Exploring Neurodiversity with Adina Levy from Play. Learn. Chat
Welcome to the Exploring Neurodiversity Podcast for adults who support Neurodivergent children. Whether you're an allied health professional, medical professional, education professional or a parent of a Neurodivergent child, you are welcome here. I'm Adina from Play. Learn. Chat. I'm an Autistic ADHDer, a speech therapist, professional educator speaker, and I also support Neurodivergent Business owners in my other business, neurodivergent Business Coaching and Consulting. I'm obsessed with creating a world where Neurodivergent people are understood, embraced, supported, and celebrated. A world where we Neurodivergent people can understand ourselves and thrive in a life aligned with our individual strengths, wants and needs. On the Exploring Neurodiversity Podcast, you'll get my perspectives and conversations with my Neurodivergent friends. All about how adults can best support Neurodivergent children in our lives. I bring a Neurodiversity Affirming approach and indeed a human-affirming approach to the support that we all provide for Neurodivergent kids in our lives.
Episodes
Come on a whirlwind tour through my first Neurodiversity Affirming (Un)Conference, with something I learned from every one of the 18 Neurodivergent speakers.
"It was a whole mix of reflecting and connecting and creating and unthinking and thinking sideways and existing and being, and feeling."
In this episode I share:
- The whole mission of the (Un)Conference: moving away from the pedestal types of learning we usually hear at a...
Stephanie Robertson is back on the podcast! Steph is a multiply Neurodivergent OT, speaker and founder of SGR Occupational Therapy, and she's presenting her Autistic Joy workshop on day two of the Neurodiversity Affirming (Un)Conference this August. In this episode we explore why Autistic joy isn't just a nice to have, what the research now tells us about centring joy, and how you can make yourself a joy menu, rebuild your joy fil...
Meet Kaishawna Fleming, a Black DeafBlind Autistic advocate, clarinettist and writer who communicates through AAC, sign language and speech, sharing what it really takes to support AAC users, especially Black and Brown AAC users, and why cultural difference has to be part of the conversation.
This conversation is a taste of what Kaishawna brings as one of the speakers at the Neurodiversity Affirming (Un)Conference, a two-day onlin...
This episode is a cross-release from the Neurodivergent Pulse Podcast, hosted by Laetitia Andrac from Understanding Zoe. In this chat I shared big shifts to how we think about what 'communication support' should really look like for Autistic kids.
"We need to ensure that if somebody has a different way of communicating, we are supporting them to find their best way to communicate in that moment for that person, not for what the wor...
In this joyful chat, AuDHDer and delightful clinical psychologist Brianna Thomas shares insightful, creative and practical strategies for building affirming spaces where neurodivergent and LGBTQI+ young people can explore their identities. We discuss the powerful intersection of neurodivergence and gender/sexual identity, why curiosity beats assumptions every time, and how creativity and parallel play can become your most powerful ...
Daily deals on Neurodiversity Affirming Practice professional education - https://playlearnchat.com/deals-week (Ends 28 Nov 2025)
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As we head into the busiest part of the year with changes, unpredictable off-routine things, and maybe extreme weather, here's how to proactively regulate and prepare for difficult days. This helps the children you support, and yourself!
"When you're very proactive in putting supports in place...
Creating truly inclusive, accessible events is possible, practical and powerful... and not optional! In this incredibly insightful and delightful chat with Katie Koullas from Yellow Ladybugs, she shares the non-negotiables of creating inclusive events, and big ideas around building your unique event that is just what your community needs.
"Accessibility is about removing barriers, but inclusion is about belonging and...
Being neurodiversity affirming doesn't mean avoiding challenge. It doesn't mean staying where you are, only doing what's easy or comfortable. We can do hard things. We can learn new stuff, try new stuff, stretch ourselves – and we absolutely should. The key is doing the right hard things, for the right reasons, with the right support, at the right time. That's how growth happens without stress, burnout, or disconnection ...
What looks like "bad behaviour" is usually a nervous system asking for help. In this episode, we explore what regulation really is, why it's really, really hard for kids to self-regulate, and what adults can do instead. From brain development to fidgets, co-regulation to Disney characters, we cover the real stuff that helps kids feel safe and supported.
"A caregiver's regulation is the very first exposure a child has to what ...
In this episode, we are mythbusting ND affirming practice. I hear too often phrases from people who don't quite get what neurodiversity affirming practice is, like 'If we just let kids do whatever they want and don't extend them, they won't learn essential life skills'. Join me as I discuss what it means to support neurodivergent children and explore how affirming practices don't just allow children to do whatever the...
In this episode, we're unpacking some of the nuances behind behavioural strategies when supporting autistic children. I discuss how neurodiversity-affirming approaches can look in practice, focusing on connection over compliance and the need to find the deep reason behind a behaviour. I also touch on how behavioural approaches show up in our work and why it's crucial to think deeply about whether these approaches trul...
In today's episode, I chat with the fabulous Alex Zachos from Meaningful Speech, a senior speech language pathologist with 20 years of experience. Alex specialises in Gestalt Language Processing and has revolutionised how we understand and support language development using Marge Blanc's Natural Language Acquisition framework.
Alex shares practical tips for putting these theories into action when y...
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