Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Today we’re diving into what it really looks like to advocate for our neurodivergent kids in school in a way that’s truly aligned with who they are. My guest is Dr. Destiny Huff, a trauma therapist, advocate, and educator whose work is deeply informed by her own lived experience as a late-diagnosed autistic mother.

In our conversation, we explore the limitations and pitfalls of traditional IEP processes, what a genuinely neurodiversity-affirming approach can look like in practice, and how families can build more effective, collaborative relationships with schools. Destiny shares both big-picture reframes and practical strategies, offering a grounded, honest look at how to navigate systems that weren’t designed with our kids in mind, while still holding onto possibility and meaningful change.

About Dr. Destiny Huff 

Dr. Destiny Huff, LPC, is a late-diagnosed Autistic and ADHD mental health therapist, non-attorney special education advocate, and national speaker. She is the founder of Destiny Huff Consulting, where she supports families and schools in implementing neuroaffirming practices and navigating the IEP process.

As the mother of two neurodivergent learners in public school special education, Dr. Huff brings both lived and professional experience to her work. She focuses on dismantling deficit-based narratives in education and addressing the intersection of race, disability, and trauma.

Dr. Huff has presented nationally and co-hosts The Affirming Village Podcast, where she explores advocacy, disability justice, and the realities of navigating special education systems.

Things you'll learn from this episode 

How Dr. Huff’s journey from parent to advocate informs her approach to neurodiversity-affirming support

Why individualized, meaningful IEPs matter more than compliance-driven plans

How systemic barriers like underfunding and lack of training impact school support for neurodivergent students

What distinguishes traditional IEPs from neuroaffirming ones—and how that shows up in real life

How documenting data at home can strengthen advocacy for accommodations and services

Why supporting kids in understanding themselves and building self-advocacy is essential, alongside leveraging community and advocacy to create change

Resources mentioned

Neuroaffirming Advocacy: A Neuroaffirming Guide to Special Education Advocacy

Destiny Huff Consulting


Advocating for Kids, Inc. (Cheryl Poe)

Affirming Village Podcast with Lisa Baskin-Wright

Dr. Destiny Huff on Instagram

Dr. Destiny Huff on Facebook

Lisa Baskin Wright

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Eliza Fricker joins me to talk about PDA or pathological demand avoidance – and in fact I know many people interpret PDA as persistent desire for autonomy. I’ve done a few episodes on PDA before but never from a parent’s perspective so after reading Eliza’s book, The Family Experience of PDA, I knew I wanted to share her perspective with the Tilt community. During this episode, we talked about how demand avoidance is more extreme in a child with a PDA profile vs. the inflexibility and rigidity we might see in other neurodivergent kids, what Eliza has learned about herself parenting a child with PDA, and what her resistance was to the changes needed to her parenting style.

Eliza also gave out some great tips for teachers who have a PDA student in their classroom and for parents who are struggling with family, friends, or people close to them who aren’t willing to understand what PDA is and what that means for their family.

Things you'll learn from this episode

* What makes demand avoidance more extreme in children with PDA

* Eliza’s experience in changing her parenting ways to become more flexible

* Tweaks teachers can use to work with children who have PDA in a classroom setting

* How PDA may look different than “typical demand avoidance” that we might see in some neurodivergent children

* What Eliza has learned about herself from parenting a child with PDA

* Advice for parents who are raising a child with PDA

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Today we’re talking about autistic burnout—what it is, how it shows up in children and young people, and what it actually takes to support recovery. My guest is Jodie Clarke, an autistic and ADHD professional with more than 20 years of experience specializing in autistic experience and mental health, particularly in children and teens. In this episode, Jodie talks about the signs and causes of autistic burnout, how it’s often misunderstood or missed altogether, and what meaningful support really looks like. This is an essential conversation for anyone supporting autistic kids—grounded, validating, and full of important shifts in how we understand and respond to burnout.

 About Jodie Clarke

Jodie Clarke is an autistic and ADHD professional with over 20 years’ experience, specialising in autistic experience and mental health with a focus on children and young people . She is currently completing a PhD exploring autistic burnout in children and young people. Jodie is also a parent to 3 neurodivergent children of her own.

Things you'll learn from this episode 

How Jodie Clarke’s personal journey into neurodivergence shapes her advocacy around autism and burnout

Why masking plays such a significant role in autistic burnout for children and teens

How autistic burnout shows up in young people and the signs parents can learn to recognize

Why lowering demands and creating safe, low-pressure environments is essential for recovery

How societal and family expectations can contribute to burnout and delay healing

Why supporting recovery involves trusting parental intuition, unlearning conditioning, and helping kids reconnect with their authentic selves

Resources mentioned

Jodie Clarke’s website


Stop the World I Want to Get Off: A Guide to Understanding and Supporting the Recovery of Autistic Burnout in Children and Young People by Jodie Clarke


Young, Autistic, and Burned Out by Jodie Clarke

Luke Beardon at Sheffield Hallam University

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Our family has gone through our fair share of big changes, which you’ll hear all about in this episode, so this is something that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. Especially as a parent of a differently wired kid, I know that there are some extra challenges that might come up when their routines, environment, life circumstances, or supports change, and our kids are also more likely to be resistant to changes (even if they are beneficial). So today I’ll be sharing the strategies I’ve personally found helpful while going through big transitions with Asher. 

In this episode, I talk about key things such as why being honest when communicating with your kid is so important to help them understand and process change, how being vulnerable can be a way to show support, how to validate our kids’ feelings about the changes or transitions, and how to identify their concerns so you can make plans to address them in advance. I also share about what adjustment disorder is and the kind of extra support you might need during transitions. 

 What You'll Learn in this Episode

The benefits and growth that can come from navigating big changes as a family

Why honesty is so important when communicating with your child about big changes

What to share versus what not to share with your child about the transitions you go through

How to validate the big emotions and thoughts that big transitions can bring up in your child

The importance of doing your own work as a parent to be able to support our kids during transitions

What adjustment disorder is and the extra support you might need to help your child through one

How being vulnerable with your kids can be really supportive for them

Identifying the concerns that our kids have and coming up with plans to address them in advance

Creating new routines to create security for our kids during big transitions

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This is a short, special mini-episode I’m sharing because my friends at Elmbridge University (formerly Bridges Academy) let me know that
enrollment is now open for the next cohort of their truly unique graduate program in cognitive diversity in education, and application deadlines are coming up in June.

When Dr. Susan Baum—one of the leading voices in twice-exceptionality and Chancellor of the program—said she could join me for a quick conversation about her work
and what makes this program so impactful, I said absolutely. In this
brief chat, Susan shares insights into supporting twice-exceptional
learners, why environment matters so much, and how this program is
helping educators better understand and serve complex, neurodivergent
students. If you want to learn more, you can head to https://elmbridge.edu/.

About Dr. Susan Baum

Susan Baum, Ph.D., is Chancellor of Elmbridge University’s Graduate School for Cognitive Diversity in Education (formerly Bridges) and Co-director of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy, a school for twice exceptional students. The author of many publications concerning the needs of special populations of gifted students including the award-winning 3rd edition of her seminal work To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled, Susan is a popular international speaker whose message is celebrating neurodiversity. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children and is past president and co-founder of the Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving students. She is recipient of the Weinfeld Group’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in educating the twice-exceptional child.

 

Things You'll Learn in this Episode

The rise in awareness and identification of twice exceptional individuals, including advocacy and policy changes in schools

Common misconceptions in education about giftedness and disabilities, and Baum’s theory of green — the paradoxical profile of these students

The importance of tailored environmental components — intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and creative — for thriving twice exceptional students

The evolution and impact of the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity (now Elmbridge University)

Resources Mentioned

Elmbridge University 

Bridges Academy


Twice-Exceptional and Special Populations of Gifted Students (Essential Readings in Gifted Education Series) by Dr. Susan Baum

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