Complex Kids, Simple Solutions

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with educational advocate Sharon Dunlevy to demystify foster-care realities—what licensing really takes, why trauma shows up like “behavior,” and how schools can (and should) support healing with the right plans and people. Sharon shares: What becoming a foster parent actually requires. Background checks, home studies, annual license renewals...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with nurse practitioner and mom-author Constance Lewis to share the story behind Miles and the Colorful Capes of Feelings —a playful, powerful system that helps kids name big emotions using color, costume, and connection. Constance shares: A family’s turning point. When her son Miles developed seizures at age four, words became hard—so the fa...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with educator and accessibility advocate Dr. C. S. Wyatt to demystify the leap from K–12 supports to college reality—and how listening (not just checklists) drives real inclusion online and in the classroom. Dr. Wyatt shares: The cliff at 18. IDEA/IEP and most K–12 protections end at adulthood; in higher ed, students must personally contact D...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle Choairy sits down with Russell Van Brocklen , founder of Dyslexia Classes , to uncover a radically different way of helping kids with dyslexia, ADHD, and learning differences thrive—by flipping traditional methods on their head and using neuroscience, technology, and writing itself as the therapy. Russell shares: 🧠 A senator’s wake-up call. When a New...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Dr. Emily Levy, founder and director of EBL Coaching, to explore how customized, multi-sensory instruction can transform outcomes for students with dyslexia, ADHD, executive functioning challenges, and other learning differences. Emily shares: Why no one-size-fits-all works. With 22+ research-based methods in her toolkit, Emily explains...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with parenting coach Jeanine Mouchawar to unpack why the strategies that worked for little kids fall apart in the teen years—especially for neurodivergent teens—and how small shifts in tone, timing, and language rebuild connection without power struggles. Jeanine shares: The teen transition = a parent transition. Your child’s needs change at...

Send us a text In this powerful episode, Michelle sits down with former child psychotherapist and author Nicole Runyon to tackle a controversial question every modern parent faces: Is technology quietly hijacking our kids’ mental health—and what can we do about it? Nicole shares: 📉 The silent epidemic no one saw coming. In 2014, Nicole began seeing a wave of children with severe depression, anxie...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with clinical psychologist and co-parenting coach Dr. Karalynn Royster to unpack one of the most loaded questions parents of complex kids face:   What happens when the marriage isn’t working—but your child still needs both of you? Dr. Karalynn shares: 💔 Why 80% of parents with complex kids report marriage strain. From therapy schedules to me...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Andréane Gaulin , a rare dual-licensed SLP + BCBA , to unpack the gut-wrenching moment many parents of neurodivergent kids face: when their toddler still isn’t talking—and no one seems to have real answers. Andréane shares: 🧠 Why “wait and see” is often the wrong advice. Pediatricians mean well, but if your child isn’t talking by two, i...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Samantha Foote—music therapist, mom of three autistic children, and host of the Every Brain Is Different Summit—to explore how sound, structure, and self-compassion can transform the neurodivergent parenting journey. Samantha shares: 🎹 How a piano prodigy became a therapy trailblazer. When Samantha realized she didn’t want to perform or...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with speaker, podcaster, and creator of the Raising Wild Hearts podcast, Ryann Watkin , to unpack the tug-of-war between strength and softness that every mom of complex kids knows too well. Together, they explore how to step out of “CEO of the household” mode and reconnect with the feminine energy that fuels joy, love, and true presence at ho...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Los Angeles speech-language pathologist and author Jeaneen Tang to unpack why some kids stay stuck at “grunts and grabs”—and the everyday tweaks that turn requests into real words. Jeaneen shares how to build language without fancy tools: honor a child’s “no,” engineer practice into snacks and play, and borrow the brain’s love of music t...

Send us a text In this heartfelt episode, Michelle sits down with Amanda Trisdale, CEO of Autistic Wings Dance Company , to spotlight what happens when a fierce mom, a fiercely talented daughter, and a fiercely broken system collide—and how they built a sanctuary for neurodivergent dancers when no one else would. Amanda shares: 💔 Why neurodivergent kids were getting shut out. From being told they...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with energy & consciousness coach Kanika Vasudeva to explore why many complex kids arrive as hyper-sensitive “old souls”—and how a one-minute grounding ritual can steady the whole household. Kanika shares: A daughter’s goodbye that opened a portal. Losing her infant set Kanika on an Akashic-Records quest to understand soul contracts, karm...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Active Reader co-founder and former classroom teacher Rebecca McAllister to unpack why so many complex kids (and even their teachers!) still struggle with reading—and how a multi-sensory, five-minute-a-day routine can rewrite that story long before first grade. Rebecca shares: From “good student” to secret struggler. Undiagnosed dyslexia...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle welcomes therapist and EmpowerMind Solutions founder Dr. Kristen Williamson to bust the myth that ADHD and autism are deficits—and to show both parents and late-diagnosed adults how to turn “weird” traits into everyday superpowers. Kristen shares: The diagnosis after 30 that changed everything. A lifetime of “too much” finally made sense when Kristen r...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Cleverely operations lead Michael Israel to unpack the hidden reason babies and complex kids are still left in hot cars—and the 15-second fix that turns back-seat checks into second nature. Michael shares: A dad’s near-miss that sparked a movement. One foggy commuter morning, a tech-savvy father forgot his son was still riding behind him...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with author and psych-nurse T.L. McCoy to unpack how a single genetic mutation—and a determined grandma—sparked the inclusive middle-grade adventure Delilah versus the Ghastly Grimm . TL shares: The diagnosis that changed everything. Her granddaughter’s first-year seizures led to a Dravet-syndrome finding—and a crash course in gene mutations,...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with veteran speech-language pathologist Dinalynn Rosenbush —creator of the Language of Play podcast—to unpack what happens when an over-worked school SLP, a fired-up mom, and a “mama-gut” hunch all meet at the IEP table. Dinalynn shares: School vs. private therapy—decoded. Why public-school SLPs have to wait for an academic “hit,” how 62-kid...

Send us a text In this conversation, Michelle sits down with Maxwell Ivey—better known online as The Blind Blogger —to explore what true adaptability looks like when you’re navigating life without sight and without excuses. Max shares: Growing up on a Texas carnival lot and how makeshift kick-ball rules, “find-the-positive” scavenger hunts, and a family ethos of just get open laid the foundation f...

Send us a text In this episode of Complex Kids, Simple Solutions , host Michelle Choairy sits down with Barbara Ann Mojica —historian, retired special-education administrator, and award-winning creator of the Little Miss History ® children’s book series—for a lively discussion on why history (and curiosity!) matter for every learner, especially kids with complex needs. Drawing on 40+ years as a te...

Send us a text In Episode 14 of Complex Kids, Simple Solutions , host Michelle Choairy is joined by Dr. Betsy Holmberg—clinical psychologist and author of Unkind Mind —for an eye-opening conversation on what’s really going on inside our heads when we feel overwhelmed, self-critical, or stuck in the spiral of “I’m a bad mom.” Betsy introduces us to the Default Mode Network (DMN) —the part of the br...

Send us a text In Episode 13 of Complex Kids, Simple Solutions, Michelle Choairy welcomes Katie Jones—Christian financial counselor, foster mom, and founder of Redeeming Your Finances —for a refreshing conversation about money, motherhood, and living with purpose. Katie shares how faith and stewardship can bring clarity to even the most chaotic family budgets, especially for families raising compl...

Send us a text In Episode 12 of Complex Kids, Simple Solutions , Michelle Choairy welcomes Sam Mitchell, the dynamic host of Autism Rocks and Rolls and a proud self-advocate on the autism spectrum. Diagnosed at age four, Sam has gone from receiving speech therapy and IEP support in school to building a podcast empire, giving TED Talks, and inspiring others to embrace who they are. Together, Michel...

Send us a text In this episode of Complex Kids, Simple Solutions , Michelle welcomes back Elissa Green Kaustinen, FAST Director at Chapman University’s Thompson Policy Institute and a trusted expert on navigating IEPs and special education systems. Elissa brings a rare, deeply collaborative perspective—bridging the often disconnected worlds of healthcare and education for families raising neurodiv...