Wonderfully Wired

Dr Laurie Faith extends an invitation to teachers "to be wide awake and curious" instead of acting on habit or bias and to let uncomfortable moments lead to intentional conversations with children that grow skills! This episode is for you if you've been introduced to the idea of Executive Function Skills (See Episode 25 with Dr Peg Dawson if you haven't) and are wondering just how you can start ha...

In this episode of Wonderfully Wired , hosts Elle and Juju sit down with ADHD expert and bestselling author Peter Shankman . Peter shares his unique perspective on the ADHD brain, comparing it to the controlled chaos of a Tokyo crosswalk. The conversation dives into the "all or nothing" nature of neurodivergence, covering Peter's "Chicken Genocide Diet" and his "Ironman" approach to managing energ...

In this episode of the  Wonderfully Wired Podcast , host Eloise Leher is joined by author, speaker, and autism dad Will Acuff for a deeply reflective conversation about parenting neurodivergent children. Will shares how his natural instinct to "fix problems" collided with the reality of parenting his son — and why shifting from fixing to knowing became transformational. Together, they explore what...

Welcome to Part 2 of our deep dive into Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) with Occupational Therapist Liesel Smal . This vital conversation addresses the challenging question: "What now?" Liesel details the process of adopting Low Demand Parenting (LDP) , emphasizing that these accommodating acts (like handing over the remote or helping with hygiene) are life-saving caregiving. However, she expl...

Dive into the critical world of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in Part 1 of this essential two-part series with Liesel Smal, an Occupational Therapist (OT) and mom of a PDA child Liesel introduces PDA as a specific neurotype that requires "good accommodation" due to the serious "gravity" of the diagnosis. Learn why avoidance is rooted in an inability ("I can't"), not a choice, often manifesti...

Welcome to Season 5 of the Wonderfully Wired podcast! In this insightful episode, host Eloise welcomes  Corneil Claassen , an educational psychologist and co-lead at the Neurodiversity Center (NDC) in South Africa. Corneil shares her powerful mission: to create a world where every wonderfully wired mind – be it facing autism, ADHD, anxiety, or learning differences – is seen, supported, and celebra...

This special bonus episode of the "Wonderfully Wired" podcast features live studio guests Juju and Sophia, both young women who have served on the Wonderfully Wired team and are "wonderfully wired" themselves. Juju, who has ADHD, describes her brain as a city constantly under construction, with changing alleys, roads, and houses. Sophia, who is gifted and intense, explains her experience as feelin...

Meet our tech-savvy friend Joan Green! Joan's been working with assistive technology since the 80s—and she's got the tools and stories to prove it. From calendar tricks and color-coded Google Drives to goblin tools and immersive readers, this episode is jam-packed with tips that make learning easier for our wonderfully wired kids (and adults too!). Easy wins with everyday tech Tools that organize...

This episode, the second of two  in a series with Dr. Arno Louw from the University of Johannesburg, focuses on how AI can be a student's best friend and assistant, particularly for wonderfully wired learners. The key takeaway is to use AI to help with the work that is difficult for you, not to do the work for you. This involves prompt engineering , asking the AI better questions by giving it back...

What if AI could help tailor education for every learner? In  this Part a of the Wonderfully Wired & UJ partnership episode, Dr. Arno Louw  a senior specialist in instructional and e-learning and manager of the CAT lab at UJ, with his incredible knowledge, fun, and enthusiasm inspires us to see AI as a tool to support difference and neurodivergence. We discuss how AI can be your brilliant teachers...

I loved my conversation with Casey Anley talking about burnout in the Wonderfully Wired.  What does it look like to acknowledge each person's unique energy and work with the available energy instead overrding each body's need for rest. What should you look out for in yourself and in your child? Casey Anley is an educational psychologist. She wears many hats - neurodiversity advocate, executive fun...

Dr Peg Dawson has had a fruitful career as school psychologist and  for over 20 years worked at the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders in New Hampshire for which she received a liftime achievement Award from the American National association of School Psycologists.  Her contribution to all of our collective understanding of Executive Functions and how we can help wonderfully wired kids th...

  Dr Jade Rivera is professor at the Bridges Gradual School for Cognitive diversity with a passion for 'a strength based world for neurodivergent humans'   She's been a force for change in education for wonderfully wired kids  for over fifteen year designing 'micro schools' that serve niche communities in creative ways showing ideas like project based learning and grade less classrooms aren't just...

"There is a prevailing narrative that black dads are deadbeats, that they often abscond their responsibilities." said   Buzwe Mabuza, founder of Black Dad's are Cool Dads and one of my three guests on the podcast this month     "Providing and disciplining. That's all that we were told we can look forward to when we become dads. But I'm a present dad, I'm active and I have a couple of friends who a...

"If the research shows that Working Memory is a better indicator of academic success than IQ, then why aren't we honing in on this skill in education?" This compelling question is posed by Dr. Erica Warren, our guest on this month's Wonderfully Wired podcast. For quite some time, we've understood that IQ isn't the sole predictor of a child's academic success. Children can exhibit areas of extraord...

For years, my guest Caroline Maguire wondered why nobody in the industry was serving Wonderfully Wired kids by explicitly teaching them social skills. As a Wonderfully Wired person herself, Caroline thought it was "bonkers," that nobody was acknowledging how hard it was for these kids and teaching them the skills they were lacking. Wonderfully Wired kids often struggle to understand social rules:...

This month we are featuring the incredible insights of Dr. Liz Angoff from ExplainingBrains.com. Dr. Liz's approach to assessments is transformative, focusing on celebrating the strengths of a child's brain, recognising challenges, and using a child's language to understand the uniqueness of their brain. This process is inherently more collaborative and respectful, involving feedback to the child...

In this episode, we dive into the world of AI-powered active listening tools and their potential to support individuals with dyslexia. Our guest, Nick Koshnick, a dyslexic physicist and data scientist, joins us to share his insights and experiences. Key Topics Discussed AI-powered Writing Tools: We explore how AI can assist dyslexic individuals in writing and communicating more effectively, emphas...

In this episode, I speak with Victoria Bagnell from Connections in Mind. Victoria specializes in training teachers and executive function coaches. Her organization is dedicated to supporting children in developing their executive functioning skills. We begin by understanding what executive functioning is and why children need support in this area. Victoria provides insights into what executive fun...

Join us for an inspiring conversation in this first episode of the Season 3 of the Wonderfully Wired Podcast , featuring Zak and Nadine Judge. Zak, a university student in his twenties studying computer design, and his mom, Nadine, share their journey with ADHD. They discuss the discovery of Zak's difference, the decisions they made about his schooling, and the strategies that worked and those tha...

I took what I thought was a diversion into talking about physical disability inclusion with Scott Whitney of All4Inclusion and found that to see difference, to support challenges and to really celebrate gifts we must hear real stories of people with lived experience different to our own. As part  of creating teacher training material on inclusion I collaborated with Scott Whitney to talk about liv...

Is it helpful to look at which part of the brain is dominant to help us understand our chidren's unique wiring?  Is dominance only left or right or are there other modalities that can help us understand how our children process information, feel love or express frustration. Chantal Deacon Daniel introduces us to the Genetic Brain Profiling Tool .  Chantal believes the tool can give us insight into...

Meet Jessica McCabe, the force behind "How to ADHD." Seven years ago, Jessica embarked on a transformative journey, evolving from a place of self-doubt to becoming an advocate for understanding and working with the ADHD brain. In her own words, she shares: "Seven years ago, I didn't respect myself; I thought that I just needed to try harder. I dropped the shame, embraced the way my brain works, an...

My guest on the podcast is Adell Bridges,  a movement expert and yoga instructor who often credits her ADHD for the creative way she instructs bodies and brains on the mat.  Adell is both a role model  of a successful wonderfully wired adult and an infectious brain-body enthusiast and teacher.  This episode is a gift to parents of wonderfully wired kids and parents who are wonderfully wired themse...

Whilst we know that being "out of the box" is a good thing, it often creates difficulties for both us as parents and our children, when it results in explosive, difficult behaviour.  Dr Greene offers so much hope and practical teaching to parents like you and I pulling out our hair, desperate to help a child who is often in trouble (or in distress!) due to his inability to consistently manage his...