Your host Alley, is a mom, clinical director, therapist and entrepreneur; she's a doctoral student with expertise in education, counselling psychology, child/adolescent development, and supporting neurodivergent kids and their parents (and educators) as they navigate, advocate for and celebrate neurodiversity. She's candid, open, and has a knack for breaking things down into digestible and relatable bites; did I mention she only rolls with science-backed strategies? In each episode, she expl ...
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Autism & Literacy- Issues and Recommendations
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This might annoy you—but the way you were taught to teach reading is almost certainly not rooted in science. Gasp. I know right?! This might end up being a part 1 (of 2, 3, or 10) episode because I could talk about this for years. In this episode we’re unpacking the literacy gap in students with autism. What I’m sharing is derived from research I’v…
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If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you were definitely NOT taught how to self-regulate. You may even be wondering: "How on Earth do I teach my kid to self-regulate, if I have NO idea how to do it myself?" (Read as: I am regularly flipping my lid, and feeling guilty about it.) I'm bringing you an exclusive opportunity to listen to components of a wor…
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Connection and Relationships- 3 Steps for Managing Challenging Behaviour
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This is the episode you need to track down if you’re a parent in a power struggle, a teacher in a power struggle, or pretty much anyone trying to figuring how to better support a child whose behaviour has become an issue. Heads up though—my advice might not be what you expect. I do have 3 Steps to get you going, but I’m going on record and saying t…
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When Transitions Are Hard - Insight, Tips, and Reflections
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When this Reel about transitions went viral, I knew we needed to dive into this topic ASAP. There's a big misunderstanding about the root cause of transitional issues, especially in a neurodivergent population, so that's where I'll start. I'll unpack some of my favourite strategies for supporting transitions, recognizing transitional issues vs. dem…
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My Favourite Strategies for ADHD and Impulse Control
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After a short hiatus we're back with more of the goods. Today's episode is all about how we can do better for our ADHD kids. I'm bringing you practical strategies for working with the ADHD brain and not against; strategies to help you unlock potential, and spark motivation at home, or in school. Whether your biggest struggle is impulse control, exe…
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Stress, Anxiety and Your Environment
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Imagine if you picked up the phone, and had a very casual riff with me about stress, anxiety and digging deep to figure out what the heck just triggered you; because that's what this episode is all about. It's a super informal, super practical, somewhat personal dialogue about how (and why) our environment can make or break our ability to regulate,…
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In this unscripted episode I'm diving into co-regulation; what is it, and how do we achieve it? I'm talking about connection as the root upon which the tree is planted and how to navigate our own trigger points as parents, educators and therapists. Love the episode? Don't forget to connect on social, rate and review on your favourite podcast platfo…
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Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga for Self Regulation
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What are he benefits of mindfulness for our kids and can kids actually be mindful? No really, my kid is "a mile a minute" can they really truly SLOW DOWN? I'm unpacking the similarities and differences between mindfulness, meditation and yoga and discussing the benefits each can have on teaching and practicing self-regulation. Love the episode? Don…
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In this episode we're keeping the convo going and talking about autism and self regulation as we tackle: 1. What to do when you can't avoid the big behaviour; how to navigate it like a champ. 2.How to avoid the common pitfalls of navigating a big behaviour or power struggle. 3. How to build a toolbox of coping skills for your kiddo (and yourself). …
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Autism and Self Regulation - Part 1
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Talking about self-regulation honestly LIGHTS ME UP! :P This episode is JAM PACKED with theory and practical tips for building self-regulation skills in a neurodivergent population. Grab a notebook because I am spilling ALL the tea. Prepare for an epic brain dump of considerations, pit-falls, myths and facts, and strategies I've used over the last …
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Let's Get Clinical: Skill development, troubleshooting and values based programming
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How do you measure progress in your kids, in your family, or in yourself? Much of what we do in science (the science of teaching, parenting and even the science of mental health) relies on data to guide decision making. We think about things like, test scores, rating scales, and how skills are developed and ultimately mastered (and hopefully mainta…
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Talking about how we actively pursue mental health in the workplace within our helping profession; unpacking how we support our employees in self-awareness, personal development, and commitment to habits that promote self regulation and mindfulness. I'm diving into some strategies that I've used (successfully and unsuccessfully) in supporting staff…
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Nutrition, Picky Eating and Healthy Relationships with Food with Ahuva Magder Hershkop, RD
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Getting real with Ahuva Magder Hershkop, RD @AhuvaRD about all things nutrition, kids and the importance of science backed strategies for food education in a neurodivergent (and frankly, neurotypical) population. Ahuva spills the tea on how to talk to our kids about food, how to create routines around food when there are big behaviours involved, an…
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Ever wonder what a parenting expert does when their own kid says "NO?!" Warning: Big behaviours ahead! I'm walking you through an actual meltdown moment with my 3 year old; what I did, what I didn't do, and how I handled it all. I'm unpacking what worked, what failed miserably and how I checked myself multiple times throughout the escapade. I'll ta…
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Mindfulness visualization for Kids
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This is for kids--no intro, no ads, no transitional music.I'm walking your kids through how to use visualization as a tool to self-regulate. Pre-requisite skills to get the most out of this: ability to sit still for 10-15 minutes with coaching, ability to follow receptive instructions (spoken word) with coaching, ability to tolerate headphones, or …
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Mindfulness Practices For Families with Andrea Stuart, BCBA/Yogi
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I'm joined by Behaviour Analyst, and Yoga instructor Andrea Stuart (IG-@integrativeabayogi), who discusses mindfulness practices you can adopt without any fancy resources, and without a huge time commitment. We're unpacking what mindfulness is, what it isn't, and how it can improve your parenting by tuning into the present moment. We discuss self-r…
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I went viral on Tik Tok (3 times) for videos about sensory defensiveness and parenting. The consensus? “Wait...what?! That’s a thing? You mean—I’m not just jerk with a short temper who is easily irritated by my kids, and ahem—my life?” Nope! Well, I mean—maybe you are? But regardless, sensory sensitivity (being easily overwhelmed by sensory input—t…
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Let's start a conversation about autism; what it is, and more importantly--what it isn't. I'm clarifying somethings that were never explicitly taught to me in school (man, I wish); things I've learned by listening to autistic self advocates, working with brilliant minds within the fields, and of course--working directly the population myself for ov…
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Issues in Mental Health Supports for Neurodivergent People
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Given the disproportionate number of neurodivergent (autistic, ADHD) kids impacted by mental health needs, you'd think there would be less barriers to getting support; lack of specialization, reluctance to collaborate and uncertainty with how to start are among top contributing factors. I'm unpacking some of the primary obstacles I've faced in advo…
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A quickie this time--but full of thoughts and considerations for folks with ADHD (especially kiddos). My quick tips for helping your ADHD kiddo overcome struggles like problem solving, self regulation, scheduling and much more. Let's dig in!
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10 Habits for a Special Needs Parent
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Spoiler: Many of the things you learned in school (like the pursuit of equality) are probably wrong; but don't sweat it, when we know better, we do better. I'm sharing 10 ways you can contribute to a culture of equity over equality and parent your special needs kiddo in a way that aligns with your values. I'm spilling the tea on my 10 guiding value…
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This might be my most controversial episode yet. We're digging into ableism in school; how to spot it, and how to stop it. I'll be the first to admit that this might ruffle a few feathers, but sometimes in order to do better we have to recognize our own missteps. I'll be honest and admit I've gone along with status quo before and thinking about tha…
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Support your kids as restrictions start to ease- Covid-19 edition
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Let’s talk about what to expect as we move through phase 2 and phase 3 of reopening as we expand our bubbles and re-enter society adjusting to our new norms in post Covid times. What might our kids experience and how can we support them? Behaviour? Social skills? Communication? I’m discussing it all.…
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Anxiety, Covid-19 and Finding your Chill
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2 things we all have in common: 1. We’re in a global pandemic 2. We’re anxious, our kids are anxious—we have no chill! I’m diving into what anxiety is like in quarantine, some surprising facts you didn’t know about how your mind works and some proactive ways I’ve found to restore my chill.
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Self-care during quarantine—happiness, gratitude and manifestation.
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Cabin fever has set in, right? Kids are home, no end in sight—working from home—boss doesn’t “get it”, or you’ve been laid off—and you’re juggling more than ever wearing too many hats for too low a pay bracket. How do we target self care when we simultaneously have nothing but time and no time to even pee alone? If you’re like me, you’re simultaneo…
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Bribery vs. Reinforcement and How to Own Parenting
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So... bribery and reinforcement are basically the same thing right? WRONG! Like, really, really wrong. But don't worry...I got you. By the end of this episode you'll be schooling your friends in the ins and outs of effective reinforcement strategies, and owning the parenting game (ok, ok, you'll be a good 5 steps ahead of where you were before you …
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Grief and Parenting Kiddos with Complex Needs
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Grief though. Maybe it's the hormones (baby #3 on board) but I won't lie, this one got me right in the feels. The love a parent feels for their kiddo(s) is unlike anything else; it's truly unparalleled. If you know, you know. I'll save you the banter, the hashtags and the cultural references on this one and dive right into this: The most important …
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Kids don't tantrum because they want to be a jerks; they tantrum because they are trying to figure out how to best communicate their needs and wants. As parents, we can either extinguish or fuel the tantrum fire. Did you know that tantrums and meltdowns serve very different purposes? When it comes to our kids, our husbands, or our bosses, there's o…
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Meal times are the WORST! Agree? It's one thing to be lactose-intolerant, it's completely another to be new-food-intollerant. If your kid is picky, you've had your share of food battles; you've probably also had your share of peas thrown at your face, kale on the floor, and maybe even--pizza on the window? I remember the first time I took my kid to…
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Parenting is hard; like, really, really hard!
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Parenting is hard! Like really, really hard. If you don't prioritize your wellness as a parent, you'll spiral into burn out, and the burden of day-to-day life will only increase as your burn-out gets more intense. Optimizing wellness, for you as a parent, is one of the most vital things you can do FOR YOUR KIDS. Let's talk about some signs of paren…
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Does Birth Order Impact Parenting Style?
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What are your thoughts on birth order: fact or fiction? Early on in my research, and career, I found myself wondering how, or if, birth order was a real "thing" or a hypothetical construct. I found myself wondering if we are "who we are" as individuals, because it's our innate nature (destined to be this way), or because we're nurtured into taking …
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BONUS: Mental health and ABA overlap. Part 1: Pre-OAP reform
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In this episode we discuss the importance of recognizing the meeting point of mental health services and ABA services in an autism population. We review the political history in Ontario leading up to the funding model pre Feb. 6 2019 and set the tone of Part 2 of this episode, scheduled to launch in the next week, where we review the changes implem…
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Have you ever seen a parent, out in the big wide world, who handles an epic kid meltdown with effortless grace and a gentle, but grounded approach? Well, that can totally be you! Armed with a few key strategies and an understanding of your own core values (and a dash of self-care to help keep you calm and collected in the face of external chaos) yo…
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Taking the Plunge- Toilet Training Basics
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If you've got a spirited kiddo, a kiddo on the Autism spectrum, a kiddo with intellectual, developmental or behavioural needs and toilet training is on your radar, you've stumbled upon the right episode! If you've got a kiddo that isn't potty-trained, and you're SO DONE with diapers (like really, byeeee), you'll want to tune in! If you've tried oth…
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