Mind Matters

Play therapy is an often misunderstood counseling technique. On episode 123 we clear up some of the misunderstandings, with help from Katie Bassiri, a neurodiversity-affirming play therapist. We also talk about our new online course for educators, “Strategies for Supporting Twice-Exceptional Students,” which is now available at www.neurodiversity.university. ABOUT THE GUEST - Katie Bassiri, LPCC RPT-S, co-authored the book "Congratulations, You're Autistic!" with her husband, Alex Bassiri. Katie and Alex met while living in a 24-hour quiet college dormitory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where they once got into trouble for playing a board game too rambunctiously. They’ve been coloring outside of the lines together ever since. Katie is a registered Play Therapist-Supervisor and Alex likes coming up with words that rhyme. Their autistic family lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where they own and operate a play therapy agency that supports neurodiverse families. Their new book is now available on Amazon. You can support

A three-year-old with an autism diagnosis is looking at a completely different future than someone who has masked their neurodivergence for years. We talk with Haley Moss, an attorney, author, and consultant, who helps companies create a neurodiversity-friendly atmosphere. She was diagnosed at age 3, and now has strong opinions about what it takes to move the world in the right direction, but she also has the power and determination to do it. A reminder, we've just officially launched our new course for educators: Strategies for Supporting Twice-Exceptional Students! It's a six-module, fifteen-hour continuing education course delivered by Emily Kircher-Morris, designed to help identify, understand, and educate our growing population of twice-exceptional students. Get more information via the Neurodiversity Alliance website. ABOUT THE GUEST - Haley Moss is a lawyer, neurodiversity expert, and the author of four books that guide neurodivergent individuals through professional and personal challenges. She is a c

What is Pathological Demand Avoidance and how does it manifest among the neurodivergent? What can we do to educate parents, teachers, and counselors about how to approach it? Understanding demand avoidance can completely transform the way you look at a child. During World Autism Acceptance Month, we feature a conversation with Harry J. Thompson from 2019, on episode 121. ABOUT THE GUEST - Harry J. Thompson was born in Edgware and grew up in Barnet in north London. He is currently based in London, UK. An avid reader & researcher, Harry speaks publicly and is heavily involved in projects & research on all topics around neurodiversity and autism; namely, Pathological Demand Avoidance, a behavior profile within the Autism Spectrum. Harry began to write the first draft of his book in 2015. After connecting with many autistic & PDA families, he pivoted his direction and completed his book in about 6 weeks, a memoir entitled The PDA Paradox: The Highs and Lows of My Life on a Little-Known Part of the Aut

World Autism Acceptance Month continues as Emily Kircher-Morris has a conversation with Washington DC policy and politics journalist Eric Garcia. Eric is autistic, and the author of We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. They talk about the shifts in how society views and supports autistic individuals, and what still needs to be done. Also don't forget the Bright and Quirky Summit 2022 is going on now. To register, follow this special link. ABOUT THE GUEST - Eric Garcia is the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent, and the author of We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. He is also a columnist for MSNBC. Previously, he was an assistant editor at the Washington Post's Outlook section, an associate editor at The Hill, and a correspondent for National Journal, MarketWatch and Roll Call. He has also written for the Daily Beast, the New Republic, and Salon.com. Garcia is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Washington, D.C. You can suppo

As part of our special coverage for World Autism Acceptance Month, we talk with Steve Silberman, author of Neurotribes, about autism, the neurodiversity movement, and where it’s going. We talk about the writing of Neurotribes, and discuss some other books you might want to check out. This is an encore presentation of an earlier interview from 2021. Also don't forget the Bright and Quirky Summit 2022 is going on now. To register, follow this special link. ABOUT THE GUEST - Steve Silberman is an award-winning science writer whose articles have appeared in Wired, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, the MIT Technology Review, Nature, Salon, and many other publications. He is the author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (Avery 2015). The book became a widely-praised bestseller in the United States and the UK, and won the 2015 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction, a California Book Award, and a Books for a Better Life award. It was chosen as

The landscape is slowly changing for neurodivergent kids, but progress is slow and we’re facing headwinds. Getting a diagnosis is still integral to receiving educational services and insurance benefits, but there are downsides that can work to impede progress. Debbie Steinberg Kuntz joins us on episode 118 to talk about those subjects, and the free Bright & Quirky Summit April 4-8. The summit brings together some of the world’s top neurodiversity experts, including our host, Emily Kircher-Morris. Panel members will host presentations and discussions designed to help parents, educators, counselors, and neurodivergent people understand and overcome challenges facing the neurodiversity community. It’s free for all April 4-8, so use our special link to get registered today. ABOUT THE GUEST - Debbie Steinberg Kuntz, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Bright & Quirky, an organization helping bright kids thrive, even with learning, social, emotional, and/or behavioral challenges.

What is top down behavior, and how does it differ from bottom up behavior? Why is emotional regulation more difficult for neurodivergent people? How impactful or traumatic can a misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis be? Dr. Mona Delahooke, author of the new book Brain-Body Parenting (release date March 15), joins us to discuss these questions and more on episode 116. ABOUT THE GUEST - Mona Delahooke, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than thirty years of experience caring for children and their families. She is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation and a member of the American Psychological Association. She is the author of Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges, and the upcoming book, Brain-body Parenting. Dr Delahooke is a frequent speaker, trainer, and consultant to parents, organizations, schools, and public agencies. She lives and works in the Los Angeles area.

The data tells us rewarding kids for good behavior and punishing them for bad doesn’t work. In fact, it harms relationships. In the education setting and at home, Alfie Kohn says we need to rethink the way we talk to kids, and how we help them learn behavioral skills, because rewards and punishment are ineffective. Emily Kircher-Morris has a conversation with Alfie Kohn, author of Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishment to Love and Reason, on episode 115. ABOUT THE GUEST - Alfie Kohn is the author of 14 books on education, parenting, and human behavior, including Punished by Rewards (1993), The Schools Our Children Deserve (1999), Unconditional Parenting (2005), and The Myth of the Spoiled Child (2014).  He has appeared twice on Oprah, as well as on The Today Show and many other TV and radio programs. Kohn works with educators and parents across the country and speaks regularly at national conferences. He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org. Alfie Kohn’

A new book by Emily Kircher-Morris, “Raising Twice-Exceptional Children: A Handbook for Parents of Neurodivergent Gifted Kids,” is now officially released! Emily and producer Dave Morris talk about the book, preview the contents, and discuss why parents will find it helpful. ABOUT THE BOOK Just because a child is gifted doesn't mean they don't have other types of neurodivergence, like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and more. Conversely, even children with one of these diagnoses can be cognitively gifted. Raising Twice-Exceptional Children provides you with a roadmap to understand the complex makeup of your "gifted-plus," or twice-exceptional, child or teen. The book helps you understand your child's diagnosis, meet their social-emotional needs, build self-regulation skills and goal setting, and teach self-advocacy. It also shows you effective ways to collaborate with teachers and school staff, and it offers advice on finding strength-based strategies that support development at home. For too long, these kids have fa

Technology use, for both kids and adults, is in uncharted territory. With ‘sticky’ algorithms, misleading information, and the tracking capabilities of technology companies, it’s becoming more and more difficult to know where it’s safe to go, and how much exposure is too much. Emily Kircher-Morris talks with Dr. Alex Packer, author of Slaying Digital Dragons, about how to navigate the murky waters of the digital dark side, and how to involve your kids in setting their own healthy limits. ABOUT THE GUEST - Alex J. Packer, Ph.D., is an educator and psychologist. A recognized expert on adolescent development, parenting, and substance abuse prevention, Alex served for 14 years as President and CEO of FCD Educational Services, the leading nonprofit provider of onsite K-12 drug education and substance abuse prevention services for schools throughout the United States and in over 60 countries abroad. Alex is the author of 11 books for parents, counselors, teachers, and teenagers, including Slaying Digital Dragons: T

Emily Kircher-Morris talks with Jonathan Mooney, who authored a book called Normal Sucks, and who learned to read at the age of 12. They talk about the gap between normal and neurodivergence, and how advocates can help bridge it effectively and permanently. Who can advocate? How does the life experience of neurodivergent people affect how they parent their own kids? How does the deficit-model approach differ from strengths-based? What is the effect of lack of support on mental health? ABOUT THE GUEST - Jonathan Mooney is a neurodiverse author and advocate who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. He went on to graduate from Brown University and is the co-founder of Eye To Eye, a non-profit advocacy organization for people with learning and attention differences. He is also the author of three books, most recently Normal Sucks. His work has been featured in the New York Times, LA Times, on ABC News, and National Public Radio, to name a few. Mr. Mooney speaks across the nation about neurological and

The language around autism and neurodiversity in general is changing. As part of the review of 2021’s biggest conversations we present a chat with Kristy Forbes, founder of Australia-based inTune Pathways, about PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), the difference between PDA and other types of demand avoidance, and the changing language of autism, especially the terminology society uses to describe neurodivergent people. You can learn more about Kristy and PDA on the episode 85 page at www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com.

Parents often struggle with helping their children manage anxiety. Dr. Eli Lebowitz of Yale University talked with Emily Kircher-Morris about his research and work with children and their parents on managing anxiety and OCD. He’s also developed a program to teach parents how to help their children with anxiety, and to help therapists learn new therapy techniques. This was one of the biggest conversations of 2021, and for details go to the episode 88 page at www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com.

How can we knock down the walls that surround many neurodivergent kids? Should teachers play a role in their students’ social and emotional well-being, or is school only about academic rigor? What are some teaching techniques that will get kids talking and participating? Emily Kircher-Morris and Jim Delisle have a conversation about ways to release the potential often locked inside neurodivergent kids, and it was one of the biggest conversations of 2021. For more information about Jim Delisle’s work, visit the episode 89 page at www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com.

One of the more misunderstood diagnoses in the world of neurodiversity is ODD, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. We talk with Amelia Bowler, a behavior consultant and author of the book “The Parent’s Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder,” about the diagnosis, and how to be better at decoding the message that kids are trying to send through their defiance. This conversation is from another of the most-downloaded episodes of 2021. For more information about Amelia and her book, go to the episode 92 page at www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com.

Most of us have at least some rejection sensitivity, but with neurodivergent people it’s often magnified. Emily Kircher-Morris talks with Brendan Mahan, an ADHD and executive function consultant, about how to reduce or overcome rejection sensitivity. This is an episode everyone can benefit from, and don’t forget to check out Brendan’s podcast, ADHD Essentials. This conversation is one of the most popular of 2021. For guest info and more, visit the episode 83 page at www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com.

“By the time you’re 18, you’ll be dead or in jail.” When those words come from your teacher or coach, it takes a long time to unlearn that belief. This is the story of a troubled twice-exceptional teen who had no idea about his diagnosis until after he fought his way into college. Today, Dr. Shawn A Robinson is a reading instructor at Madison College, and a Senior Research Associate in Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory. He and his wife are the authors of the Doctor Dyslexia Dude book series. This is an inspiring story you need to hear. ABOUT THE GUEST - Shawn A Robinson PhD is a full-time reading instructor at Madison College, a Senior Research Associate in Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a social entrepreneur, co-founder of Doctor Dyslexia Dude, former board member of the International Dyslexia Association, and serves on the inaugural advisory council of Benetech. Robinson graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) with a B

What are you grateful for regarding neurodiversity? Our listeners share their thoughts, and Emily Kircher-Morris reflects on the things she’s thankful for during this kickoff of the 2021 holiday season. While we’re on the subject, thank YOU for making 2021 the biggest year of growth in our history! You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/neurodiversity. The Neurodiversity Podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram, and on Twitter @NeurodiversePod. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com

Emily Kircher-Morris has a discussion with Joy Lawson Davis and Deb Douglas, authors of a new book called Empowering Underrepresented Gifted Students, about equity challenges in public education. They provide a snapshot of the contributors who helped write the book from their individual perspectives as marginalized, neurodivergent students, and describe why eliminating gifted programs won’t fix equity issues in gifted education. Many more topics as well, on episode 104. ABOUT THE GUESTS - Dr. Joy Lawson Davis is a career educator with over 30 years of experience as a practitioner, scholar, author, and consultant. A graduate of the College of William & Mary, Dr. Davis holds both Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Gifted Education. She is currently the Special Populations columnist for the NAGC publication Teaching for High Potential, and serves on the Gifted Child Today advisory board. Dr. Davis served a two-year term as chair of the NAGC’s Diversity & Equity Committee and is an at-large member of the N