Autism & Neurodiversity

Have you ever felt like you were a bad mom or dad? Have you ever had a professional tell you your child is normal and he will “grow out of it?”

We’re delighted to share with you this conversation we had with Patricia & Maximilian. They’ve been happily married for over 30 years and are both professionals with a business background.

They’re also the parents of a young adult who is twice exceptional: extremely intelligent and creative on the one hand and high functioning autistic with anxiety and OCD on the other hand.

Their son has been dealing with anxiety and OCD since he was 12 years old. He did not receive a formal autism diagnosis until nearly 18 years old. They feel very fortunate to have been able to help him – and their family – through several therapeutic interventions. He eventually attended a wilderness program and a therapeutic boarding school, followed more recently with transitional support through our school NeuroDev.

Their son is now living relatively independently and attending college. He feels successful and openly credits the comprehensive support he received for his positive trajectory, his ability to manage his anxiety, and his social awareness.

They talk openly about their struggles and share some important realizations they made along the way that helped their son.

What You'll Learn from this Episode:

• What you can do when love, consistency, and good parenting isn’t enough.
• How to cope when family doesn’t accept a diagnosis.
• Why the way you parent a neurotypical child doesn’t always work with a neurodiverse child.
• The problem with just letting your child fail.
• The important thing every parent needs to understand.
• What you can do if you find yourself at the limit of what you can teach your child.
• Why the parenting you provide may not be entirely sufficient without other support.
• The two parenting attributes that will serve you well.

Featured on the Show:

• Parent support organization- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) (Local support groups are also available through this organization.)
• Visit NeuroDevMentoring.com to learn more about out our specialized mentoring program for neurodiverse young adults.
• Follow Debbie on Instagram!