Wine with Wita | Speech Pathology & Parenting Support

🍷 Want more ways to connect with your child? Join the Connection Creates Communication waitlist → https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist

Thank you to this episode's sponsor GOAT (Greatest Of All Tapes). Use the code WITA15 for 15% off your next order → https://thegoatco.au

Thanks also to GuideNest, this episode's sponsor. Use the code WINEWITHWITA to lock in a special subscription price of $120 per year instead of the usual $135 → https://guidenest.com.au

What happens when autism is taboo in your culture, and your family thinks your child is just naughty? This week I'm joined by Malik and Ronnie from the Bros and Cons podcast, two Sydney uncles from the Polynesian community, sharing what it was like to love their nephew Jeremiah through years of confusion before his autism diagnosis.

Jeremiah is 10 and has level 2 autism. When he was little he wasn't talking, he would scream and lash out, and nothing calmed him down. In their culture, nobody talked about disability. Malik and Ronnie open up about the shame and gossip that keep so many island families quiet, why their brother Jay was so protective of his son's story, and the day Jeremiah brushed Malik off, then ran up and hugged him the next time he saw him.

We talk about what living with autism looks like in a big, loving family, what you can do when your sibling is raising an autistic child, and how two uncles learned to accept neurodivergent children for exactly who they are. Ronnie also asks me the question so many families wonder about: can autism be cured?

🎙️ In this episode, we cover:
• The early signs of autism the family noticed at two and a half to three
• Why your child is not naughty: behaviour is communication
• Autism communication difficulties: not talking, screaming and meltdowns
• Why some parents keep an autism diagnosis private
• How to support your brother or sister when their child is autistic
• "Teach me how I can help": having the uncomfortable conversation
• How to play with an autistic child by following their lead
• Why an autistic child might pull away from you, and why it isn't personal
• Autism stigma in Polynesian and Pacific Islander families
• Raising autism awareness through Run for Autism and their own podcast
• Rethinking discipline and letting kids be kids (with boundaries)
• Can autism be cured, and can a child grow out of it?

📌 Mentioned in this episode
Bros and Cons podcast → https://open.spotify.com/show/6LPgSum1VH5oR0kVoyXHy9
Run for Autism (Autism Spectrum Australia) → https://www.aspect.org.au/blog/join-run-for-autism-every-step-counts-toward-a-more-inclusive-future

Connect with Malik and Ronnie
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/brosandcons_official/
Bros and Cons on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/6LPgSum1VH5oR0kVoyXHy9

Connect with Rita
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winewithwitapodcast/
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WineWithWitapodcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2igo4o3aDACW150Al0aLr1
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wine-with-wita-speech-pathology-parenting-support/id1743156009
Website: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/
Connection Creates Communication waitlist: https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist
Wita's Weekly Wecap (newsletter): https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/09e84e6753

Wine with Wita is Australia's leading podcast for parents navigating life with children with communication difficulties, disabilities and additional support needs. Hosted by Rita Shamoun, speech pathologist and founder of RS Speech Pathology.

Follow so you never miss an episode. New episodes every Friday.

The purpose of this podcast is to provide information. You must not rely on the information on this podcast as an alternative to speech and language therapy. You must always consult with a Speech Pathologist, GP and/or paediatrician if you have any concerns about your child's communication and/or development.

Want more ways to connect with your child? Join the Connection Creates Communication waitlist → https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, GuideNest. Use the code WINEWITHWITA to lock in a special subscription price of $120 per year instead of the usual $135 → https://guidenest.com.au

People pleasing as a mum can leave you keeping everyone's peace except your own. This week I sat down with Amanda Rose, entrepreneur, keynote speaker and founder of Western Sydney Women and Entrepreneurial & Small Business Women Australia, to talk about saying no, setting boundaries and the friendships we're allowed to outgrow.

I went into this conversation expecting to talk business. Instead, we talked about the things that wear so many of us down as women and mums: saying yes to a coffee catch-up you didn't want, holding on to friendships that only take, and worrying about what other people think. Amanda shares her two buckets rule to protect your energy and your time, and why your no doesn't need an explanation.

If you're carrying the mental load and saying yes to everyone, this one is for you.

In this episode, we cover:
• The two buckets rule: if it doesn't add to your family or your work, the answer is no
• Why a "quick" coffee catch-up can cost you three hours you could have spent with your kids
• People pleasing and the question "by keeping the peace, whose peace are you keeping?"
• Why putting your self worth on other people's approval leaves you at the mercy of their rejection
• Saying no without explaining yourself, because "no is a sentence"
• Self respect and teaching people how to treat you
• Friendship boundaries and why it's okay to outgrow your friends
• Fear of judgement, and why big fear and big excitement are both signs to slow down
• Screen time and talking: why turn-taking and everyday conversation matter for little ones
• Letting go of mum guilt and the things that aren't yours to carry
• Noticing who really shows up for you when life gets hard

Connect with Amanda
Website: https://www.amandarose.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theamandarose/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandarosemedia/

More from Rita
Free training: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/free-training

Connect with Rita
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winewithwitapodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WineWithWitapodcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2igo4o3aDACW150Al0aLr1
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wine-with-wita-speech-pathology-parenting-support/id1743156009
Website: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/
Connection Creates Communication waitlist: https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist
Wita's Weekly Wecap (newsletter): https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/09e84e6753

Wine with Wita is Australia's leading podcast for parents navigating life with children with communication difficulties, disabilities and additional support needs. Hosted by Rita Shamoun, speech pathologist and founder of RS Speech Pathology.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode. New episodes every Friday.

The purpose of this podcast is to provide information. You must not rely on the information on this podcast as an alternative to speech and language therapy. You must always consult with a Speech Pathologist, GP and/or paediatrician if you have any concerns about your child's communication and/or development.

👉 Want to understand how connection drives your child's communication? Join the waitlist → https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist
 
Mouth breathing in children is one of the most missed signs in paediatrics, and most parents have no idea what they're looking at. In this episode Rita is joined by Dan Jones, founder of GOAT (Greatest Of All Tapes), who spent 15 years breathing through his mouth after martial arts left him with a broken nose and a deviated septum.
 
Dan woke up every morning with a dry mouth and cracked lips. He woke two or three times a night just to drink water. He looked into surgery, found it expensive and unreliable, and assumed that was that. Then he tried a nasal strip from the chemist and slept with his mouth closed for the first time in 15 years.
 
As a speech pathologist and orofacial myologist, Rita hears Dan describe his childhood and recognises every symptom. Crowded teeth. An underdeveloped jaw. A high palate. A tongue tie nobody mentioned. All of it noticed by nobody, because at the time the only conversation on offer was braces.
 
This one is for any parent who has wondered whether their child's snoring matters, whether eight hours of sleep is actually good sleep, or why their child wakes up tired no matter what time they go to bed.
 
In this episode, we cover:
 
• What mouth breathing in children actually looks like, and why it's so easy to miss
• Snoring, bedwetting and teeth grinding as red flags, not habits
• Why eight hours in bed isn't the same as eight hours of good sleep
• What orofacial myology is and where your tongue is meant to sit
• Tongue tie, tongue exercises and what happens when a release isn't followed up
• Why soft modern food means kids' jaws aren't developing properly
• What the research says about sleep-disordered breathing and children's behaviour
• Why both Rita and Dan say never to mouth tape a child
• How to check your child's airway, and who to see first
• Why Rita trained as an orofacial myologist after a dentist told her she should already know
• Behaviour is communication, and what snoring might be telling you
• What it costs to fix airway problems as an adult, and why early intervention is cheaper
• Why "wait and see" is the wrong answer to speech delay
 
Connect with Dan:
 
Website → https://thegoatco.au/ - use code word WITA15 for 15% off your order
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/thegoatco_/
 
Connect with Rita:
 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winewithwitapodcast/
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WineWithWitapodcast
Website: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/
Connection Creates Communication waitlist: https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist
Wita's Weekly Wecap (newsletter): https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/09e84e6753
 
If this one landed, follow the show so you don't miss the next episode.
 
Wine with Wita is Australia's leading podcast for parents navigating life with children with communication difficulties, disabilities and additional support needs. Hosted by Rita Shamoun, speech pathologist and founder of RS Speech Pathology.
 
New episodes every Friday.
 
This episode is general information only and is not medical advice. Always speak to your GP, ENT or speech pathologist about your own child.

Want more ways to connect with your child? Join the Connection Creates Communication waitlist → https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist

Mum burnout is common, but it isn't normal. Clinical psychologist Dr Hilary Claire is a holistic parenting mentor, author, host of the Wild and Well podcast and mum of two. She thought she'd breeze through motherhood. Instead it hit her hard.

Rita and Hilary talk about what burnout really looks like, from mum rage and brain fog to feeling wired but tired. Hilary explains why so many mums end up depleted: too little sleep, low nutrients, poor gut health and living in emergency mode. She shares small, doable steps to recover from burnout, plus the simple nervous system reset she uses herself.

Then they turn to picky eaters. Hilary explains why a toddler won't eat certain foods, from zinc levels and oral motor skills to primitive reflexes and gut health. She also explains why your own calm at the table matters more than you'd think.

In this episode, we discuss:
What mum burnout looks like, from anxiety and mum rage to brain fog

Why the belief that mums can do it all keeps us depleted

How poor sleep, low nutrients and constant stress drive burnout

Why me time isn't staying up late after the kids are asleep

How to recover from burnout by starting with one doable step

Why scrolling your phone isn't a real break for your nervous system

Stress relief for mums: micro pauses and stepping outside

Gut health, bone broth and why stress stops you absorbing nutrients

A quick nervous system reset for when everything feels urgent

Self care for busy mums and asking what the vibrant version of you would choose

Why a picky eater toddler might be low in zinc or have retained reflexes

How your calm at mealtimes helps picky eaters and emotional regulation

Mentioned in this episode:
Dr Hilary's Picky Eating Guide: https://www.drhilaryclaire.com/offers/AU5Sf56A
Dr Hilary's books: https://www.drhilaryclaire.com/books
Wild and Well podcast: https://www.drhilaryclaire.com/podcast

Connect with Hilary:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drhilaryclaire/
Website: https://www.drhilaryclaire.com

Connect with Rita:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winewithwitapodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WineWithWitapodcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2igo4o3aDACW150Al0aLr1
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wine-with-wita-speech-pathology-parenting-support/id1743156009
Website: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/
Connection Creates Communication waitlist: https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist
Wita's Weekly Wecap (newsletter): https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/09e84e6753

Wine with Wita is Australia's leading podcast for parents navigating life with children with communication difficulties, disabilities and additional support needs. Hosted by Rita Shamoun, speech pathologist and founder of RS Speech Pathology.

Follow so you never miss an episode. New episodes every Friday.

Ad details:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/iros-young/a-perfect-day License code: HNK2Y5KYSFI2JFGE

The purpose of this podcast is to provide information. You must not rely on the information on this podcast as an alternative to speech and language therapy. You must always consult with a Speech Pathologist, GP and/or paediatrician if you have any concerns about your child's communication and/development

Get Rita's free speech pathology guide for parents: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/free-training
During a therapy session, a client looked up at Rita and said, “Rita, you’re an A.”

Her mind went straight to the swear word.

She kept playing. Then the dinosaurs clashed, he got frustrated, stood up and called her an F. Now she’s doing the clinician maths. Where did he learn this? Who said it to him? What else is in his vocabulary? How do I raise this with his mum?

In this solo episode Rita shares the moment that completely changed how she follows a child’s lead. Fifteen years in and her clients still teach her something new every week.

In this episode, we discuss:
Why following a child’s lead means more than using their favourite toys

What happened when a client called Rita an A and an F

Why your interpretation of a child’s words is filtered through your world

Getting curious before you correct a behaviour

Why parents hold context clinicians don’t have

How a special interest became a vocabulary building tool

Using a child’s own language back to them

Why rapport isn’t the warm-up, it is the therapy

What 15 years as a speech pathologist keeps teaching her

Why there is no script in paediatric speech therapy

Connection as the mechanism behind child development and communication skills

What this story means for understanding your child at home

Connect with Rita:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winewithwitapodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WineWithWitapodcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2igo4o3aDACW150Al0aLr1
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wine-with-wita-speech-pathology-parenting-support/id1743156009
Website: https://www.rsspeechpathology.com.au/
Connection Creates Communication waitlist: https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/connection-waitlist
Wita’s Weekly Wecap (newsletter): https://wine-with-wita.kit.com/09e84e6753

Wine with Wita is Australia’s leading podcast for parents navigating life with children with communication difficulties, disabilities and additional support needs. Hosted by Rita Shamoun, speech pathologist and founder of RS Speech Pathology.

New episodes every Friday.

Ad details:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/iros-young/a-perfect-day License code: HNK2Y5KYSFI2JFGE
The purpose of this podcast is to provide information. You must not rely on the information on this podcast as an alternative to speech and language therapy. You must always consult with a Speech Pathologist, GP and/or paediatrician if you have any concerns about your child's communication and/development