You’re Not Alone: Autism, ADHD, School Struggles, Diagnosis & Parenting with Greer Jones

 “I learned quickly that I am my child’s voice. No one else will care the way I do.” 

 This quote from Greer captures the heart of our conversation. 

Greer shares her experience of autism, ADHD, school systems, and the realities of raising a neurodivergent child in the UK.

Originally from the US and now based in England, Greer opens up about trusting her “mama gut,” facing dismissal from professionals, advocating fiercely for her son, and discovering her own ADHD along the way. She also explores how community, therapy, and self-compassion became lifelines in what can often feel like an isolating world.

Together, we talk about the emotional toll of constant advocacy, the myths around “lazy parenting,” why parents must be included in support plans, and practical strategies that make everyday life more manageable.

This episode is for any parent who has ever felt unheard, overwhelmed, or unsure of their next step, and is a reminder that you are not alone.

Connect with Greer:

Podcast: Neurodivergent Conversations (formerly The Unfinished Idea)

Instagram: The Unfinished Idea

Transcript

Warm Welcome And Backstory

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Gria, welcome to the Untypical Parent Podcast. Thank you ever so much for joining me today. Yeah, thank you for having me. It's really exciting to have you on today. We had a little bit of miscommunication with our uh first start. With I actually thought Grea was still in America because of her lovely accent. Um but I just made that presumption that you were in America. In actual fact, you're here with us in the UK. So it made timings much easier rather than organized timings abroad and stuff like that. So welcome. Delighted to have you on the podcast today. Grea, tell us a little bit about you and your family.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

So I grew up in the US. I grew up in Seattle. Um, my family, well, my family actually no longer live there, but they all live in the US still. Um and yeah, I came over to the UK about 15 years ago, um, married a Brit, have two kids now. We just renovated our house, so England is home. Um, and in that process, in the last, particularly in the last kind of two and a half, three years, um, really navigating the neurodivergent world. Uh, and it started with uh my son, who is autistic, ADHD. Um, and we started to notice things when he was two, which was the end of the pandemic. Uh, so I'm not gonna lie, we had quite a few people, medical professionals, say, oh, it's just because of the pandemic.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Yeah.

Nursery Trauma And Self-Doubt

SPEAKER_02 1:52

And we were like, no, like it's just something, something else. And it's the one question I get asked quite a few times, like, how did I know my son had autism? No one actually no one cares about the AHD part, which I'm like, some days it's the ADHD part is like the hard part. It's the more recent bit they ask about. Ask about the autism, and which that's fine. Um, but yeah, they it's I find that really interesting. But um, and I always just say it's it's a mama's gut, like it's that kind of it was just this feeling that I saw him in the on the playground, or how he would interact with different things like toys, or you know, and it was just like this isn't quite normal, like or typical, you know, kind of that behavior, but it's him, and so I don't want to discourage it, you know. It was just this weird internal battle, I remember for the longest time. And then um, when he went to nursery, that's when we really saw it come out because he was just he get overwhelmed. He loves people so much that he doesn't know how to regulate that emotion of love, yeah, and so he just gets really overwhelmed when he's with people and it can just be like so much. So yeah, so that was a fun journey. I always say nursery, uh they're horrible. Um, they would regularly tell me I was a horrible parent. Um, regular tell me that my child was bad. Um I would say, I think he has this, and they were like, no, he doesn't. He's just spoiled. Like, um, it was a really bad experience, very traumatizing. I still have like there's two I say there's two reasons I went to counseling, and they're one of them. Um uh because they were just so and they just did not want to help or support us. Like it was just like it was just weird. And it was weird because the teacher, his class teacher, was kind of the opposite. They were like, she was like, Oh, I really think, you know, if with the right support and help, he could really thrive. And I'm like, why are you not, you know, like it was just that it was so weird. Like his teacher was really great, but the kind of rest of the admin were just not great.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Um question your your could you say like you had this kind of this mama's gut feeling? And I think a lot of the time we get maybe with professionals or I don't know, society, we start to question that. Did you lose that during the nursery bit that you lost that kind of yeah?

Learning The Law And Advocacy

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Oh yeah. I mean, I did several parenting courses. I that I look back and like, yeah, no, that was a waste of time and money, but um, because it's just they weren't the right parenting course. They were they weren't bad, but they just weren't the right ones. But yeah, oh yeah, I I mean I had it sent me into a spiral really of I always kind of say that was a start of my like kind of a depression period because you know, you're being told you're horrible. Like who's not gonna be sad about that? Um, but also yeah, I I mean I really questioned, like, I mean, there was one point where I was like, should I should we give these children away? Like, because we're such horrible people. Like, apparently we are horrible parents who have no idea what they're, you know, like all these things, which is yeah, like deep dark thoughts that you just you know never think you're ever gonna have. But when pushed you that far. Yeah, and you think they're professionals, so they know. Like that was, I think, as well. And that was when the first kind of big aha moment of I'm not saying professionals don't know, but professionals don't know, like if that makes sense. Like, um, and that actually I'm my child's voice, and no one else is gonna quote unquote care as much as I do, if that makes any sense. Um, and so yeah, it was a really that year was really hard and really eye-opening, but it was also like I look back and can see there was like seeds planted that we're now reaping the harvest from because of how like I had to learn quick how to advocate for my kid. Like basically I had to learn so quick and I had to learn the law really quickly because I'm not, yeah, I'm not from not being from England. I mean, even people in England don't even know the law. So it's not like but it's that idea, like I yeah, like I think back and I'm like, yeah, I don't think I would have been such of an advocate for just not just for my child, but kind of other people as well, particularly people who aren't from the UK, um, who I definitely think that was played by I I don't know, obviously the nursery never said this or will probably ever say it, but like I definitely think they played into all you're American. Um, because my husband very, you know, my husband worked, like so he I was the one who did this the nursery drop-off and pickup. And so I definitely think they like really played into that. And um, I've seen it in other in other settings, not just in nursery settings where they've played into the fact that English is not their first language, you know, like they kind of really play into that. And so because of that, I yeah, became I say a chat GBT expert of the law. Um and like, yeah, and so from there, um we met with school before school started because I was like, you know, just I want I want him to love school, like and having an education background. So I um have a degree in education.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Okay.

School Collapse And System Limits

SPEAKER_02 7:19

Um that like I wanted him to have that love for learning, basically. And so we met with school before he started, and I know I know for a fact we walked out of that room and they turned to each other and were like, oh, those are helicopter parents, and just like they're just like really protective. Um, because they basically just said, Oh, we'll give it a week and then we'll re we'll reconvene and have a conversation, even though we were like, okay, he's on the pathway for diagnosis. Um, you know, and it we had the nursery wouldn't do anything, so we had to do the, we had to go and like go. I had to go the amount of times I went to the GP and was like, you need to do this diagnosis. Um, and so I just think that they were like, he's crazy, or like they're just kind of, you know, all over. And um, yeah, it was day two of school. We got a phone call saying that he they couldn't cope. Not not that he couldn't cope, they couldn't cope with school. And so again, it was just another reminder of yeah, they're doing what's in their best interest, not necessarily what's in my son's best interest. And yeah, don't get me wrong, he was totally out of control because he was loving the new people. Like he was like, These are new people, like these are all my friends, and you know, like I don't know what to do with all this synergy. So um he just started getting naked because that's his favorite thing. Um, so if you ever come to my house, you'll see a naked child. Okay loves not being in clothes. Um, so yeah. So yeah, so um that again kind of was like another, like I call it the full kick start. So nursery was like a was getting me to the start line, and then that was like our kickstart to just like okay, we're we're gonna do this, and this is where we're at. And so in that process as well, not to mention all that advocating, but also realizing that I have ADHD. Um, so going through that process of getting diagnosed.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

So you got diagnosed as well. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

So I went through the right-to-choose pathway, um, which I highly recommend to anyone. Um, it's it is free. A lot of people are like, oh, you still have to pay for it. And I'm like, no, you don't have to pay for it, it's still free. Um, I think it's like I did it, I didn't like eight, eight months, I think about it took me about, um, which yeah, I know I think waiting times have gone up now, so don't don't quote me on that. But um, yeah, so I I did that. Um, and it just I remember getting that paper and being like, wow, okay. Like it just I felt like a big weight had been lifted off of me that I didn't even know I had, you know, I didn't even know I was carrying it. Um but yeah, so yeah, so I all that was happening. And then my husband, he's not been formally diagnosed, but we definitely um think he has autism, like a level one autism, um, just from what we know of autism, what we've learned, and kind of just you know, thinking back through his childhood. And yeah, he's and he's like, he's like, there's no point in getting diagnosed because it's like a crazy long wait list, even if he did the right to choose. And he's like, There's zero support out there for adults. So um he's like, there's no point. Um, which I'm Gria.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

When you said level one, I know as Americans you use that kind of what just in case people are listening and thinking, well, what does level one mean? Because in this country we don't use the levels. Yeah.

Parental ADHD Diagnosis Journey

SPEAKER_02 10:39

What does that mean? So yeah, so level one is okay, this is and like people might come at me, which I'm more than happy to talk about. But um, level one is what I call everyday autism. So it's the like, and again, it's uh it's very big generalization and everyone's different, but it's that kind of you look at someone and they're like, oh, they're they're a bit different, like, or that was a weird response, you know, like they're they still have a job. I mean, my husband's a nurse, um, he still can like function on his own, you know, but he just there's kind of things that he doesn't pick up on, um, particularly emotions, like he or or tone of like voice and things. So it's just kind of yeah, little minor things. And then there's a level two, which is a little more needs a little more help, um, needs a little more. So our son is a lot is classed as a level two. Um, and it's a lot of that is also sensory, is it's kind of brought into level two. So um so often if there's higher sensory needs. So I mean, my husband, um, one of his he has headphones in all the time, like he uses loop or he has his eye airpods in because noise is like something that um can affect him, but it's kind of a little bit more for our son. Um it's a little more exact, not exaggerated in a bad way, but just you know, intense. Um, and so he also has that and it's also um struggles with irregulation, like a particularly emotional re regulation. So there's level two, and then level three is kind of the um nonverbal. Um it's kind of what level three is uh what I say is like kind of what everyone thinks autism is. Yeah. Um, you know, so it's kind of the nonverbal, um, we'll likely need um, you know, high high care needs that I think is kind of also other language. Um, so yeah, so those are three levels that I don't know, for me helps to explain it because there'll be people who are like, particularly my husband, they're like, he doesn't have autism. And I'm like, well, yeah, have you like let me explain a situation that happened once, or you know, and they're like, oh yeah, like I can see that now, or you know, and I'm like, yeah, it's not what you I know what you think autism is, and no, he does not have that, but like it is a spectrum, and so therefore it's it's big and wide, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

It just interests me, I think, because I think my son is autistic and he is on the internet quite a lot and does quite a lot on the internet, and he came down to me and said to me, I've I've been talking to this person, they keep talking about levels, and I don't understand what they mean because of course in this country we don't have them. So I'm trying to explain and thinking actually, I don't know a lot about this, so I need to find out a bit more. And I just thought, because you've mentioned it, I thought I'll just drop it in there because there is this difference kind of sometimes in the way it's termed, you know, the terms and the terminology behind it, and say no, in America you there is these levels to it, but in this country we don't have the levels. Um so that was just my interest bit because I think confused by it. It was like, what does it mean? I've got what level? This person told me I had a level and I don't know what he means. Um so I think it's a part so you've kind of been through a lot in quite a short space of time, Gri. Actually, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

How old's your son now? Uh he's seven, so we've been on for yeah, four years. It's been it's been a yeah, I kind of say there's two examples I use. Um the amount of knowledge I have learned in the last four years is like a fire hose, like a fire truck hose, like just being I asked for a drink of water and they turned on the fire truck hose and it's just been like in my face. You're trying to brace yourself. Yeah, like it's just this like whoosh, instead of a nice glass, you know, like let's just take a sip at a time. It's like, let's just throw it all at you. Um, which in one sense, it's a lot, it is a lot, it's a lot to process, it's a lot to do. I am a big, big fan of therapy. Um, I think everyone should go to therapy, particularly if you're raising a neurodivergent child. Um, but uh I think as well having a village of people who get it, um, which I have built over the last four years um has really helped because I mean I'm so I have this WhatsApp group who I I've never met some of them in person. Um it's always just been through WhatsApp, um, which is a little like you're like, oh that's a little scary, but it's really great because it's just I can just go in there and be like, the today's been hard, you know, like, or this has happened, anyone had advice, or you know, and it's a mixture of people who have kids who are older and kids who are younger and kids who are similar age, you know, like and they some are in, you know, there's some in Australia, some in South Africa, some in England, some in America. Like it's they're all over, so they all have kind of different perspectives. And so it just it's really freeing that I don't have to explain, but I also know, you know, they're gonna get it and they're gonna give advice that isn't it sound.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yeah, to find another group of people that that get it. And I think when we were in schools and stuff like that, I mean my son's not in school at the moment, he's educated at home, um, on the ATUS package. But I think when you're in school, my feeling was it started to kind of we started to veer off, and I've become more and more isolated really about you know where we could go and what we could do and what he could manage and what his behaviours would be like if we went to parties and all that kind of thing, and it becomes really, really lonely. And like you were talking about, finding other people that just get it makes such a difference. Yeah, yeah.

Explaining Autism Levels Clearly

SPEAKER_02 16:06

And if you like, I mean uh people ask me, how do I find them? I literally went to Arsenko at school, um, who heads up the additional needs for the school and said, Right, statistically, I am not the only parent here. Yeah, let me like I want to find them, like show me the other parents. And at first it was really sweet. At first, she was like, I can't just give you their information. I was like, no, no, no, I don't want you to like just that's weak. I don't know their address. Yeah, like just show up their door. Like, I was like, let's do like a coffee morning or a morning, you know, something where we can just gather the parents, particularly mums, you know, obviously they often are the ones carrying more of the of the I don't know if burden is the right word, but the the reality is the kind of the everyday. Um, you know, let's just do a coffee morning and see who comes. And then from there, like, yeah. And so we we sat, we there's like 10 of us, and we all sat around in a circle, and we just was like, this is what happened today, or this is what's happened in the past, or I have a question about this, or you know, just we just sat and chatted for like two hours. And afterwards, I was like, Can I get your numbers? Um, definitely leaned into being American. I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes it's it's a good thing. I was like, uh, so like tried to really pull up my American accent. I don't know what you mean, great. Yeah. Um, but yeah, and we started a WhatsApp group. So I have I'm in several WhatsApp groups. I always say I'm like, I collect them. I'm like in so many. Um it's like, but it's again great because they we can talk about meetings that have happened or you know, different things that happen in school that you aren't because I mean I'm very aware that there's another WhatsApp group for my kids' class that I'm not in because one, I'm not in it, and two, because I hear other parents talk about it, and I'm like, I never got and I got that because my kid was has always been seen as kind of the odd one out. And so knowing I have another WhatsApp group for school is I'm like, I don't need that, I don't need that one because one, it sounds like a lot of drama, and two, I have mine that are people yeah, like drama, aren't they, in school WhatsApp groups?

SPEAKER_01 18:13

I remember my son, my older one, I left that one numerous times because I just thought I can't deal with the drama in here.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Yeah, it's like I was like, okay, yeah, no, I don't, I don't need to be part of that. And so yeah, so but I'm in one that I feel like I I'm in with people who get it who you know can celebrate when we made it to school on time, or can, you know, all the like yeah, I'd rather be in the one I'm in than the one that I hear is full of drama. So um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

I think there's a question that I usually ask right at the beginning, Green. I think I've set off on a tangent, and like I said to you before we start, we'd probably end up down a rabbit hole. But I'm gonna go bring myself back round just to kind of ground myself back in our conversation. Is I always ask everyone, Gri, are you the perfect parent?

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Um you're gonna say, yeah, I am.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Yes, after four years, um got it nailed. Yeah. Um, no, definitely not. Um, I think I've grown a lot as a parent over the last four years, even the last year, as I've understood my own neurodivergence and how my brain works and giving myself grace. Um you know, and just being able to kind of yeah, understand particular so my son, um a lot of why a lot of people quite a few people have questioned if he has autism, and it's because he is such a verbal person. Um but his verbalness, if that's a word, isn't always words, it's just or it's like repeated words or sounds, so he vocal stems is what we call it. Um but he just repeats and over and over and over and over and over. And I would find that so degrading, like it would just get on my nerves, and I was like, how it would oh just drive me crazy. And I always thought I was failing because his stem was driving me crazy. But since learning about my own neurodivergence and finding my community, everyone's like, no, like that is annoying, like you're okay, like that is okay. And so I think, yeah, having having that grace for myself of like it's okay that this is annoying, or this is okay that I've not, you know. I mean, I I try and talk about you know, holding space for all of Emotions, like there are times when I don't, I don't hold space for all of the emotions and I just snap and but it's the rebuild that makes the connection, you know, and I always think correction over connection, which again doesn't always work, but like it's that rebuild, you know. If I go back, I mean I I think about you know, one thing that my parents modeled really well was apologizing to us if something happened. And you know, seeing that now, now being the parent and apologizing to my children, like when things go wrong, like it's it's I don't know, it's just a different, it sets a different tone in the relationship, like but in a good way. Like it's like they can trust they can trust us, they can trust that, you know, yes, we get it wrong sometimes, but we are aiming to make it right. We are aiming to to do what is right. Um, and so I think yeah, it's a different level of trust.

Finding Community And Reducing Isolation

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Yeah. With the groups and stuff that you kind of, I know you kind of got your groups and you've got your online community as well. I just uh one thing that I what's the one thing that kind of really grinds your gears that you hear people talk about when they start talking about parents and maybe parents in um neurodivergent families or additional needs families, you do come up against the kind of term that you hear a lot of maybe professionals use that really kind of gets you.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

I think well, yeah, I think the one thing that really really annoys me is when people say parent the parents of neurodivergent kids are lazy, um, and like oh, they don't really have ADHD, they're just lazy, or they don't have autism, they're just lazy, or they want the money because they're lazy, you know. Like I've and I've heard all three of those. I've heard like either about me, like, or about someone else, or like in general, you know, in general terms as well. And I'm like, mate, if you if you think I'm lazy, like seriously, like come to my house, like literally, like you know, like come walk in my shoes, like because yeah, we the amount of prep we do to just leave our house, like is insane. You know, I have a visual timetable that I set up every morning that has the just the morning schedule. Not even it's not the whole day, it's just the like this is the five things we need to accomplish before we get to out the door to school, you know, like and then I'll change it during the day to, you know, the five things we need to do after school or whatever, you know, like whatever our schedule is, like, you know, things like that, or the prep to like, you know, so it's now Christmas, which means we have a lot of extra activities, which I'm aware that when this comes out, it's not Christmas, but um just talking about recovering from Christmas.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Yeah, exactly.

Perfect Parent Question And Repair

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Um, but like all of that prep, like we already have a countdown for different activities that are happening, you know. We think about um holiday, like going on holiday, the amount of prep that goes into that, you know, like oh, I just it that really annoys me. I'm like, we are not if if anything, I mean I feel like I'm doing 10 people job in a day, like because I'm not only just running my own business, but then I'm also an advocate and trying to understand the law that even solicitors don't even fully understand, you know, like and the nuances of all that. I'm trying to advocate so my child gets the support that you know he needs. I'm trying to, I'm a taxi driver to get him to all the places that he needs to be, you know, for all the different kinds of he does um like some social therapy, like kind of after school club stuff. He has um he doesn't do speech therapy anymore, but he did that. We would have to, he do some in school and then he'd do some on the weekends as well. And like all it just, I'm just like, yeah, no, we're not lazy. Like, if you think I'm lazy, then I'm gonna just call you out and be like, you're double lazy because Yeah. Like, yeah. And like it was really interesting. Someone in my DMs and they were being really sweet about it. So they weren't like they weren't trying to start anything. They were like, I'm genuinely trying to understand, but don't you get I put something out on social media about like um, you know, if you want to support a child, support the parent. And they're like, Well, don't you get money every month? And I was like, hold for well, first off, like depends on the country. Like, yeah, some countries, yes, some countries you don't. So there's that. I said, second, like I would give back all the money if it meant I didn't have to go into school every week to like try and help my son, like, you know, or like sit in meetings where I hear, you know, we one thing is sorry, this is totally random, but like one thing I I started was in every meeting that I had with school, everyone in the room had to say something positive about my son because I would just leave meetings because they're all about what he's not achieving or how he's not behaving, or you know, like all these negative things. And I'm like, he is more than these things, like so. Let's start that. And it has changed the conversation so much. And to the point where I then told my little what's school WhatsApp group was like, you all need to start doing this. Um, so it's now become a thing. Like uh the Senko has adapted that in so that every meeting she has with a parent, a one positive is start is stated at the start of the meeting and by everyone in the room, and because it's and it just changes the whole atmosphere of that, you know, like and so yeah, like I just think you know, I would give back all the money if it I could sit in rooms where I wasn't having those conversations because just because I have money does not that it doesn't go to me, really. I mean, it goes to all the things that he needs to do or get or have, you know, we have the amount of sensory things we have in our house that are not cheap, like they're not they're not the cheapest that that's what it goes to. So yeah, that's my one thing is hearing neurodivergent parents are lazy because we're not.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Yeah, you see, my my one is usually that they just need to. That's the one that we get happy. I just think, uh, do you know what I've just had to do this morning? Yeah. And I just need to do this, and you just think, oh yeah, just like you say, just if you came and sat in my shoes for a bit and realized what we just need to do each day to get out the door, even attempt to think about school, to recover from school, um, to go on holiday, to do transitions, to do whatever it is we need to do, um, that kind of that just takes away you know, the the amount of work that it takes and the effort that it takes for sometimes you as a whole family that is not just about one person, actually, you know, for me as well, I talk quite a lot about the ripple effect within the family, as you know, it's not just about my son, there's also me and my other son in there, and how does that ripple you know for all three of us? Um, and that can make life really hard sometimes, and that just you just need to, yeah. Those people need to be way out of my strategy. They just they just need to leave. Yeah, goodbye. Yeah. Gary, if you had um a bit of advice that you could give someone, a bit like a bit like you've just said about maybe going into those meetings and be able to say, actually, in meetings I need to hear something positive about my my my child. If you had a bit of advice that you could give somebody out there that maybe is struggling at the moment or having a a bit of a tough time, what would it be?

The “Lazy” Myth And Daily Logistics

SPEAKER_02 27:57

Well, the first advice that I always give is that they're not alone. Um, that is something that at the start of my journey I felt, I mean, I I the amount of times I would stand in front of nursery and feel like I'm the only parent who has a child like this. Um, and yeah, and so to know that you're not alone. There is a whole community of people out there, um, either online or in your own, wherever, you know, wherever you you are. Um, so yeah, that would be my my first and big advice is is that you're not alone. Um, and yeah, kind of more practical advice. It's easy to say you're not alone and then do nothing else. But practical advice is I would say, yeah, go to meetings. I so I I walk in, I have a folder or a binder of things um that I've kept as evidence, conversations I've had, emails I've had, like all of my it's my whole son's pretty much four years of life in this binder when it comes to his neurodivergence. Um that I always take with me to every meeting. So that way when they say, Oh, we need evidence for this, I'm like, oh yeah, here, like, here it is. Um, and it really shows that I'm I'm I'm proactive about this, but also kind of the idea of I'm I'm on it, like I am, I'm not just trying to do this because as we've talked about, people, even professionals will think parents are just being lazy or just reading read the other one I've heard is oh, you're reading too much into this. And it's like, yeah, I'm not. Like, have you seen the meltdowns that happen? You know, like um, and so having evidence for things like that. So I always say, like, I mean, I have things in my like notes folder where I'll voice note myself every day, uh like a 30-second thing of okay, this happened, I think this is the trigger, or and it like writes it out for me. Um so I can go back and like again, you know, if if I'm like every Monday we seem to be having meltdowns, like what's let me go back through and see, oh, okay, the last six Mondays we've been doing this activity, let's not do this, you know, like and you just do that through your phone on a little oh voice in the voice note. Yeah, so voice note in voice notes, there's a microphone, and I just hit microphone and it just like transcribes what I'm saying. Um, and I yeah, I just have a running voice note. So I'll say the dates, I'll say like October 10th, you know, whatever. Um, and then yeah, and then it just does it. Uh it does get all my ums, so that's also fun to read through. Be like, I say um a lot, but uh it's that kind of but it's great because I don't have to type it out, I can do it while I'm usually doing it while I'm like cooking dinner or something, or even you know, it's and it's I try and keep it quite quick. I don't try and give a whole story or something because that can then some I get distracted, my own brain will go crazy, but it's yeah, it it's a great way to just have evidence and see trends and see okay what's going on. Um, and just yeah, it's great all.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

I think I'm gonna go off and do that one. I've never thought about doing that. Just like you say, it's really easy. You think, oh, I must kind of make a note of that. And you never get around to doing it, do you? You kind of think I'm gonna write that down in a nice little notebook somewhere. I've got, well, I'm even gonna show you my notebooks. I've got 20 billion of them. Yeah. And each of them have got like a little bit in, and I'm into the next one. Um, they look pretty. Um, yeah. But actually, a voice note is a really good way of doing it. I hadn't even thought, I didn't even realize that you can get it transcribed in the voice note. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

Yeah. Oh yeah, I do try I transcribe so much. I um when yeah, I can sorry, you might want to edit my thought out, but um when when this comes out, I can officially say that I wrote a book and most of it was written by me speaking. So yeah. Uh so it's a book for I don't have a title for it yet. It's being published um by Inspired by Publishing. Great company, highly recommend them. Um, but it is a parenting book for neurodivergent parents, basically. Um and it's sitting through, kind of talking about meltdowns, talking, I mean, and it's I always say it's a book I wish I had when I started. So yeah, none of it goes into like, I mean, I there you could have a whole book on meltdowns, like um, and this is just a chapter, but it's one of those I didn't want to overwhelm people. That was because I I remember at times feeling super overwhelmed by the information I was Googling.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:29

And I want this book to be like, okay, here are the basics about meltdowns, here are the basics about kind of language and kind of neuroaffirming practices. Here are the basics about, you know, kind of just emotional regulation. Um, you know, kind of just here are the basics, like here's your foundation, and then you can go and like deep dive further. Um, because yeah, I got so overwhelmed. Um, sorry, my dog's also barking at the mailman. Um but yeah, so I I wrote it all through um through not quite voice notes, but through, yeah, through speaking, because I was stare at a blank page and just be like, this is too overwhelming. I can't, I cannot write this out. And so I spoke it out, and then over time it's been slightly edited more into not just me speaking. Um, but part of what I wanted as well was kind of that best friend, yes, the quote unquote best friend energy. You know, I wanted someone to read it and be like, yeah, I get she sees me, and so I get, you know, she gets what I'm trying to do.

SPEAKER_01 33:34

And that's so important, isn't it? Right in the beginning, when you get these diagnoses, a lot of the time we get a diagnosis for our kids and then it's like bye-bye. And you just lead you to it, and you think, well, now what do I do? Um actually that's just the start. You know, you've done all this long work to get there, you get this diagnosis, and then you think, cracky, where do I go now? And like you say, having something really short and to the point that gives you the basics must, you know, even for me and the job that I do, you know, I'd have loved that. I think just something to hold you in that moment and go, okay, this is okay, and this is what kind of basics you need to know about. And then, like you say, then if you want to go deep dive, go deep dive.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

Here's something gonna hold you in that moment.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

Yeah, and again, it a big value for me, and partly why I actually went with this publisher was I wanted stories from other people in the neurodivergent community, and so throughout, so it'll be kind of a chapter, and then like a little, it's not really a chapter, but someone else's story. Um, and then the next chapter will kind of start. Um, and it's just people sharing their story of navigating the neurodivergent world. Um, because again, that idea that we're not alone, like I want, you know, people to see like, yeah, even you know, I think about my son um isn't PDA, but I know a lot of people who are, and so having someone's voice who is navigating that, I thought this is really important because I want them to know, yeah, this is this is okay. Um, and kind of just different, yeah, kind of different people's voices on different on different things in their story. So yeah, it's it's coming together. How exciting. When's that out then, Gria? When do you um so it doesn't come out till May? Okay. So it's a little while. But um, but yeah, I can now say it's it's been written. It has now been written. Um, so or or voice voice noted, I should say. Um but yeah, so yeah, it's I'm it's one of those. I think back of our journey and I'm like, I never, I mean, I never would have thought this is what I do for a living. I've written a book, I have a podcast, I run my own business. Like never, I literally say if you told me two years ago this is what I'd be doing, I'd laugh in your face. Um, because it's not, but I'm so but I I love what I'm doing, and I'm like, this fits me so well, and it's it's just been so fun. So I'm like, I'm gonna keep going.

Evidence, Binders, And Meeting Strategy

SPEAKER_01 35:52

Yeah, and we've you just mentioned your podcast. So Greer does have a podcast, and it was called The Unfinished Idea. So people might have known it for that, but actually, by the time this comes out, it will have a new name, which I'm about to write down because with my dyslexia, I couldn't say it properly, which is now called Neurodivergent Conversations. Yep. Yeah, so if you anyone wants to kind of go listen to Greer and her podcast, you might say, You might have known her from her old podcast name, but actually, this is been there's gonna have been a rebrand in that.

SPEAKER_02 36:21

Yeah, a little bit. I call it a glow up, we're having a glow up. I like that. Yeah, so yeah, we I just it fit like I love, I mean, the unfinished idea is my brand, so it's still there, you'll still find me anywhere if you search that. But um, I just felt like neurodivergent conversations is really what the podcast is about, is we're having conversations about being neurodivergent or raising a child who is. Um, and so um, yeah, let's let's do that.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Perfect. And I'll put all those show notes, uh put all that information in the show notes about where you can find Greer. Um, so if you want to find Greer and contact her and maybe look out for her WhatsApp group, um it will be in there and all her details will be in there. But that just leads me to say, Greer, thank you ever so much for coming on. It's I love talking to you. It's always nice to meet another podcast host as well. Um, so it's been really, really nice to have you on. Thank you ever so much.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

Yeah, thank you for having me. It's been great.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

You're welcome.