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The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis
Welcome to The Empowered Parent Podcast.
This podcast is a space for parents to learn, reflect, and grow.
Each week, we explore topics that help parents understand themselves and their children more deeply - from communication and connection, to supporting neurodivergent development at home and in the community.
We’ve had wonderful conversations with experts, parents, and professionals - including speakers from the Neurodivergence Wellbeing Conference, and a special series following one mum’s journey in unschooling her child.
Every episode is here to inspire curiosity, compassion, and confidence in your parenting journey.
Don’t forget to follow along, share your reflections, and join the conversation.
You can connect with me at danabaltutis.com or mytherapyhouse.com.au.
Let’s celebrate neurodivergence.
Let’s celebrate belonging.
The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis
Season 2 NEURODIVERSITY - Episode 4: Living Authentically: How to Embrace Your Neurodivergent Identity (Joanne Hatchard, Social Worker, Advocate, Podcaster)
What happens when we truly embrace neurodivergence as a fundamental part of human diversity? Joanne Hatchard, founder of Better Being Me and creator of the "Be Me Completely" course, brings profound wisdom from both personal and professional experience to this conversation about acceptance, connection, and living authentically.
Diagnosed with dyslexia at 16 and later recognizing her own autistic identity through her son's diagnosis, Joanne shares how self-acceptance freed her from exhausting masking behaviors. She offers a refreshing cosmic metaphor—neurodiversity as the universe with each diagnosis representing a planet—emphasizing that every neurological variation has value and purpose within the whole.
The conversation dives deep into practical approaches for supporting neurodivergent individuals, particularly the power of acceptance from parents. "If the parents don't have it, it's really hard for the child to have it," Joanne explains, highlighting how mixed messages create confusion and anxiety. She distinguishes between avoiding labels versus embracing accommodations, showing how families can develop their own language around neurodivergence without shame or secrecy.
Perhaps most valuable is Joanne's candid advice against seeking a single guru with all the answers. "One theory doesn't have all the answers," she emphasizes, encouraging parents to understand their own values before selecting from diverse perspectives. Her signature blend of professional knowledge and lived experience allows her to "connect the dots" between abstract research and practical strategies families can actually use.
With humor and compassion, Joanne reminds us of the ultimate freedom in self-acceptance: "You're not dead. You can do it again tomorrow, different, if you want to." This grace-filled perspective offers both hope and agency to anyone navigating a neurodivergent journey, whether for themselves or someone they love.
Share this episode with anyone seeking to understand neurodivergence more deeply or create more accepting spaces for neurodivergent individuals to thrive authentically.
https://betterbeingme.com.au/
https://betterbeingme.com.au/blog/
https://go.betterbeingme.com.au/bbmecompletely295544
danabaltutis.com, mytherapyhouse.com.au, https://mytherapyhouse.com.au/your-childs-therapy-journey/ https://www.danabaltutis.com/services
