Steps
38:53 Resources and Closing

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

Get the Ultimate Guide to Parenting Your Neurodivergent Child: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Connect with Samantha: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Samantha and Lauren discuss how to support autistic boys through puberty. They emphasize that physical puberty changes are generally typical, but sensory sensitivities, uncertainty, social rules, and indirect language can make the experience harder, so autistic youth need complete, factual information about bodies, relationships, boundaries, and safety through many short, ongoing conversations.

They recommend explicitly teaching what to expect (odor, acne, hair, genital growth, voice changes, erections, etc.), building visual and predictable supports (timelines, social stories, checklists), and giving choice in how information is delivered, including AAC vocabulary.

They myth-bust that education encourages sexual behavior and stress concrete rules for privacy, consent, trusted-adult disclosure, and risks of nude images, plus when to consult a clinician.

00:00 Puberty Kickoff
01:50 Why This Matters
04:51 What Puberty Changes
06:49 Sensory And Routine Shifts
08:28 Myth Busting Puberty
11:00 Consent And Safety Basics
13:58 Teach Clearly And Visually
19:57 Privacy Rules And Sexting
26:38 Mental Health Check In
27:55 This Week Action Steps
30:07 When To See A Clinician
31:05 Resources And Wrap Up

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

In this episode, Samantha and Lauren discuss strategies for effectively parenting children with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). They emphasize the importance of collaboration over direct demands to help children feel more in control and safe, which mitigates reactive behaviors.

They explain how giving children choices and involving them in decision-making can prevent the activation of their parasympathetic nervous system, which is linked to anxiety and defensive behaviors.

Practical examples like offering options instead of direct commands are given and the importance of flexibility and patience in parenting, particularly for neurodivergent families is discussed.

Samantha and Lauren also highlight the significance of co-regulation and maintaining a calm demeanor to support a child's sense of autonomy and safety.

A PDA cheat sheet with useful scripts and strategies is available for listeners.

00:00 Introduction

00:39 Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

03:00 Collaborative Parenting Strategies

06:08 Practical Examples and Scripts

09:37 Managing Parental Expectations and Flexibility

21:30 Maintaining a Regulated Nervous System

24:30 Conclusion and Resources

Join the Neurodivergent Parenting Community: https://www.everybrainisdifferent.com/membership
Get the PDA Cheat Sheet: https://www.everybrainisdifferent.com/pda-cheat-sheet

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

Samantha and Lauren discuss non-traditional, child-led approaches to therapy for kids diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and related needs, contrasting them with more compliance-based, clinical models and emphasizing that therapy should match the child.

They highlight alternatives that can complement traditional services like OT, speech, and PT, including equine-assisted services, animal-assisted interventions, aquatic/swim therapy (including water safety), creative arts therapies (music, art, dance/movement, drama) provided by credentialed professionals, nature-based/outdoor therapy, and technology/gaming/special-interest-based approaches like Minecraft and GarageBand.

They stress these therapies are not about reducing autistic traits but improving quality of life and participation, and they outline how to evaluate legitimacy by asking about evidence, risks, credentials, meaningful progress measurement, and goals, while warning against “cure,” “detox,” guarantees, and testimonial-only expensive programs.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
00:22 Traditional Therapy Norms
02:10 Why Child-Led Matters
05:12 Equine Assisted Therapy
07:45 Animal Assisted Options
09:52 Aquatic Swim Therapy
13:19 Creative Arts Therapies
20:33 Nature-Based Outdoor Therapy
23:32 Tech Gaming Special Interests
27:44 Spotting Legit Therapies
29:18 Red Flags and Research
31:51 Final Takeaways and Wrap Up

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

Connect with Samantha: https://everybrainisdifferent.com

Join the Neurodivergent Parenting Community: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/membership

Samantha and Lauren explain the child evaluation process for concerns like ADHD, autism, anxiety, and learning differences. They normalize parents’ nervousness about labels and judgment, emphasizing that evaluations don’t change a child but provide baseline understanding, shared language, and access to resources.

They describe signs that may warrant discussion with a primary care provider, encourage trusting instincts, and outline steps: talk to a pediatrician or school staff, get referrals (developmental pediatrician, psychologist, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, specialty clinics), and prepare for long waitlists.

They explain typical multi-visit evaluations, forms to complete, what to bring, observation and standardized testing, parent involvement, and the feedback report with diagnoses, strengths, challenges, and recommendations, noting that support is needed even without a diagnosis.

00:00 Welcome and Listener Feedback
00:54 Why Evaluations Feel Scary
02:40 When to Seek an Evaluation
07:55 First Steps and Referrals
10:12 Insurance Costs and Waitlists
13:10 Services Without Diagnosis
15:16 What the Evaluation Looks Like
16:28 Forms and What to Bring
20:09 Testing Observation and Parent Role
26:35 Results Recommendations Next Steps
30:20 Wrap Up and Get Help

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent

Connect with Samantha:
https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Connect with Katey:

Website: https://yourdifferentability.com/

Book: https://yourdifferentability.com/book

Book Preview (Katey made this free for this podcast's listeners!): https://yourdifferentability.com/welcome

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kateyfortun

Personal Website: https://kateyfortun.com/

Samantha and Lauren welcome back disability advocate and dyslexic speaker Katey Fortun to discuss her newly published book, "Embracing Your Different Ability," available in standard print, dyslexic-friendly print, and audiobook, along with her "Different Ability Podcast."

Katey shares that she was inspired to write the book after feeling prompted on a walk in late 2023, committed in early 2024 to doing “one new thing,” and self-published through Amazon with support from a book-coaching team, ultimately releasing it on March 26, 2024—the same date she signed up to begin the process.

Written initially for her eight-year-old self, the book aims to help kids feel seen and understood while also supporting parents, guardians, and teachers, including chapters from Katie’s mother to show both child and parent perspectives.

They discuss distinguishing “won’t” vs. “can’t” by defaulting to “can’t” and investigating, the hidden struggles of kids who appear “fine” at school, the trauma of forced reading aloud, and how diagnosis can be validating and unlock resources; Katey also shares a free “welcome package” with sample chapters and resources at her website.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:33 Why She Wrote It
04:45 Who the Book Is For
09:21 Won Versus Cant
16:25 School Trauma and Diagnosis
21:43 Dyslexia Strengths and Success
25:24 Closing Questions and Hope
27:16 Where to Find the Book
29:34 Final Advice and Wrap Up

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent