E92: When Love Isn't Enough: Uncovering Hidden Ableism in Well-Meaning Families

What if everything you believed about “helping” your neurodivergent loved one needs a second look? This episode invites parents, caregivers, and extended family members to explore how internalized ableism may be unconsciously shaping their responses to neurodiversity. With compassion and evidence-based insights, I’m inviting listeners to take a beat for curiosity, in hopes of opening a pathway to genuine understanding, inclusion, and connection with your loved one. 

Highlights:

1. Why internalized ableism often goes unrecognized in loving families, and how to begin noticing it in everyday reactions and beliefs.

2. The hidden harm of interpreting ADHD traits as laziness, defiance, or lack of effort, and how this misunderstanding derails connection and support.

3. How unaddressed neurodivergence in parents and siblings complicates family dynamics, especially in diagnosis and emotional validation.

4. What families can do to challenge ableism and shift toward affirming, supportive relationships, even if they’re just starting to learn about neurodiversity.

Resources for After the Show: 

• Read the Post: When Love Isn’t Enough: A Compassionate Look at Internalized Ableism in ADHD Families 

• Balancing Love and Limits: Managing Family Criticism in ADHD Parenting by Christina Crowe, RP

• The Reckoning: Reflecting on a (late) ADHD Diagnosis as an Adult by Christina Crowe, RP

• For therapists and mental health clinicians: Neurodivergent-Affirming Clinical Practices and Psychological Safety by Christina Crowe, RP

• Medication and Mental Health: Debunking Myths and Ending Stigma by Erika Belledent, RP

• Parenting through transformative experiences: how an ADHD diagnosis can change your family life for the better by Sabrina Belo, CCPMC

• The OG: The ADHD Resource Hub

• Our ADHD Courses at The Dig Deeper School 

Find Christina (CRPO #3908):  Website | Find a Therapist | Get Assessed by an NP in Ontario | Instagram | Podcast page. 

A gentle reminder that this is not therapy, and Christina nor Katie are your therapist. If you need more one on one support or treatment, please check out the links posted above or our Resources page on our website.

LISTEN OR SUBSCRIBE for free in your favourite podcast app:

.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}