At Peace Parents Podcast

How do we help our kids develop a positive self image, no matter their diagnosis? In this episode I walk through the steps of helping your PDA child or teen do so, and in a way that provides them autonomy and equality throughout. It's an excerpt from one of the live workshops of our Paradigm Shift Program. I hope it's helpful!

In this episode I speak with Paradigm Shift Program alumna Caroline Thor about the tremendous impacts of changing her parenting approach - for her PDA son, her family, and herself as a professional. I hope it's helpful to you. xo, Casey Caroline's Website

How do I feel about AI, and how do I use it with my PDA child? In this episode I talk through these things and more with Kelly Edwards, founder of the 90-Minute School Day. As a mom of a PDAer herself, and an expert in the homeschooling/unschooling space, Kelly brings great insight to our conversation. I hope you find it helpful!

Not all demand avoidant children and teens are PDA. In this episode I talk through how to know if your child fits the profile for PDA, which is important, because it suggests a different root cause for their avoidance than for non-PDA demand avoidant kids. And of course, you want to know what the root cause is so you know how best to support your child or teen. I hope this is helpful to all. xo, C...

Paradigm Shift Program alumna Rachel shares her story in this episode, which includes insight she gained enduring serious sickness as a young adult. She brings this perspective to the hardest moments and eras parenting her PDA children, and explains the difference that can make, even while being incredibly difficult.

In this episode I speak with Paradigm Shift Program alumna Aoife, who shares her journey as a PDA parent of a PDA child. I hope you find her insights and experiences helpful as you navigate your own journeys.

I think PDA is its own neurotype, different from non-PDA Autism and ADHD. That doesn't mean PDA kids, teens and adults can't also be Autistic or ADHD - many are, including at least one of my sons. But it means there's a different logic for how we support PDA children and teens - even if they are also Autistic or ADHD - based on the unique way their brain and nervous system works.

You're not doing it wrong! And I know this because there is not one right or wrong to parent a PDA child. Parents I work with make tons of different decisions - and change those decisions over time - depending on the unique circumstances, opportunities, values and constraints they face. And I love that!

Karin is a Dutch medical teacher and an alumna of our Paradigm Shift Program with three children with three different neurotypes. I loved reconnecting with her and hearing how she and her neurodivergent husband use three different parenting approaches in order to successfully support their kids. I hope you find her insights helpful, too!

Many of you know that my PDA son stopped eating most foods when he was in burnout. But I've also worked with countless parents whose PDA child or teen can't stop eating. And so I've dedicated this episode to the topic - how to understand compulsive eating as part of PDA, and an approach that may be helpful. xo, Casey

In this episode I spoke with Chris Wenger - AKA " Speech Dude " - a speech language pathologist with extensive experience accommodating PDA teens in a public school. I loved our conversation, and I hope you will too! We talked about: Practical ways to communicate about PDA in a public school setting (in this case a high school). How to write PDA-specific goals/supports in an IEP (Institutional Edu...

Dr. Mel Houser, MD, shares stories from her childhood, career as a doctor, and work reimagining healthcare and community at All Brains Belong in Vermont. PDA Autistic herself, I hope you'll find her insights as interesting, helpful and hopeful as I did.

The thing that underpins so much of how we support and accommodate our PDA children and teens - and thereby lower their nervous system activation so they can thrive - is our connection with them. And this connection can get very, very strained. Especially if they're in burnout, which often means we are, too. In this episode I share ten tips to improve connection and communications. I hope it's hel...

Five years ago, when my son barely ate anything, and I feared he would end up with a feeding tube, and none of the traditional therapies worked, these are the 20 things I wish someone would have said to me, because I was freaking out! I hope they are as helpful to you now as I know they would have been for me back then.

I dive deep on screens in this episode - to give you every bit of information you need to make decisions you can feel confident in concerning screens and screen limits. I talk through how formal studies on screen time handle PDA children (spoiler - they don't) and share what I've seen working with over 1,000 families who have all handled screen limits their own ways. I do this because no matter yo...

In this episode I discuss the five most common characteristics of PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance / Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) to help parents determine if their child or teen fits the profile. If you want to dig deeper into figuring out if your child fits the PDA profile, I designed my Clarity Masterclass to help. It's free on my website: Clarity Page - Quiz and Class

"All kids are demand avoidant" is just one of the misconceptions about PDA that I take down with clinical psychologist Alex Klein in this feisty episode. I hope it helps you take on any doubts foisted on you, too.

In this episode I talk about some of the therapies I've done to heal my own nervous system - and dive deeper on EMDR specifically - in the hope that they might be helpful to you, too. Because the reality is, many of us as parents also experience trauma as we navigate the challenges of parenting a PDA child or teen, especially when they (and we!) are in burnout.

This episode is for people who follow (or don't follow) any religion and are open to taking some of the concepts from Buddhist psychology that I've found most helpful as I parent my PDA child. I hope you find these six ideas helpful, too.

My son started occupational therapy six years ago, when he was four. I didn't really know what it was, nor did I know my son was PDA. But in the years since, OT has become a prominent part of my life. So much so that as he's now graduating from it, I'm navigating feelings of loss, much like I did way back when he first started. I hope you find the episode helps you, whether or not you're involved...

In this episode I speak with Dr. Alex Klein about a dynamic I see all the time - when two parents aren't on the same page about how to parent their PDA child or teen. Alex brings his insight as a clinical psychologist who often works with parents on marriage dynamics while they raise a PDA child or teen. I hope you find it helpful! Also - this is our 100th episode of the podcast! What I've heard o...

"Mama, did God make me this way on purpose?" That's what my PDA son asked me when he was four years old, and it broke my heart. But today, at age 10, he has a ton of confidence in himself and his identity as a PDAer. In this episode I talk through how we got from the one place to the other, and how you can, too. I hope it's helpful. Casey

This episode is about one of parents' most common fears when they begin taking a nervous-system accommodation approach. What about when my kid grows up? Or, said another way, if I don't consistently correct them when they do something wrong, how will they learn not to be awful people? It's a question and fear I had, too. But what I've seen with my son, and the thousands of families I've worked wit...

I am so excited to share this conversation with Demi Burnett! She's famous for her appearances on The Bachelor and more, but I had so much fun - and also learned a ton - talking with her about her life as a PDA Autistic person. I mean, who would have thought reality television would be so accommodating?!? You can find Demi's often hilarious social media posts here: instagram.com/demi_not_lovato An...

In this episode I discuss how seemingly disconnected activities can impact each other for PDA children and teens. I hope it is helpful to you. Are you ready to start working to deeply understand and support your PDA child or teen and lead your family to peace? Enrollment is open for the next cohort of my signature Paradigm Shift Program at https://www.atpeaceparents.com/paradigm-shift-program To l...