TILT Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
Feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of raising a neurodivergent child? Tilt Parenting is here to help. Hosted by parenting activist and author Debbie Reber, this podcast is your go-to resource for navigating life with ADHD, autism, PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), giftedness, and twice-exceptional (2e) kids. With expert interviews and candid conversations, you'll discover practical solutions for things like school challenges and refusal, therapy options, and fostering inclusion, social struggles, advocacy, intense behavior, and more — all through a strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming lens. Whether you're struggling with advocating for your child at school or seeking ways to better support their unique needs, Debbie offers the guidance and encouragement you need to reduce overwhelm and create a thriving, joyful family environment. It's like sitting down with a trusted friend who gets it. You’ve got this, and we’ve got your back!
Episodes
186 episodes
Dr. Ross Greene on the Kids Who Aren’t Okay
Dr. Ross Greene’s work has profoundly shaped how so many of us think about kids’ behavior and what they actually need from the adults in their lives, so I’m thrilled to welcome him back to the show to talk about his brand new book, The Kids...
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35:31
Laura Key on ADHD Aha Moments, Parenting, and Burnout
Today’s conversation is a candid, honest look at what it’s really like to parent while navigating ADHD yourself. My guest is Laura Key, Vice President of Content Strategy at Understood.org and the host of the award-winning ADHD Aha! podcast. La...
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31:27
Tosha Schore on Addressing Aggression in Boys
Today, we’re talking about aggression, specifically in boys, and how we as parents can respond with understanding, connection, and compassion instead of fear or shaming. Joining me is Tosha Schore, a powerful voice in peaceful parenting and the...
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42:42
Dr. Laura Markham on Parenting Neurodivergent Siblings
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Laura Markham to unpack the often messy world of sibling dynamics—especially when one or more kids are neurodivergent. We talk about why peaceful parenting starts with connection, how to handle those inevita...
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43:30
Dr. Emily Kline Explains Motivational Interviewing
This is a fascinating conversation about a straightforward and powerful tool for communication with our kids, especially if we’re stuck in conflict cycles over differing needs. Clinical psychologist Dr. Emily Kline join me for a deep dive into ...
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39:14
Therapist Jude Carn on Internal Family Systems & Neurodivergence
IFS, or Internal Family Systems, is a powerful and compassionate therapeutic framework for understanding the different “parts” within ourselves—like the inner critic, the protector, the people-pleaser. Through IFS, we can learn how to befriend ...
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40:57
Dr. Stephen Porges & Karen Onderko on the Safe & Sound Protocol
I’m thrilled to share this conversation with Dr. Stephen Porges and Karen Onderko about the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), a therapeutic approach grounded in Stephen’s groundbreaking polyvagal theory. Stephen, a Distinguished University Scienti...
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37:58
A Conversation with Naomi Fisher About EMDR
Today we’re exploring EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—a therapeutic approach that’s been shown to be highly effective in treating trauma, including for neurodivergent individuals. My guest is Dr. Naomi Fisher, a clinical psyc...
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36:04
Bonus Conversation with Dr. Mel Houser on Navigating Healthcare
Today’s episode an expert visit with Dr. Mel Houser—family physician, autistic PDAer, and founder of All Brains Belong—about the realities of navigating healthcare systems with neurodivergent kids and teens. Mel shares how their clinical work a...
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46:36
Maggie Dent on How to Parent, Love & Support Today’s Teens
In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by beloved Australian parenting expert and author Maggie Dent to explore what it really takes to raise resilient, emotionally healthy teens in today’s ever-changing world. Drawing on her experiences as ...
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41:57
Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart on Transforming Conflict with Our Teens
Today we’re talking about one of my favorite topics — what it really means to connect, collaborate, and let go of control as our kids grow into themselves as they enter the transformative teen years. My guest is Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, a pedia...
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39:08
Flex School’s Jacqui Byrne on the Full Arc of a 2e Child’s Life
Today I’m talking with Jacqui Byrne, the founder of FlexSchool, a pioneering educational model designed specifically for 2e students. Jacqui is an award-winning educational leader, a sought-after speaker, and a passionate advocate for neurodive...
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41:22
Dr. Robyn Koslowitz on Post-Traumatic Parenting
Today we’re diving into the ways our own trauma can shape how we show up as parents, and how we can begin to break those inherited cycles with Dr. Robyn Koslowitz, a clinical child psychologist, trauma treatment expert, and author of Post-T...
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40:34
How Can I Take Care of Myself While Raising Explosive Children?
In this Parent Lean in episode, Margaret and I answer the following question from a listener:I’m a single parent, neurodivergent myself and in burnout. I’m trying to manage my two neurodivergent kids following a divorce from their mu...
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19:37
Sara Olsher on Walking Children Through Hard Seasons of Life
Everyone faces big, difficult challenges at some point in life — it’s part of being human. And when we encounter these challenges while parenting, it’s up to us to help our kids make sense of things in healthy ways that foster resilience. But h...
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40:43
Debbie Reber on Restoring, Recharging & “Me Time”
In this Parent Lean-In episode, Debbie answers a listener’s question about how she restores, recharges, and makes time for herself while balancing parenting her neurodivergent child and running Tilt Parenting. She shares her best practices and ...
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18:16
How Can I Prepare My Child for the Transition to Middle School?
In this episode featuring a listener question, executive function coach Seth Perler joins Debbie to discuss how to prepare a fifth grader for the transition to middle school. They emphasize the importance of proactive planning and open communic...
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19:45
How To Support Kids in School Without an IEP?
In this special Parent Lean In episode, I’m joined by Margaret Webb to answer a listener’s question about a challenge so many parents face—when your child seems to hold it together at school, only to fall apart at home. We get into what might b...
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15:32
Fostering Neurodiversity Affirming Schools, with Amanda Morin & Emily Kircher-Morris
Today we’re diving into a topic that’s not just timely but that can transform education for all students: creating neurodiversity-affirming schools. Joining me to share their vision for what’s possible in education are two extraordinary advocat...
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46:24
Dr. John Duffy on Helping Our Struggling Teen Boys
A few months ago, I had my friend and colleague Cathy Adams on the show to talk about her book Restoring Our Girls and raising daughters to be emotionally healthy in a complicated world. I knew then that I wanted to have a similar conv...
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31:23
A Conversation with Zoë Bisbing About ARFID & Neurodivergence
If your child has extreme food aversions, anxiety around eating, or struggles with a very limited diet, you won’t want to miss this conversation. Today we’re diving into ARFID — Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder — or as my guest calls i...
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39:42
Dr. Tamar Chansky on Freeing Your Child from OCD
Today we’re unpacking a topic that so many families struggle to understand—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD—especially when it shows up in children. My guest is Dr. Tamar Chansky, a clinical psychologist and author of the newly updated and...
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34:32
Help! My 18-year-old Is Stalled Out and Not Launching
This week I’m joined by Zach Morris for a thoughtful conversation about the challenges of parenting neurodivergent teens who are approaching adulthood. We dig into a listener question about an almost-18-year-old who’s still really struggling, d...
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23:31
The Real Work of Parenting Neurodivergent Young Adults
Today we’re diving into one of the most tender and complex stages of parenting—launching our neurodivergent young adults into independence, or more accurately, interdependence. My guest is Penny Williams, a parenting coach for neurodiverse fami...
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39:29
Dr. William Stixrud & Ned Johnson on the Seven Principles for Raising a Self-Driven Child
I’m thrilled to welcome back two favorite podcast guests and just all around wonderful humans, Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson. You might know them from their bestselling book The Self-Driven Child, which I often refer to on this s...
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43:22