In this season finale, Mark welcomes back the brilliant Lisa Galley (@school_run_mum_autism), who is an autism family consultant, ex-speech and language therapist, and mum of three grown-up autistic humans.

Together, they discuss how the summer holidays are a very different experience for parents of neurodifferent kids and why the concept of a “relaxing summer” is more often myth than reality.

Touching on the common parental feelings of boredom, guilt and the ever-present FOMO, this is a candid, humorous and occasionally insightful look at what we're going to be experiencing over the summer when it seems like we're house-bound with our autistic, ADHD and PDA kids.

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CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (Estimated):

00:00 - Intro & Meet the Guest: Lisa Galley 04:00 - Introducing the topic of the week 06:30 - The burden of boredom 10:00 - Dealing with guilt of not providing the "perfect" summer 17:00 - The loss of spontaneity and the rampant FOMO 26:30 - The unspoken impact on working parents 30:00 - Attempting to go on holiday 34:00 - The importance of summer holidays for our kids 38:00 - Q&A: Answering listeners' summer holiday questions 41:00 - Testing out home education in the summer 45:00 - How to help yourself as a parent 47:30 - The challenges of co-parenting in the summer holidays 58:00 - Advice from listeners 1:03:00 - The positives of the summer holidays 1:05:00 - Neurodiversity Champions 1:08:30 - Tiny Epic Wins 1:11:30 - "What the Flip?" moments 1:16:30 - Outro and Season Wrap-Up

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LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE:

• Lisa Galley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/school_run_mum_autism/
• Parent Carer Cheerleeding Squad Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/parentcarercheerleadingsquad
• Special Assistance at airports - https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers-and-public/special-assistance/accessing-special-assistance/
• We're Not Your Typical Podcast - https://were-not-your-typical-podcast-258bbca3.simplecast.com/
• Let’s Talk Neurodivergent Kids Podcast - https://pod.link/1442067009
• Legoland Windsor Accessibility Pass - https://www.legoland.co.uk/plan-your-day/before-you-visit/accessibility/
• "Holidays" episode of Neuroshambles - https://pod.link/1710455546/episode/2b5dc7973b418c9d6069ced370c409b9
• "Hobbies" episode of Neuroshambles - https://pod.link/1710455546/episode/19a31193017cd7413d681ff3b36119eb
• Lisa Galley's Summer Survival Guide - https://lisagalley.myflodesk.com/survival

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CONTACT US

🌐 Website: www.neuroshambles.com 📧 Email: hello@neuroshambles.com 📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles 🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod 📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles 🧵 Threads: @neuroshambles

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CREDITS

🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: pixabay.com

In this episode of Neuroshambles, Mark is joined by returning guest Hatty Ashdown - not only a parent of a neurodivergent child, but also a brilliant comedian, writer and host of the Funny Mummies podcast. Together they dive into the deceptively simple but totally chaotic world of swimming.

For children with autism, ADHD, PDA, and other forms of neurodivergency, swimming can be simultaneously a magical sensory experience and an absolute logistical nightmare. From the infuriating act of trying to get them to swim in the first place, to negotiating the changing room routine, navigating the lockers and dealing with their antics in the pool, Mark and Hatty share candid and hilarious tales of what it’s like to take your neuro-exceptional brood swimming - and why we keep doing it, despite the enormous faff.

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CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (Estimated):

00:00 - Intro & Meet the Guest: Hatty Ashdown 06:00 - Topic of the Week: Swimming 09:00 - Why do neurodivergent kids love swimming? 15:00 - The challenge of teaching neurodivergent kids to swim 30:30 - The massive faff of a swimming trip: Hatty's routine 37:00 - The massive faff of a swimming trip: Mark's routine 42:00 - The chaos of changing rooms 46:30 - The stress of the lockers 53:00 - Shenanigans in the pool 59:30 - Losing their goggles 1:04:00 - The Positives: the joy of swimming 1:08:00 - Neurodiversity champions 1:12:00 - Tiny epic wins 1:15:00 - What the Flip? Moments 1:20:00 - Wrap-Up and Where to Find Hatty

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LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE:

• Hatty Ashdown’s Website – https://hattyashdown.com/

• Funny Mummies Podcast: Basics – https://pod.link/1451332466

• Funny Mummies Podcast: VIP (Patreon) – https://www.patreon.com/FunnyMummiesPodcast

• Bella Ramsey (Neurodiversity Champion) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Ramsey

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CONTACT US

🌐 Website: www.neuroshambles.com

📧 Email: hello@neuroshambles.com

📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles

🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod

📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles

🧵 Threads: @neuroshambles

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CREDITS

🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: https://pixabay.com

Following on from part 1, fan favourite Jo Matthews joins Mark once more for another laughter-filled, cathartic rant through the most mind-bogglingly ill-informed things people have said about raising autistic, ADHD, PDA and otherwise neurodivergent kids.

This one features a fresh batch of well-meaning nonsense, unsolicited advice, and flat-out offensive comments submitted by Neuroshambles listeners. It’s funny, familiar, and frighteningly relatable.

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CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (Estimated):

00:00 - Intro & Meet the Guest: Jo Matthews Returns

05:30 - "Have you tried a routine?"

10:30 - "Have you tried a parenting course?"

13:30 - “Have you tried changing their diet?”

17:00 - "Why don't you take their screens away?"

20:00 - "Does he have mild autism?"

25:30 - Good autism v bad autism

29:00 - “We’re all a bit autistic"

34:30 - "ADHD is just an excuse"

37:00 - “It doesn't define him”

41:00 - "There's nothing wrong with him"

43:00 - Medical v Social models of disability

47:30 - "My kid does that"

50:00 - “He'll eat when he's hungry"

52:30 - “He'll grow out of it"

54:30 - “He doesn't look autistic"

56:30 - “But, he can talk, so he can’t be autistic”

59:00 - “ADHD is just for boys”

1:01:30 - "What's wrong with him?"

1:02:30 - "I bet he's good at maths"

1:04:30 - "I don't know how you do it"

1:07:00 - Misguided empathy: "I know how you feel"

1:09:00 - "But I do that and I'm not autistic"

1:14:00 - The completely batshit mental comments

1:20:00 - Neurodiversity Champions

1:21:30 - Tiny Epic Wins

1:25:00 - "What the flip?" moments

1:27:30 - Wrap-up & contact info

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LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE:

• The medical vs social models of disability: www.scope.org.uk/about-us/social-model-of-disability/

• Autism assessments (AQ Test): www.embrace-autism.com/aq-10/#test

• Bowles Outdoor Centre - www.bowles.rocks

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CONTACT US

📧 Email: hello@neuroshambles.com

📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles

🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod

📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles

🧵 Threads: @neuroshambles

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CREDITS

🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: https://pixabay.com