If your school mornings feel like a battle zone — with lost shoes, tears, or tense standoffs at the door — you’re definitely not alone. In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, Educational and Developmental Psychologist Leanne Tran unpacks why mornings can be so hard for kids (and parents!) and what you can do to bring more calm and cooperation to the start of your day.

You’ll learn:
✨ Why mornings are especially tough for neurodivergent kids — from anxiety and sensory overload to executive functioning challenges.
✨ How to set up your home and routines to reduce chaos and prevent meltdowns before they start.
✨ Simple, evidence-based strategies like visual schedules, positive reinforcement, and small choices that help kids feel more capable and in control.
✨ When morning struggles are a sign of deeper issues — like anxiety, learning difficulties, or sensory needs — and how to know when it’s time to seek extra support.

Leanne also shares practical examples from her own family and clients, helping you see that these moments aren’t about “bad behavior” — they’re opportunities to teach emotional and practical skills for life.

Because when we understand why our kids are struggling, we can stop reacting and start helping.

🎧 Listen now to learn how to turn your morning battles into connection, confidence, and calm.

➡️ Want more support? Download Leanne’s free Visual Routines Guide to create a calmer morning rhythm at www.leannetran.com.au

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

Does your child burst into tears when dinner looks different, refuse a birthday party invite, or panic at the thought of trying swimming lessons? You’re not alone — and it’s not stubbornness or “bad behaviour.” In this episode, we unpack what’s really going on when kids resist new experiences and how you can support them with compassion and confidence.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
✨ The real reason behind inflexibility — why children with autism, ADHD, anxiety, or sensitive temperaments crave sameness and find change so overwhelming.
🧠 The mindset shift parents need to better understand their child’s reactions and reduce conflict.
🧺 Why prevention is 90% of the work when it comes to behaviour — and what to do before tricky moments happen.
🧒 Practical strategies to gently build flexibility, including:
• Offering meaningful control and choices
• Using visuals, social stories, and play-based exposure
• Introducing small, manageable steps that reduce anxiety
• Celebrating tiny wins to build confidence
💛 How to respond calmly in the moment — with empathy, coaching, and connection (not pressure)
💬 The exact language to validate your child’s feelings, reduce fear, and encourage resilience
🌱 Why progress — not perfection — is the goal when supporting a child who finds new things hard

If your child struggles with change, unpredictability, anxiety, or big feelings, this episode will help you understand them more deeply and guide them forward with kindness.

You’ll walk away with tools to:
✔ Prevent overwhelm and meltdowns before they happen
✔ Support your child to try new things at their pace
✔ Build their emotional skills, courage, and resilience over time

For parents wanting extra support in teaching these skills at home, I also share how we can work together through Chaos to Calm.

Press play to feel calmer, more confident, and equipped to help your child approach new experiences with courage — one small step at a time.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, Leanne is joined by Adelle Sushames—a late-diagnosed AuDHD clinical psychologist, creator of the NDME and Spoon Theory card decks, and the voice behind Neurodivergent Ally. Together, they explore how neurodivergent children (and adults) can better understand their needs, communicate them, and feel empowered rather than pathologized.

Adelle shares how her card decks help shift the language around autism and ADHD from deficits to preferences, strengths, identity, and lived experience. The conversation dives deep into Spoon Theory, a framework for understanding fluctuating energy levels, why children can appear “fine at school but melt down at home,” and how families and educators can use this language to support kids with compassion instead of pressure.

This episode is warm, insightful, validating—and full of practical tools for supporting neurodivergent children with space and grace.

• Why traditional clinical descriptions of autism and ADHD often don’t reflect lived experience

• The purpose and philosophy behind the NDME identity-affirming cards

• How Spoon Theory helps explain fluctuating capacity and energy levels throughout the day

• Why some children can cope at school but collapse emotionally at home

• Understanding school-based burnout and school can't

• The emotional experience of being neurodivergent in a world not designed for your brain

• How cards can open gentle, low-pressure conversations between parents and kids

• The importance of self-compassion for both children and parents

• The idea of parenting neurodivergent kids with space + grace, rather than endless demands

Adelle Sushames is a late-diagnosed AuDHD Clinical Psychologist and the creator of several neurodiversity-affirming card decks designed to help autistic and ADHD individuals better understand themselves and communicate their needs. Her NDME, Spoon Thieves, and Spoon Savers card decks are used across therapy, home, school, and community settings.

Adelle is also known online as Neurodivergent Ally, where she shares support, education, and relatable parenting insights—delivered with professional expertise, heart, and her signature sass.

• Instagram: @neurodivergent_ally

• Facebook: Neurodivergent Ally

• Website & Card Decks: https://www.neurodivergentally.com/

• Free Children’s Book on Understanding AuDHD:
  https://www.neurodivergentally.com/freebies

After listening, you’ll walk away with:

✅ A clearer understanding of how neurodivergent brains manage energy
✅ A strength-based language to help kids recognise and express their needs
✅ Tools to reduce after-school meltdowns and emotional overwhelm
✅ Insight into burnout and why “just push through” doesn’t work
✅ Validation that supporting your child means supporting yourself, too

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au