On and Off The Spectrum

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sat down with Khushi Khandelwal to discuss her experiences of receiving a diagnosis of ADHD in India and how that diagnosis and communal expectation change when she moved to the UK and received the additional diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explo...

The podcast episode features Dr. Estie Hess, Dr. Anne Kirsch, and Rabbi Yisrael Barnath discussing the complex topic of forgiveness, particularly in the context of parenting children with developmental delays or disabilities. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or are interested in being a guest on a...

Professor Boaz Barak joins Drs. Hess and Kirsch in a fascinating discussion regarding the various advancements in autism research that have come out of the state of Israel. Strategies discussed include a neuro-divergent army platoon in the Israeli Defense Force, that focuses on the strengths of persons on the spectrum while simultaneously supporting their challenges. Stay in touch! This podcast is...

Dr. Estie Hess met with Dr. Mary Schuh-Clark, who described her volunteer activities as a podiatrist for the Southern California Special Olympics. The discussion let to how clinical staff are better prepared for working with a neuro-diverse population and how parents are equally helped to understand the sensory sensitivities of their children with guidance as to the best way to prepare the special...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch have a very passionate discussion about the realities of AI in the classroom and its effect on the capacity for our Nation's children to learn and be creative. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or are interested in being a guest on a future episode, email us at onandoffthe...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch meet with Mary Ann Hughes, a certified divorce coach for the neuro-diverse community, who describes her role as a mediator to assist families who are ending partnerships but need support so that they can continue to partner successfully at parenting. Her expertise extends to the persons who themselves are on the spectrum as well as their children who's long-term needs mus...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch speak with Ella Dawley about the workbook that she has created that addresses the needs of both neuro-divergent and neuro-typical young adults as they navigate workplace, school and interpersonal challenges. Issues address a systems of 5 pillars of strength that focus on areas of self-advocacy and self-regulation. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch meet up with Mary and Ryan Heller, a remarkable mother/son team. Mary believed in her son's innate intelligence despite a severe diagnosis of autism level 3. But even she was blown away when her son's world opened up with spelling. Listen to their story about how their team was assembled and how today Ryan travels the country, speaks at conferences and gives presenta...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with author Rabbi Yisrael Barneth as he describes his own process of writing a book that fundamentally offers a self-reflective strategy to forgive those in our lives who have done us wrong, be it another person, someone who has passed, a higher deity or hardest of all, ourselves. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you ha...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down for a very frank discussion with Avraham Zeren, a former soldier in the Israel Defense Force. Avraham speaks openly about the course of severe PTSD that resulted in an unsuccessful suicide attempt and the long road back to good mental health. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to e...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down for a very frank discussion with Avraham Zeren, a former soldier in the Israel Defense Force. Avraham speaks openly about the course of severe PTSD that resulted in an unsuccessful suicide attempt and the long road back to good mental health. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to e...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch have an adventure to share with their viewing audience. A visit to a pop-up art Exhibit, the Hospital of Emotions in downtown Los Angeles, is an experience not to be missed. ------------------ A Temporary Pop-Up Exhibition Inside a Real Hospital For a limited time, a building within the St. Vincent Behavioral Health Campus in Los Angeles is transformed into a living museum of...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch interview Dr. Madeline Wolf as she shares her life story. Inhibited by lifelong learning disabilities and stuttering, she was nonetheless a person of grit and determination. She met an educational therapist in graduate school, who she would name as her Angel, helping her fill in all the multiple gaps that had occurred through her academic career and supported her quest to beco...

This episode is the second part of Drs. Hess and Kirsch discussion with expert Naomi Afriat, LCSW, on the timely and understandable disconcerting subject of internet porn addiction; it's origins, impact on individual and family life and course of treatment. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch discuss the timely and understandable disconcerting subject of internet porn addiction; it's origins, impact on individual and family life and course of treatment with leading expert in the field, Dr. Naomi Afriat. Tonight is the first part of a thoughtful two-part discussion which includes the challenges of treating this disorder within the neuro-divergent community. Pod...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Dr. Seth Kurzban, a community mental health social worker. based in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Kurzban approaches this question from his own personal and professional experience and relates the way children are being unconsciously gender trained for future careers. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, top...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down this evening with pastor Joshua Hernandez Montoya who leads God's Pueblo; a bi-lingual, inclusive and all inviting Christian church that offers support to the neuro-divergent community, to those who are gender fluid and at times even those who find themselves unhoused. In contrast to the larger churches in their community, God's Pueblo emphasizes intimacy, t...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Dr. Laura Hernandez, a very knowledgeable and thoughtful pediatrician, addressing the complexities of raising today's child. She also addresses her experience as a clinician of color and how her patients acknowledge that this is often the first time that they have met a doctor who looks like they do, speaks the same language and can translate our current sta...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch interview Dr. Patty Kerrigan, founder and CEO of Think Again Foundation. An organization that offers families the necessary support services during and following recovery from cancer treatment. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or are interested in being a guest on a future epi...

In this episode of On and Off the Spectrum, David Richmond joins Drs. Hess and Kirsch from the UK to share his deeply personal journey toward a mid-life diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For years, David lived with patterns of hyperactivity, inattention, and internal restlessness that never quite made sense...until they did. David reflects on what it means to reinterpret your...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch meet with pediatric dentists Bernard Gross and Michael Kleinman who offer tips and strategies to support the special needs child and their parents navigating oral phobias and sensory sensitivities. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or are interested in being a guest on a future...

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Ilana Zackon with a candid conversation about her own experiences with Binge Eating Disorder. She enlightens the audience to how common eating disorders are ignored or misdiagnosed and how she fought her way back to health. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or are...

Dr. Esther Hess and Dr. Ann Kirsch together discuss the complex issues of how adoption trauma often manifests itself as maladaptive survival strategies, with guidance for differentiating these maladaptive behaviors from age-appropriate developmental challenges.  Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics you’d like us to explore, or...

The pros and cons of anti-depressant medication during pregnancy are thoughtfully explored as Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie discuss the quandary that women often find themselves in; what to do if you want to get pregnant, think you might be pregnant and have a diagnosis of depression?  Please note: This episode explores mental health treatment alongside fertility and pregnancy, topics that may be sensitiv...

Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie discuss a recent article written by Rahm Emmanuel, on the specific strategies that he and his wife used to raise their three children. Offered are tips that minimize technology at the dinner table, stress the importance of reading together as a family and never ever forgetting to remind a child how much he/she are loved.  Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’...