You Can Grow Your Own Way

We're back with the team from Planet Puberty to cover one of puberty's biggest changes - emotions!
This week we dive into mood swings, extreme feelings, lust, friendships and why the brain suddenly spits the dummy.
As parents, how can we support our tweens and teens through this tricky stage? And how do we keep ourselves sane?! We talk about all this and more and see what we can detangle.

Remember friendships before children?! Heading out somewhere on a whim, staying up late chatting with wine, regular Saturday walks with coffee, people being available?! We go through a huge transition of how our friendships look when children come into our lives.
But what happens when your child is neurodivergent? When milestones look different, social outings need scaffolding and specialist appointments fill your calendar? How do our friendships change?
We chat to three parents of neurodivergent children on what their own friendship journey has been like.

The discovery process of understanding our little neurodivergent ones can be an emotional and daunting experience. We can see our children weighed for what they can’t do, have lists made of their deficits and feel our children squeezed into boxes.
We'll discuss some of the more frequently used assessments, what they're for and how they're measured. And most importantly, how do we still see our children beyond the reports and results?
We’re joined by Stephanie Van Velzen, Occupational Therapist, once again and Rose Purse, Speech Pathologist, who share their knowledge of assessments and their passion for understanding the individuality of each child.

We're back talking all the sticky topics of puberty with Heather Jolly. Today, we deep dive into some of the more daunting changes our bodies can go through and how to discuss them with our neurodivergent tweens.
We chat menstruation, strange sensations and period products. We venture into wet dreams, unexpected erections and body shame. We share tools to take the ick out of the conversation and open up honest and helpful dialogue.
So let's jump in!

We say it all the time, if you've met one neurodivergent person then you've met one neurodivergent person. So how then do we tailor our strategies and supports to help someone with their individual needs? But what if we could get some guidance?
Using QEEG brain mapping and imaging, it is possible to look at how the brain functions to see which areas need greater support.
We chat to Daniel Lane from the Perth Brain Centre about how this works and how we can use this information to help us scaffold our children where they need us most.
A copy of the images used in this conversation are available at https://bit.ly/3KGetlc.

Let's be real, talking to our kids about body changes and hormones feels scary. It's messy and giggly and feels a bit weird... How do we then navigate the added challenge that neurodiversity can sometimes bring?
We chat candidly with Heather Jolly from Family Planning NSW about how to get the conversation started... and ensure it can continue.
Part 1 is all about accessing information and how to share it. Let's dive in!

What are neuroaffirming and low demand parenting? Why are they important? And could they have the ability to alter the energy in your family home?
Celebrating the individualism of your unique child and placing them at the centre of the decisions made about them is the most effective way to create a positive self image for your child. But what does this look like in practice? And how do we balance this against the need for boundaries andstructure?
We’ll also talk about how these are different to permissive parenting , and the risks that permissive parenting poses to yourself and your relationship with your child.
How do we walk the line to do the best for our child when parenting is already more complex than for many of those around us?
Let’s discuss!

In this next episode in our Taboo Topics series, we discuss the realities of child to parent violence, its prevalence amongst children with neurodivergence and its impact.
Let’s start by being clear, a child who is neurodivergent is not automatically violent or aggressive, but some are. And it’s parents and siblings who are often impacted by this violence.
So how does it happen? We talk to Lee Tempest from VisAble about what it looks and feels like using lived experience.
For those experiencing child to parent violence, you are not alone. We will also share any agencies that you may be able to speak to.
This won’t be an easy episode, but it’s a very important one.