Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of raising a neurodivergent child? Full-Tilt Parenting is here to help. Hosted by parenting activist and author Debbie Reber, this podcast is your go-to resource for navigating life with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), giftedness, and twice-exceptional (2e) kids. With expert interviews and candid conversations, you'll discover practical solutions for things like school challenges and refusal, therapy options, and fostering inclusion, social struggles, advocacy, intense behavior, and more — all through a strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming lens. Whether you're struggling with advocating for your child at school or seeking ways to better support their unique needs, Debbie offers the guidance and encouragement you need to reduce overwhelm and create a thriving, joyful family environment. It's like sitting down with a trusted friend who gets it. You’ve got this, and we’ve got your back!

Episodes

TPP 270a: Support for Smart But Struggling Students, with Jeannine Jannot

November 28, 2025 • 42 mins
Academic coach and author of The Disintegrating Student, Jeannine Jannot, Ph.D., shares insights on why previously high performing students might fall apart and offers strategies for building skills and resilience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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TPP 476: Rebecca Duffus & Lyric Rivera on Supporting Kids Autistic Identity Development

November 25, 2025 • 41 mins
Today’s conversation is all about understanding and supporting autistic identity—how it develops, why it matters, and the ways parents and educators can help nurture it. I’m joined by Rebecca Duffus and Lyric Rivera, two incredible advocates doing powerful work in this space, and the authors of the new Autism, Identity & Me workbook for kids, and the accompanying professional and parent guide of the same name. In our conversation, ...
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TPP 124b: Seth Perler on How Parents Can Help Their Kids Work Through Resistance

November 21, 2025 • 89 mins
Executive functioning/education coach Seth Perler explores the concept of resistance in differently-wired kids and shares strategies and tools for how parents can support their kids in learning how to face their resistance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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TPP 475: Dr. Tamar Chansky on Freeing Your Child from OCD

November 18, 2025 • 37 mins
Today we’re unpacking a topic that so many families struggle to understand—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD—especially when it shows up in children. My guest is Dr. Tamar Chansky, a clinical psychologist and author of the newly updated and revised edition of her seminal book Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In our conversation, Tamar and I talk about how our understanding of OCD has evolved over the past ...
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TPP 097b: A Masterclass in Executive Functioning with Seth Perler (Part 2 of 2)

November 14, 2025 • 41 mins
This week is a continuation of last week’s episode with executive functioning coach Seth Perler, which was so packed full of information (and also so long) that I had to break it up into two separate episodes, which I’m now referring to as a “masterclass” in executive functioning.  In last week’s episode, Seth shared his protocol for setting up a child for success in their developing executive functioning skills. In today’s episod...
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TPP 474: Debbie & Penny Williams on Navigating the Launch of Neurodivergent Young Adults (Part 1)

November 11, 2025 • 42 mins
Today we’re diving into one of the most tender and complex stages of parenting—launching our neurodivergent young adults into independence, or more accurately, interdependence. My guest is Penny Williams, a parenting coach for neurodiverse families and the award-winning author of four books on ADHD, including Boy Without Instructions. In this episode Penny and I talk about the emotional challenges parents face during this transitio...
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TPP 096a: A "Masterclass" in Executive Functioning with Seth Perler (Part 1 of 2)

November 7, 2025 • 36 mins
Executive functioning coach Seth Perler joins me for a two-part series in which Seth shares with us the exact approach he uses with students he works with when helping them foster their fledgling executive functioning skills. In this episode, Seth shares with us his protocol for setting up a child for success in their developing executive functioning skills. In part 2 next week, Seth will go in-depth into his specific strategies su...
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TPP 473: A Conversation with Naomi Fisher About EMDR

November 4, 2025 • 38 mins
Today we’re exploring EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—a therapeutic approach that’s been shown to be highly effective in treating trauma, including for neurodivergent individuals. My guest is Dr. Naomi Fisher, a clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma, autism, and alternative education, and an expert in EMDR. Naomi will share her journey into EMDR and explains not just the mechanics of how it works, but a...
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TPP 342a: Dr. Devorah Heitner on Parenting Kids Who Are Growing Up in Public

October 31, 2025 • 55 mins
Today, we’re talking about such a pressing consideration for anyone raising a kid these days — what it means for today’s generation of kids to grow up with very public lives and coming of age in a digital world where so many aspects of their lives are online and available for public consumption, not to mention that much of their important work of identity formation is being shaped by the media and technology they interact with. My...
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TPP 472: Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart on Transforming Conflict Into Connection with our Teens

October 28, 2025 • 41 mins
Today we’re talking about one of my favorite topics — what it really means to connect, collaborate, and let go of control as our kids grow into themselves as they enter the transformative teen years. My guest is Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, a pediatric psychologist and parent coach who helps overwhelmed parents raise confident, emotionally healthy kids and teens, and the author of the brand new book, Love the Teen You Have: A Practical...
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TPP 356a: Supporting Healthy Digital Media Use for Neurodivergent Kids

October 24, 2025 • 41 mins
Many of our kids spend a LOT of time engaging on screens and with technology, and I don’t know about you, but for me it feels like this is an ever-changing, and fast-changing landscape, and one that can be hard to stay on top of. Whether we’re talking about assistive technology, videos, games, or social media, these forms of media continue to offer new ways of interacting, developing relationships, and even exploring identity, and ...
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TPP 471: Chris Balme on Making Middle School an Adventure Worth Savoring

October 21, 2025 • 32 mins
My guest today is education leader and author Chris Balme, here to talk about his brand-new book Challenge Accepted: 50 Adventures to Make Middle School Awesome. In it, Chris gives middle schoolers themselves the tools to turn the ups and downs of adolescence into an adventure filled with meaning, growth, and connection. In our conversation, Chris shares why adventure and healthy risk-taking are so powerful during the middle schoo...
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TPP 313a: Dr. Devorah Heitner on Online Safety and Internet “Rabbit Holes” and Neurodivergent Kids

October 17, 2025 • 41 mins
Today is an important conversation about online communities and internet rabbit holes. And I felt pulled to tackle this topic for the show because I know that the past few years in particularly has been a time where differently wired kids have beenspending a LOT more time online and connecting with people they may not have even meant in real life and doing their identity development largely online. And I also know that this can put...
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TPP 470: How Can I Stay Grounded When My Child Falls Apart After School?

October 16, 2025 • 17 mins
In this Parent Lean In episode, Margaret Webb joins me to answer a listener's question about those tough moments when our kids are totally dysregulated—especially after long, overstimulating school days. We get into why these behaviors happen, how important it is for kids to release pent-up energy, and what it really means to co-regulate. We also talk about how to stay grounded ourselves when things get loud or chaotic, and remind ...
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TPP 469: Helping Neurodivergent Girls Know They’re Enough, with Kate Rope

October 14, 2025 • 39 mins
Today we’re talking about raising girls—what it means to help them feel strong in both body and mind, and how we as parents can nurture that confidence from an early age. My guest is Kate Rope, an award-winning journalist and the author of the new book, Strong as a Girl: Your Guide to Raising Girls Who Know, Stand Up for, and Take Care of Themselves. In this episode, we talk about empowerment, self-compassion, and listening deeply ...
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TPP 365a: Dr. Alok Kanojia Explains How to Raise Healthy Gamers

October 10, 2025 • 43 mins
Where is the line between healthy gaming and unhealthy gaming? How much gaming is too much? And when does a gaming habit evolve into gaming addiction? These are some of the questions regarding screen time that I hear from many parents, and they highlight some of the ongoing challenges families face in raising children who can be responsible tech users and whose screen use and gaming doesn’t interfere with their lives in a way ...
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TPP 468: Helping Empaths and Highly Sensitive Kids Thrive with Dr. Judith Orloff

October 7, 2025 • 33 mins
Today we’re diving into the world of empaths and highly sensitive people—what it means to be one, what makes it complicated, and why it’s also such a gift. My guest, psychiatrist, author, and empath Dr. Judith Orloff, shares her own journey as a highly sensitive child and how it shaped her work as a psychiatrist. We talk about the science behind sensitivity, how to recognize a highly sensitive child, and why self-care and co-regula...
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TPP 128b: Digital Media and Technology Expert Devorah Heitner on Helping Kids Be Screenwise

October 3, 2025 • 44 mins
Dr. Devorah Heitner, a digital media and technology expert and the author of "Screenwise" talks about how parents can mentor their kids to develop a healthy relationship with screens (phones, online games, and more). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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TPP 467: A Conversation with Nefertiti Austin About the Diagnosis That Changed Everything

September 30, 2025 • 32 mins
Today I’m talking with writer and memoirist Nefertiti Austin about her journey parenting a neurodivergent child and the many realizations that come with it, which she writes about in her new book, She’s Just Spirited: Parenting a Neurodivergent Child and the Diagnosis That Changes Everything, continues that deeply honest exploration, this time through the lens of raising a differently wired child. In our conversation, Nefertiti sha...
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TPP 016b: Understanding and Navigating the Parent-Teacher Relationship with Becca Wertheim

September 26, 2025 • 37 mins
Becca Wertheim, a second-grade teacher at an inclusion school in North Carolina, talks about her experience as a teacher meeting the individual educational needs of a group of students with diverse learning styles, and her insight for parents who are looking for better support and communication with the teachers in their children’s lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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