SEND Parenting Podcast

In today’s attention economy, parenting has never been more challenging. Our children are surrounded by gadgets, technology and screens actively trying to distract them from you. And they’re really good at it! So what do we do about screen time, how much is too much, why do our kids always prefer to look at their screens over the world around them - or us - and what can you do about it? I am joine...

Parenting at the best of times is hard work, but having a neurodivergent child is like parenting on steroids. Nothing works, you never feel like you can catch a break, and worst of all, you often feel like you’re not good enough. If this sounds like you, this episode is going to help you find your mojo again. Dr. Olivia is joined by Dr. Melita Ash, a clinical psychologist and the director of Percu...

What happens when a child spends their entire life being told they are “too sensitive,” “not trying hard enough,” or that they “have so much potential”… while secretly struggling just to cope? In this deeply moving and honest conversation, Dr. Olivia Kessel is joined by author and illustrator Eliza Fricker to explore the hidden reality of growing up as an undiagnosed autistic girl. Inspired by Eli...

Today is a special one. It is publication day for my debut book, Beyond the Label: Empowering Parents of ADHD Girls, and I wanted to mark it by recording something just for you. In this episode I share the things I wish someone had told me the day we got Alexandra's diagnosis. Why ADHD is so consistently missed in girls, and what it actually looks like in the home rather than the classroom. T...

Following her recent Daily Mail feature, Dr Olivia Kessel opens up about one of the most misunderstood and most common aspects of ADHD: emotional dysregulation and flash anger. In this honest and practical episode, Olivia explores why emotional dysregulation isn't in the ADHD diagnostic criteria and why that matters. She unpacks the neuroscience behind flash anger and why reasoning in the mom...

Can I be honest with you for a moment? For so many parents, the hardest part of the SEND journey is not the diagnosis…  It is the paperwork. The forms. The reports. The endless documents.  The fear of getting it wrong. And for many, that fear becomes so big that they never even make it to tribunal, despite the fact that 95% of cases that get there are decided in favour of families. In this episode...

Easter holidays can feel like a breaking point for many ADHD mums. Less structure. More demands. And that quiet, heavy loneliness that no one else seems to understand. In this deeply honest solo episode, Dr. Olivia shares what came up again and again in her group coaching this week:  👉 the invisible load  👉 the emotional exhaustion  👉 and the feeling of doing it all alone If you are heading int...

Have you ever watched your child fall apart over something that seems small — a correction at school, a cancelled plan, a simple “not now”… and wondered what is really going on? In this powerful solo episode, Dr Olivia explores Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) — a term you may have seen everywhere on social media, but one that is often misunderstood. Blending medical insight, real-life parent...

The teenage years can feel particularly intense when you are parenting a child with ADHD. Many parents expect things to get easier as children grow older — yet for many families, adolescence brings new challenges: emotional outbursts, school struggles, growing independence, and the feeling that your once-connected child is suddenly pushing you away. In this episode of the SEND Parenting Podcast, I...

Deciding whether to try ADHD medication can feel overwhelming for many parents.  There is a huge amount of misinformation online, and the decision can feel heavy, emotional, and confusing. In this episode, I sit down with Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Giovanni Giaroli to break down what ADHD medication actually does in the brain — in clear, parent-friendly language. We explore: •...

Why does everything suddenly feel harder when puberty begins? In this powerful and honest conversation, I am joined by Dr Jess Morgan — former NHS paediatrician and now educator — to unpack what is really happening in the brain and body when puberty meets neurodivergence. We explore: Why emotional outbursts are developmental, not defiance How hormonal changes amplify ADHD and sensory sensitivities...

In this powerful and honest conversation, Dr Olivia Kessel is joined by parenting coach Alison Solomon to explore one uncomfortable truth: what if the biggest shift in our child’s behaviour has nothing to do with them and everything to do with us? Alison shares the moment she calls the “arrow through the heart,” when she realised her child was not the problem, her reaction was. From that moment, e...

This week is a short solo half-term check-in. It is GCSE options time in our house, and I know many of you are feeling the same fear. In this episode, I talk about: • The 30% executive function delay in ADHD and what that really means  • Why GCSE choices can feel overwhelming for neurodivergent teens  • How to choose subjects based on interest, not pressure  • The bigger life picture beyond exams...

Choosing how to get an ADHD or autism diagnosis can feel overwhelming — and confusing. But the pathway you choose does not just affect how long you wait. It affects your child's support, medication access, and long-term outcomes . In this episode, Dr Olivia Kessel is joined by Reemz — a member of the SEND Parenting community with direct experience working inside NHS CAMHS and supporting a fam...

Sleep problems are one of the most overlooked — and misunderstood — parts of ADHD. In this episode of the SEND Parenting Podcast, Dr Olivia Kessel breaks down the science behind ADHD and sleep, explaining why up to 70% of children with ADHD struggle with sleep , and why this is not behavioural, it is biological . Drawing on research and lived experience, Dr Olivia explains how delayed melatonin re...

Why do children with ADHD seem exhausted by the end of the day?  Why do meltdowns often hit after school?  And why does it feel like they are constantly craving sugar? In this episode, adapted from a live masterclass inside the ADHD Warrior Mum community, Dr. Olivia Kessel is joined by Lucinda Miller , founder of NatureDoc and author of Brain Brilliance , to explore how brain fuel affects energy,...

Applying for an EHCP can feel overwhelming, intimidating, and emotionally draining — especially when your child is already struggling. In this episode, Dr. Olivia Kessel is joined by Dr Abigail Fishe r and Eliza Fricker , co-authors of The Essential EHCP Guide for Parents and Carers , to gently demystify the EHCP process and remind parents of one crucial truth: You are not failing. The system is h...

In this powerful and honest conversation, I am joined by Michael McLeod , internationally recognised ADHD and executive function specialist and founder of GrowNOW ADHD, to unpack what ADHD really is and why so many children and families are being failed by outdated models of support. We explore why ADHD is best understood as a developmental executive function disorder , with emotional regulation a...

Christmas is often sold as magical and restorative. For many mums of neurodiverse children, it is exhausting. In this honest, deeply personal episode, Dr Olivia Kessel shares a raw Christmas Eve moment that reveals the hidden burnout so many mothers carry. This is a conversation about emotional regulation, guilt, shame, and the invisible labour of neurodiverse parenting. If you made it through the...

The holidays can be magical… and completely exhausting when your child has ADHD. Late nights, travel, sugar, screens, unfamiliar beds, and heightened emotions can quickly undo even the most carefully built sleep routine. If your child’s sleep falls apart during the holidays, you are not failing. This is genuinely harder for ADHD brains . In this episode, Dr. Olivia Kessel shares practical, realist...

December promises twinkly lights and cosy moments, yet many parents feel like they’re sprinting through a minefield. I open up about the invisible load that spikes stress during the holidays—noise, judgment, lost routines, sensory overload—and explain why your nervous system interprets it all as danger. When the body tips into fight, flight, or freeze, calm isn’t a choice you’re failing to make; i...

If parenting your child feels like a constant battle—and every strategy you have been told to use only makes things worse—you are not alone. Many families live this struggle daily without realising there is a name for what they are seeing: Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). In this episode, we speak with Rachel Crutcher and Sarah Stewart from the PDA Society , two experts who have walked this pa...

So many parents of neurodivergent children lie awake at night wondering the same thing:   “What will happen when my child enters the workplace?” In this episode, Dr. Olivia sits down with Jenefer Livings , HR consultant, workplace needs assessor, and mother to a neurodivergent child, to demystify what neurodiversity at work really looks like. Together they explore how shifts in workplace culture,...

You are not imagining it.  Pregnancy, birth, and early parenting are more overwhelming for many neurodivergent mums — and no one tells you why. In this eye-opening episode, doula and neurodiversity advocate Alix Myers joins Dr Olivia to unpack the hidden challenges that make the perinatal journey feel so intense. If you ever wondered why you struggled more than other mums, this episode finally giv...

Many neurodivergent children struggle to make and keep friends — not because they do not care, but because they experience the world differently. In this episode, Dr Olivia speaks with Kirsten , founder of Uncommon , a unique online community that helps neurodiverse children build friendships and confidence through shared interests like gaming, art, and creativity. Kirsten shares her personal jour...