A timely conversation led Angela Geddes to discover that a widely used Ontario special-education textbook contained outdated information about FASD.

In this episode of Kitchen Table Conversations, Angela shares how a fast, collaborative effort with the textbook’s authors, expert reviewers and people with living experience resulted in a new multi-page FASD contribution in the ninth edition. She explores why accurate, brain-based information matters for educators, students and families; what practical classroom supports can change outcomes; and why this meaningful step is only the beginning.

Angela also introduces Not Your Typical Teaching Guide and her professional-development supports for educators.

Recommended Resources:

• Special Education in Ontario Schools, 9th Edition — including Key Facts About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
• Not Your Typical Teaching Guide
• FASD Ontario Network of Expertise

Please share this episode with a teacher, educational assistant, principal, school board leader, or anyone in your community who would benefit from a more current and compassionate understanding of FASD.

What does a fastball team have to do with brain health?

More than you might think.

In this special episode, Angela introduces Play Well. Live Well. Grow Well.—a new community awareness campaign created to promote healthy brains, healthy pregnancies, and healthier futures. Inspired by the leadership of the UTM Bandits U19 Fastball Team, this initiative demonstrates how everyday conversations can create lasting change.

Drawing parallels between athletic training and lifelong brain health, Angela explores how the small choices we make every day—from sleep and nutrition to movement, relationships, and learning—help build resilient brains across the lifespan. She also shares why evidence-informed education about prenatal alcohol exposure matters, not to create guilt or shame, but to empower people with knowledge before important decisions are made.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why brain health is built through everyday habits—not just genetics or luck.
• How mental health, healthy pregnancies, and community well-being are deeply connected.
• What current research tells us about prenatal alcohol exposure and why early education matters.
• Why understanding how the brain works can replace blame with compassion and better support.
• How one team of young athletes is using its platform to spark meaningful conversations that can strengthen entire communities.

Whether you're a parent, educator, coach, healthcare professional, or someone who simply wants to support healthier communities, this episode is an invitation to join the conversation.

Because healthy brains don't happen by chance—they're built together.

Learn more about the Play Well. Live Well. Grow Well. campaign, explore resources, and discover how you can help spread the message.

Please share this podcast with those in your circle and community who would benefit from these important Kitchen Table Conversations. Your support means the world to us.

In this episode of Kitchen Table Conversations, Angela Geddes shares reflections and key takeaways from the 10th International Conference on Adolescents and Adults with FASD in Seattle.

Angela discusses:

• the nervous system and brain-body connection
• why behaviour is often misunderstood
• the impact of shame and misdiagnosis
• supporting neurodivergent youth and adults through compassionate, brain-based approaches
• the importance of regulation, safety, and connection
• why meaningful support should not wait for diagnosis

Angela also shares highlights from the two workshops she co-facilitated:
✨ Seeing More Clearly Together
✨ Not Your Typical Growing Up Guide

This episode offers practical insight, hope, and encouragement for caregivers, educators, professionals, and individuals navigating complicated and beautiful brains.

Please share this podcast with those in your circle and community who would benefit from these important Kitchen Table Conversations. Your support means the world to us.

When we think about oral health, most of us think about brushing, flossing, and fresh breath. But what if we’ve been missing the bigger picture?

In this episode of Kitchen Table Conversations, Angela Geddes reflects on her early work with the West Elgin Community Health Centre, where she participated in research and community consultations exploring access to dental care and the real-life impact of oral health challenges.

Through powerful stories of young mothers, grandparents, and families navigating poverty, stigma, and complex needs, Angela highlights how oral health is deeply connected to dignity, relationships, and mental wellness.

She also brings forward emerging research showing that oral health is linked to:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Dementia
• Stroke risk
• Hospital-acquired infections

We now understand that the mouth is not separate from the body—it is a gateway to it.

This episode also explores the added challenges for individuals with sensory sensitivities, trauma histories, and neurodevelopmental differences such as FASD, ADHD, and ASD—where daily oral care is not simply a routine, but a complex, supported task.

This conversation invites us to shift from blame to understanding, and from routine care to whole-person support.

👉 Because oral health is not about vanity.
👉 It is about safety, dignity, and lifelong health.

Recommended Resources:

• NHS Borders | Meeting Your Child’s Sensory Needs – Toothbrushing
• Toronto Kids Dental | Is Your Child Avoiding Brushing? It Might Be Sensory Overload

Please share this podcast with those in your circle and community who would benefit from these important Kitchen Table Conversations. Your support means the world to us.

In this episode of Kitchen Table Conversations, Angela Geddes shares insights from her clinical work supporting veterans, OPP personnel, and individuals and families navigating complex mental health and neurodevelopmental challenges.

With a focus on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), this episode highlights a critical system gap: most individuals affected remain unrecognized and unsupported, with fewer than 1% receiving a diagnosis.

Angela shares a clear call to action and the need for a collaborative approach for professionals and communities of all kinds to :

• Move beyond diagnosis-dependent systems
• Build capacity across all sectors
• Support individuals based on functional needs
• Prioritize safety, dignity, and understanding

Blending lived experience, research, and policy advocacy, this episode challenges listeners to rethink how we respond when traditional approaches fail.

Recommended Resources:

• Training for Social Workers & Allied Health Practitioners
• 10th International Conference on Adolescents and Adults with FASD
• National FASD Program (Australian Prevention Efforts)

Please share this podcast with those in your circle and community who would benefit from these important Kitchen Table Conversations. Your support means the world to us.

In this episode, Angela Geddes invites listeners into a gentle, grounding conversation about her latest resource, which highlights what happens when we stop fighting our neurodivergent wiring — and begin to understand it.

This episode is especially for people who have grown up feeling “out of step,” misunderstood, or blamed for struggles that are actually rooted in how their brain works - and for the people who love and support them. This episode speaks directly to those living with ADHD, FASD, trauma, substance use impacts, learning differences, and complicated mental health profiles — particularly when life feels overwhelming, uncertain, or high-stakes.

Through a compassionate, brain-based lens, this "Deep Dive" explores:

• Why fear and misinformation often surround assessment, diagnosis, and systems
• How increased stress, substance use, prenatal alcohol/substance exposure and trauma can change how our brain functions
• Why understanding your brain is not about labels or punishment — but about safety, advocacy, and better outcomes
• How slowing down and getting curious can open the door to relief and self-compassion

This episode is not about fixing people or telling them what to do.

It’s about offering clarity, reassurance, and a reminder that you are not broken — you are wired differently.

This conversation provides an overview of Angela’s book, Not Your Typical Growing Up & Adulting Guide, and companion workbook which offers further language, tools, and validation for navigating growing up and adulting with a complicated and beautiful brain.

Listeners are encouraged to listen at their own pace, return to it when needed, and share it with someone who might finally feel seen.

🌸 Rising up through muddy waters.

This episode features a rich, brain-based conversation with Lisa Riegel, a school transformation specialist who uses brain science as a foundation for building culture and practices that align to the way our brain works. This conversation explores how schools and families can better support students by understanding behaviour as the intersection of biology and context.

A central theme is the widespread misunderstanding of “manipulation.” For individuals with FASD and other neurodevelopmental profiles related to prenatal alcohol or substance exposure, behaviour can appear manipulative because they often know expectations but lack the executive functioning, emotional regulation, and problem-solving skills needed to consistently meet them or repair mistakes. When situations unravel, they may keep talking, reacting, or shifting direction — not to deceive, but because they are overwhelmed and don’t yet have the tools to navigate the moment effectively.

The conversation also explores why stress is normal, but how modern pressures — including social media, changing family routines, fewer shared meals, reduced idle time, and less opportunity to observe and practice nonverbal communication in safe settings — can amplify regulation challenges for vulnerable learners.

Rather than pathologizing behaviour or blaming parents, this discussion emphasizes the importance of:

• Focusing on brain and context
• Teaching skills instead of assuming intent
• Using “when–then” strategies and clear structure
• Helping students link skill development with positive outcomes
• Supporting self-understanding and self-advocacy, especially for those with hidden disabilities

The episode ultimately invites educators, caregivers, and systems to shift from reactive responses to proactive skill-building environments that help students learn how to manage their symptoms and thrive.

Educators looking to apply these concepts in real classrooms can explore Not Your Typical Teaching Guide, which offers practical, brain-based strategies.

Not Your Typical Growing Up and Adulting Guide (coming soon) continues this work by supporting teens and young adults to understand their brains, advocate for support, and build meaningful, capable lives. Books can be found here.

To learn more about Lisa Riegel’s work, speaking, and books on improving school climates through neuroscience, visit lisariegel.com.

Please share this podcast with those in your circle and community who would benefit from these important Kitchen Table Conversations. Your support means the world to us.

This episode originally aired as Episode 95 on December 5, 2024.

The most wonderful time of the year for some… yet not for others.

In this episode, Angela talks about ways to reduce both the impact of and the incidents of prenatal alcohol/substance exposed pregnancies. She encourages consideration for more broad and informal prevention efforts regarding healthy pregnancies now that we have just learned that prevalence rates of FASD in North America have increased to a still conservative estimate of 8%!

Angela also shares some thought provoking ideas around ensuring the holidays are the best they can be for you and your circle. This may mean re-evaluating traditions and creating new ones, and also creating some compassionate boundaries.

🎙️ BONUS | Listen into this episode in French

Please share this podcast with those in your circle and community who would benefit from these important Kitchen Table Conversations. Your support means the world to us.