EPIC Families

Come join us at EPIC Families LIVE on August 16th: New Zealand’s biggest EVER event for Neurodiverse families! More details here ----------------------- She Fought Every System. And She Won. Some parents ask for help and get it. Anna Knight asked for help and was told: "nothing to see here". She was told to come back when her son was four. She was told her anxiety was the problem. She was told the...

🎉 Join us at EPIC Families LIVE on August 16th: New Zealand’s biggest EVER event for Neurodiverse families! More details here .🎉 She Looked Around and Saw Nothing. So She Built Everything. Every neurodiverse family knows the feeling: The park visit that ends in meltdown. The soft play centre that leaves your child dysregulated for two days. The birthday party that looked fine to everyone else…an...

Your Child Isn't Lazy. The System Just Wasn't Built For Them. What happens when a 23-year-old who left school early, worked 13 jobs, and got labelled ‘lazy’ and ‘entitled’ decides to do something about it? She builds a business that fights for every young person the system wrote off. Nicole Hoeata is the CEO of Growth Hungry. She’s on a mission to bridge the biggest generational divide in workplac...

Giving tween queens the confidence to build a kingdom. For so many girls, the journey from childhood to teenage years doesn't feel like growing up. It feels like losing themselves. The body changes. The friendships get complicated. The social media comparisons start. And nobody — not school, not mum, not anyone — quite prepares them for what's really happening. Mariana Sala decided to change that....

Stop Talking. Start Playing What if the most powerful thing you could do for your struggling child wasn't another appointment, another assessment, or another parenting book…but simply getting on the floor and playing with them? Melanie Gilbert-De Rios has spent 35 years working with children and families. She's a registered social worker, a child-centred play therapist, and a family therapist. Mos...

She Almost Lost Everything. Then She Built a Village. What do you do when the system fails your child? When Lisa Cowan's son Luca was five, he was being sent out of class almost every day. She had no idea. It wasn't until a little girl in his class asked, "So Luca, are you going to stay in class today?" that Lisa found out what was really happening. What followed was years of waitlists, wrong turn...

Is the Internet Stealing Your Child's Brain? | Rory Birkbeck, SafeSurfer What happens when a tech entrepreneur realises the very industry he works in is disproportionately harming neurodivergent kids like his own son? Rory Birkbeck, co-founder and CEO of SafeSurfer, is one of New Zealand's leading voices on online safety. He's also a dad navigating life with an ADHD child. In this raw, honest, and...

When you’re a parent of a neurodivergent child, there are times when life can feel impossible. But our truly EPIC guest, Mary-Jane du Toit, is living proof that NOTHING is impossible. Mary-Jane is a mum of a neurodiverse family and founder of Spectrum Connections - a charitable trust that provides peer support for families who have a child or teen that has Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, ADD or any other...

Education is such an important part of every child’s life. But for too many neurodiverse families, school is where they feel overlooked and overwhelmed. However, one school in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand is fighting for every child to get the specialised learning support they deserve, so they can create a future to thrive in. This special episode of the EPIC Families Podcast features Mary Woods...

How do you remain calm and composed when trying to manage a neurospicy family, AND you’re a parent with ADHD? It can feel like an impossible task…but we’ve found the neurosuperstar who has cracked the parenting code. Meet Jo Fallowfield, an Occupational Therapist and a mum with ADHD who heads up a neurodiverse family of four. In this thrilling, honest and open episode of EPIC Families, you wi...

From Overwhelmed to Empowered – The Real Truth About Parenting Confidence In this powerful and deeply personal episode of the EPIC Families podcast, Freddie Bennett gets raw and real about something every parent of a neurodiverse child has faced: Overwhelm . If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing as a parent… If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “I should be better…” If the mental load, school s...

ADHD can feel overwhelming at times. As an ADHD adult or a parent of a neurodiverse child, there are days when the struggle feels impossible. Whether it’s dealing with emotional meltdowns, rejection, self-sabotage or workplaces & schools that just don’t ‘get it’, ADHD ain’t easy. But you are NEVER alone…and the story told by this week’s guest proves it. We were delighted to welcome Neal Mankey...

If you want to unlock your child’s unique learning abilities and help them to thrive in the classroom, meet the expert who specialises in supporting the "neuro-spicy" and "neuro-sparkly" learners - those brilliant minds who process information differently and often struggle to find teachers who truly understand them. Dani Archer is the owner of The Study Nook ( https://www.thestudynook.co.nz/ ) -...

If you want to cut through the clouds of confusion that appear when navigating a child neurodiversity maze, then this episode is going to light a path to clarity, certainty and confidence for your family’s future. Meet the unstoppable Kirsty Brown: Mental health nurse practitioner and a true expert in giving neurodiverse families the tools they need to become EPIC families. Kirsty gives a straight...

We are SO back! Welcome to season 2 of the EPIC Families podcast! If the ADHD journey has ever left you and your family feeling overwhelmed, underprepared or overlooked, then we have the perfect person to help you get ADHD Unlocked. Meet Tracey Rountree, a key member of ADHD New Zealand, and someone who brings a lifetime of knowledge, wisdom and lived experience to the EPIC Families podcast becaus...

Many neurodiverse families struggle with bedtime routines, falling asleep and staying asleep. But sleepless nights for children (and parents) can be a thing of the past because paediatric consultant Dr Sarah Moll returns to the EPIC Families podcast to deliver a sleep masterclass that’s definitely worth staying up for. In her role as a consultant at Tauranga Hospital in New Zealand and co-fou...

Anxiety can be a huge challenge for neurodivergent children…and their families. It can feel overwhelming, confusing and never-ending. But there IS a way forwards, and you don’t have to let anxiety hold your child back. We welcome child educational psychologist Nadia du Plessis to give a masterclass on how anxiety shows up for your child, the impacts it can have and - most importantly - how yo...

If mealtimes & food have ever been a challenge for you and your child, then EPIC Families is serving you up a treat. We bring you Dietician Consultant Natarsha McEwan, and she is an absolute expert in advising neurodivergent children and their families about food, mealtimes, diet and nutrition. Through her work at The MacMurray Centre in New Zealand, she helps children and their families navig...

It’s time to unlock the sensory processing puzzle once and for all.  Meet Kelly Karlson, from The Different OT. She's the expert Occupational Therapist who is seen as a Neurodiversity ‘circuit breaker’ for children and their parents when life becomes a little too overwhelming. In this wisdom-packed episode of EPIC Families, Kelly does a deep dive into child sensory processing. We reveal: 🧠 W...

Extraordinary Parents & Incredible Children…. It’s time to be EPIC! In this episode, we focus on supporting your child in classroom, and dealing with schools and teachers Rebecca (Bo) O’Sullivan is a Child Occupational Therapist with over 10 years’ experience. She is the person families call when their neurodiverse child is struggling with their development in play, movement, sensory processin...

Struggling to deal with your child’s emotional outbursts? Then this is for you. EPIC Families is all about creating Extraordinary Parents & Incredible Children, and this week’s episode is a deep dive into handling meltdown, tantrums, arguments and outbursts. We welcome back Dr Sarah Moll, consultant paediatrician at Tauranga Hospital in New Zealand, and co-founder of Bay Paediatrics . Sarah sh...

Extraordinary Parents & Incredible Children…. It’s time to be EPIC! In this episode, we welcome child educational psychologist Nadia du Plessis to the EPIC Families Podcast. Nadia is based in New Zealand and is an expert at helping families create strength in neurodiversity. If you feel like you’ve tried ‘everything’ to help your child and you still feel lost… then you have to hear Nadia's exp...

Every neurodiverse family deserves to be an EPIC family: Extraordinary Parents & Incredible Children Dr Sarah Moll is a Consultant Paediatrician and co-founder of Bay Paediatrics , one of New Zealand’s leading child neurodiversity clinics. In episode 1 of the EPIC Families podcast, Sarah reveals how families can adapt and thrive by turning neurodiversity into a superpower. This episode covers:...

Surely every neurodiverse family deserves to be an EPIC family? EPIC stands for Extraordinary Parents & Incredible Children. ADHD and Autism can leave children and their families feeling trapped, shackled, overlooked, misunderstood and forgotten. I should know, I’m a neurodiverse dad in a neurodivergent family. And I’m sick & tired of looking for ‘the answer’ when it comes to neurodiverse...