Parenting Autism and ADHD

If you’re a grandparent or family member supporting a neurodivergent young person, it can be hard to know what’s behind their behaviour, or how best to help. Today, we sit down with Jean Ramsay of Coaching for Schools, to talk about what she learned from a career in teaching. We cover how to look beyond behaviour and “get curious instead of furious,” and why focusing on strengths and taking the ro...

If you regularly come home from work completely wiped out or spend the weekend worrying about a meeting on Monday, you are not alone, lots of neurodiverse people feel that way. Today,  sit down with Jodie Steele, the founder of NeuroTalks, to discuss why that happens and what you, your employers and others can do to solve this issue.   We cover why it isn’t usually the person who is...

Sarah Warley joins us to discuss her experience with appearing on Channel 4’s controversial documentary The Great ADHD Myth, including the last-minute title change, why so much of her contribution never made it into the programme, what was cut and the debate it sparked across the ADHD community. We talk about why diagnosis should be the start of the journey, not the end; possible links between the...

In this fascinating episode, I’m joined by Chris Marsh, an ADHD specialist, root cause therapist and fellow neurodivergent thinker, for a deep conversation about ADHD, trauma, anxiety, productivity, healing and what it really means to be “normal.” We explore why so many neurodiverse people spend their lives feeling like they’re getting things wrong - particularly at school and work - and how years...

In this episode I sit down with autism coach Sam Loprete to talk about growing up undiagnosed, feeling “odd but not sure why,” and only later discovering you have ADHD. We swap stories about childhood moments that were seen as shyness or bad behaviour, but were really signs of overwhelm, unclear rules, and needs no one thought of.  Sam explains how simple curiosity from others in your life at...

Today, I sit down with learning disabilities dementia nurse and trainer Niall Arraglen, who shares what he’s learned from life inside a neurodiverse civil partnership with his AuDHD partner, Julia. From late ADHD diagnosis and the impact perimenopause/menopause has on ADHD and Autism to time blindness, noise, tidiness, and emotional bandwidth, Niall opens up about the real, everyday relationship d...

In this episode I sit down with Christina Forster, a nurse, mum of five including two with autism and one with a fitting condition. She is the co‑creator of the ADHDump app which was born the day her husband realised he could no longer cope with driving to work with his head full of tasks he hadn´t done and knew he would never remember to do. For neurodivergent adults who feel like life is one lon...

Neurodiversity doesn’t just show up in diagnoses - it shows up in “wrong” spoons, cupboards you can’t keep tidy, shouting “will you shut up” in class when the noise is too much, and sitting on your phone at parties because you can’t face small talk.   In this episode, Eva and I share how ADHD and autism really feel in day‑to‑day life: popcorn reading that feels like torture, rereading th...

In this episode, I unpack why I chose not to watch Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth - and why sometimes protecting your peace is more important than having an opinion on everything. I explore the power of attention, anxiety, boundaries, and the reminder from Nikki Masterman that one television programme doesn’t change who we are, what we experience, or the support and protections available to us. T...

For neurodivergent families sleep problems are common, but most traditional sleep strategies simply don't work. Today, a paediatric sleep specialist, Michelle Cyril joins me, to explore why sleep can be particularly challenging for autistic and ADHD children, who become adults that struggle with it too. Michelle shares how her own experience led her to combine evidence-based sleep practice with a...

Today, I am joined by Jacki Edry, an autism and neurodiversity advocate with more than 40 years of experience. Jacki shares her journey from volunteering with autistic children as a teenager to supporting her own son, whom she recognised as potentially autistic at a very young age. In 2013, Jacki discovered she had a massive brain stem tumour. Her recovery gave her a unique firsthand understanding...

Is your child (or you) living with invisible pain - anxiety, overwhelm, thoughts of not wanting to be here? Do you minimise it because “others have it worse,” are you quietly worried what might happen if things keep going as they are? Today I’m joined by Piers Day, anxiety, and suicide‑prevention specialist, who’s spent nearly 30 years working with teens, young adults, and their families. We talk...

Today we are talking about OCD. For so many of us in neurodivergent families, “OCD” doesn’t look like a TV stereotype. It looks like dishwashers that have to be stacked just so, teddies arranged in invisible themes, and kids who can’t settle until every collection is complete.  In this episode I sit down with my daughter Eva to explore our shared “operating system”: my dishwasher rules and St...

Is your kid aggressive, disruptive, always getting into trouble? Are they labelled defiant, non-compliant, challenging? Do you dread another phone call from school? Wondering what happened this time. But what if those behaviours aren't the problem at all?  Today I'm joined by Tyler Baldwin, a trauma-informed NVR practitioner. We're talking about aggression, school refusal, violence, boundarie...

In this light-hearted episode, Eva and me swap our top 10 annoyances: from phones getting blamed for everything and being talked over, to school rules that don’t make sense, “you’re so lazy” comments, and being told off in PE when you’re actually in pain. Along the way we unpack PDA, selective hearing, unclear instructions, bullying over teddy bears, and why drawing in class might be the only way...

An ADHD brain that’s always on the go can easily push you into a life lived on the edge. You work harder, say yes to more and keep sprinting long after your nervous system is done. Trying to slow down naturally fails so you start relying on something else that will put the brakes on for you, something to take the edge off. For my guest Hamish Niven, the host of The Brave Man Project podcast, that...

Neurodiverse people aren’t “too sensitive.” Our brains are processing far more than most people´s. In this episode I explore five everyday behaviours often seen in autistic and ADHD people but rarely seen in others - rehearsing conversations, crashing after socialising, being overwhelmed by background noise, forgetting basic needs like food and water, and only realising what was really going on ho...

For so many ADHD brains, nights aren’t restful, they’re busy, creative, and wired. You’re exhausted, your head hits the pillow… but suddenly you’re wide awake, building entire business plans in your mind while the rest of the house is out cold. But that might not mean you’re broken. Ancient human sleep patterns, artificial light, and the hunter–farmer theory explain a lot of what is going on with...

Let me ask you something uncomfortable. Can we punish neurodiversity out of our kids? If  they shout ground them. If they swear, take the phone. If they melt down, raise your voice louder. Will that fix it, or are we trying to discipline a nervous system that's already overwhelmed?  Today, I'm joined by Lauren O'Carroll, founder of Positively Parenting, a professional ADHD coach as seen on Channel...

What happens when your child is doing fine academically, but socially they're drowning? They might understand the material, they can answer the questions, they might even be top of the class, or maybe they're struggling academically because of the environment. Either way, there's an impact, the transitions, the crowds, the shifting expectations, the executive function load. It's building, and slow...

Neurodiverse people aren’t broken – we’re wired differently. What works for most other people doesn’t always work for us, especially when it comes to getting things done, motivating ourselves and handling stress. In this episode I dive into five common phrases parents that can really backfire with ADHD and autistic kids (and adults): “just try harder,” “be more disciplined,” “break it down into sm...

Today, Cliff welcomes Lisa Bond, who is herself neurodiverse. Lisa is a training, learning and development specialist who has hands on experience of counselling, advocacy, and litigation for neurodiverse families. Lisa works for AYC Psychology who offer a range of neurodiverse assessment services and is the founder of Impact Training. She lives in a Rainbow house of neurodiversity she and her son...

When it comes to sex and porn, many of us feel it’s “wrong” to talk to our kids – especially if they’re autistic, ADHD or highly sensitive. But if we don’t talk, the internet will, and it won’t explain the difference between entertainment and reality, or help them process what they’ve seen. Today I’m joined again by sex educator Cath Hakanson to explore how to have calm, age-appropriate conversati...

I’m celebrating the 50th episode with two very special guests – my daughter Eva and my wife. This is an honest, funny, and tender look inside our “neuro-spicy” family life. We talk about the everyday chaos of ADHD and autism (spills, mess, time blindness, zoning out), how we tag-team as parents when emotions run high, and how we turn things like bike crashes and Roblox scams into gentle safety les...

Today's guest shouldn't be here - and that's exactly why this episode matters. He felt like an impostor talking about neurodiversity because this isn't his specialty. But this isn't about labels or limitations. It's about what we can become in spite of them. Think about the last time you argued with yourself. That voice that says not good enough, don't mess this up. Today we're meeting it head on...