On and Off The Spectrum

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’...

Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie together discuss the merits and the dangers of unregulated AI as it relates to excessive exposure and tech addiction within the special needs population.  Please note : This episode includes discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation, which some individuals may find distressing. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questi...

Dr. Esther Hess and Dr. Ann Kirsch conduct an in-depth conversation with noted child psychiatrist Dr. Milena Kaufman, exploring the concerns raised by parents as they navigate current best practice recommendations for caring for their children impacted by autism spectrum disorder.  Most pressing, Dr. Kaufman addresses the question: “Can vaccines cause autism?” Stay in touch! This podcast is a conv...

Why Diagnoses Don't Define Potential: Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie sit down with inventor and entrepreneur Taylor Cole for an insightful and at times hilarious discussion that refines the saying 'Don't Judge a Book by its Cover'. A candid discussion that exposes the conundrum of the limits of mental health diagnoses without limiting potential of the human spirit.  Stay in touch! This...

A lot of times ADHD masquerades as something else. Drs. Hess and Kirsch discuss among themselves various conditions mimicking ADHD and offer tips and strategies from their own case files to clarify what is really going on in the brains of our children. 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 inter...

What Parents Can Do: Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie have a timely discussion between themselves as they review 4 tragic and traumatic world events that occurred within 12 hours of each other towards the end of 2025. Guidance is offered to parents on how to help children of various ages and stages of development tolerate and digest news, how to shield from excessive exposure and support their own self-care....

Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Jessica Kligman, a Music therapist who uses her craft to help regulate and organize children with developmental delays as well as men struggling to overcome their addiction to alcohol. This podcast provides extraordinary insight into the inner world of both the challenged child and the challenges associated with overcoming addiction. Stay in touch! This podcast i...

Join our conversation with Marissa Cytryn as she describes her progression from being an artist to using art as a core therapeutic tool to form relationships with special needs children. 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 onandoffth...

Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie have a heart-to-heart discussion with Mary Kate and her mother Patricia regarding Mary Kate's long road to getting accurately diagnosed as a woman impacted by Autism Spectrum. Both mother and daughter recall the severe challenges that Mary Kate faced as a child and the strength and courage that she has displayed in both overcoming her childhood trauma and embracing who s...

Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie expand on their initial interview with Uma Nambiar when they sit down to speak with Sanjay and Priya Nambiar, the parents of twin girls who contracted a rare genetic disorder at age 3 years and their 8-year, relentless journey to find a medical solution for their children. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have questions, to...

Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie interview college freshman Uma Nambiar. She has just written a children's book about her and her twin's experience with a rare genetic disorder, from diagnosis to successful treatment. A rare 'child's eye view' of what it's like to feel 'different' in the world, getting support from your community while normalizing medical trauma.  Stay...

A Story of Resilience and Recovery; Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie interview Rabbi Robbi Tombosky as he describes his near-death experience post Covid, and the road back to recovery. Discussion centers on the strategies he used, the people he relied on and his acceptance of his own vulnerability as a central part of his healing. Stay in touch! This podcast is a conversation, and we’d love to hear from you....