Returning to school as a neurodivergent adult brings unique challenges, and we are discussing all aspects of this topic in today’s episode. I’m joined by “The Neuro-Spicy Student,” Amber, to share her experience and perspective on this topic. Join us!

Show Highlights:

• Amber’s “alphabet soup” of diagnoses, misdiagnoses, and disabilities
• Amber’s childhood experience in school
• Two sides of the coin for most neurodivergent students
• Amber’s story of multiple attempts at college and (finally) earning multiple degrees
• Internal barriers in returning to school as an adult
• A common experience for adults with ADHD: Learning and learning and learning—without formal degrees to show for it
• Differences in going to school as an older student with accommodations
• Finding empowerment in advocating for yourself–and healing your younger self
• Specific accommodations you can ask for in college
• Amber’s parting words for listeners considering a return to school

Resources and Links:

Connect with Amber: LinkedIn

Explore more from The Neuro-Spicy Student: Linktree

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How are your fighting skills? Most couples could use a LOT of work in this area, and I have just the person to help us! I’m thrilled to be joined by a great friend, Lindley Gentile, for today’s episode. She’s a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who recently wrote an ebook titled, How to Have the Best Fight of Your Life. Listen to our conversation about this thought-provoking topic and learn why looking for right and wrong is the WORST way to handle conflict. 

Show Highlights:

• Lindley’s motivation to write this book? Because many (most!) couples seek therapy around communication issues
• Fighting well leads to being seen well.
• The need to uplevel your fighting skill set beyond being “right or wrong”
• Ways in which we are fighting wrong
• Making the shift from arguing about who’s right to witnessing one another
• The fable of the elephant can teach us about being open to another’s experience.
• The value of “I” statements over “You” statements
• Withdrawing physically and emotionally during conflict vs. the skill of asking for a pause
• Fight, flight, or freeze
• The WWC framework: witness, witness, and collaborate

Resources and Links:

Connect with Lindley Gentile and Austin Couples Concierge: Website, Instagram, and book

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode will be helpful for all parents—and for anyone who has ever been a child. We are discussing OCD, specifically in children, with Natasha Daniels. She has been an anxiety and OCD child therapist for over two decades. As the mother of three kids with anxiety and OCD, her passion and perspective is both professional and personal. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• OCD differs from general anxiety and requires very specific therapies.
• Signs of OCD, a diverse, idiosyncratic disorder that shows up differently for each person
• In children, a common sign of OCD is the tendency to ask theme-based, repetitive questions.
• Is it anxiety or OCD? 
• Autism and OCD: Comfort/coping skills or compulsion?
• When does my child need professional help? How do I know?
• OCD or nervous tics?
• A discussion of mental health issues in families, social anxiety, neuroplasticity, and addiction
• Finding “the sweet spot” as a parent (so as not to coddle but not fuel anxiety)
• The best approach: parents can refuse to participate in the “overblownness” and drama while not being dismissive
• The wisdom in coaching our kids

Resources and Links:

Connect with Natasha Daniels: Website (find resources, courses, podcast episodes, and more)

OCD Resources: International OCD Foundation and Treat My OCD

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s topic of adoption is a sensitive subject for many people. We are covering adoption from a different perspective as we talk to Stacy, an adult adoptee who belongs to a community of adult adoptees who are vehemently opposed to private infant adoption. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• Meet Stacy and learn her story
• An overview of differing views of adoption through the years (Are new laws needed?)
• Examples of laws that are drawing negative feedback from adult adoptees
• The expense of private infant adoption and the ethical dilemma of a more systemic problem
• The ratio of parents looking to adopt and available infants
• A closer look at adoption theology and open adoption
• The US system that contributes to the number of desperate pregnant women and creates the perfect storm for exploitation, pressure, and propaganda
• What adopted kids need to know
• The adoption industry needs a different approach.
• The nuances of adoption out of foster care
• For many people, adoption into a “nice” family was/is a fantasy. 
• Stacy’s viewpoint on what to say–and what NOT to say–to adult adoptees
• Stacy’s message to adult adoptees

Resources and Links:

Connect with Stacy: TikTok

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode is a follow-up to Episode 65, The Dark Underside of Family Vlogging, Part 1, which aired almost a year ago. My guest from that episode, Cam, returns to discuss her reaction to a recent big development in the world of family vlogging. Cam grew up as the child of one of the first well-known “Mommy bloggers,” and is an international advocate for the children of influencers and family vloggers. She shares her perspective on the new California law. Join us!

Show Highlights:

• Understanding the basics of the Child Content Creator Act in California to protect kids’ rights (similar laws are being passed in Illinois and Minnesota)
• Legal ramifications for parents who don’t follow “the 30% rule”
• Children on reality TV shows do NOT fall under the new law.
• Understanding the Coogan Law
• Cam’s perspective on the protections of the law for children—and what she wishes the law included
• “The right to forget”: what it means and why it’s not included in the law
• Cam’s thoughts about a recent scary cancer diagnosis in light of her past history with vulnerability at the hands of her mom’s vlog
• Growing up with NO boundaries or privacy
• Laws in CA, IL, and MN to protect kids from being exploited

Resources and Links:

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode covers the topics of bullying, meanness, and conflict. My guest is uniquely qualified to share her wisdom and expertise, which she did in a TEDx talk. Bullying or meanness: what’s the difference, and how do we recognize the two? Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

● Dr. Eileen’s background as a clinical psychologist and author

● The specific criteria in the definition of bullying

● Empowering our kids to withstand meanness without taking a victim stance: “Conflict is inevitable.”

● Bullying has become “a thought-stopping cliche.”

● Meanness and bullying in the online world

● Vulnerability in being a content creator and dealing with feedback

● A better approach with kids: “Whose opinion matters to you?”

● The truth about self-esteem and a “quiet ego”

● Connecting with something greater than ourselves

● Helping kids learn self-compassion rather than self-esteem (Dr. Eileen teaches a “reflect, but downshift” technique in her book, Kid Confidence.)

● Dr. Eileen’s formula for teaching reflection to kids

● “Whose feelings are most important?”

● Validating and normalizing kids’ feelings (by following their lead) by offering empathy and confidence

● Being your kids “biased biographer”

● Learning to “stay in the water” instead of standing on the edge of the pool ● “Testing the water” to pull back on accommodations

Resources and Links:

Connect with Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore: Website (Find books for parents and kids!) and Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic podcast,

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:

www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have an honest confession to make. I am a terrible budgeter, but I’m a world-class financial goldfish. In this episode, I’ll explain my “financial goldfish” status and budgeting for our neurodiverse brains. I’m joined by Jill Sirianni, host of the Frugal Friends Podcast. If you’re like me, and budgeting just doesn’t work for you, you’ll learn a lot from our conversation. Join us!

Show Highlights:

• Characteristics of a financial goldfish
• Budgets–the diet of the financial landscape (and they don’t work any more than diets do for most people)
• Top reasons we fall victim to impulse buying
• The myth of “Wants vs. Needs”
• The downfalls of typical antiquated budgeting
• Creativity in meeting needs without spending
• Jill’s 90-day transaction inventory
• Helpful online tools
• A moral problem vs. a systemic problem
• KC’s helpful hack to be more thoughtful before spending impulsively (like late-night DoorDash)
• Jill’s tips for creating a pause before spending: keep a list and buy second-hand
• Understanding the marketing behind sales
• Making choices about your behavior today that may not align with spending habits held up as the “standard”
• Understanding values-based spending
• In finances, one size does NOT fit all. 

Resources and Links:

Connect with Jill Sirianni and Frugal Friends: Frugal Friends Podcast and Buy What You Love Without Going Broke book by Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni (pre-order now!)

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is about liberation, revolution, and social justice. We are tackling these topics from a practical perspective with my guest, Nat. Join us!

Nat Vikitsreth is a licensed clinical social worker who works with families who want to practice social justice in their daily lives but are torn between acting in their communities and at home. She helps them bridge the gap despite being tired, overwhelmed, and stretched too thin. Holding space for their beautiful intentions and walking with them on this journey are Nat’s passions.

Show Highlights:

• Nat’s background as a transgender woman from Thailand who has become a clinician and a social justice organizer
• Trying to honor our values about liberation at home and in the community
• Being your own ally first with agility and awareness of your available bandwidth
• Learning to hold space for accountability
• The root causes of our suffering: white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy
• Leading with compassion in action instead of punishment
• What it means to be truly humble
• Nat’s advice for parents
• Finding the sweet spot between discomfort and boundaries
• Being realistic in your family about what causes you can support and take action on with your limited capacity
• Nat’s words of advice about actions beyond the “sexy actions” to take

Resources and Links:

Connect with Nat Vikitsreth: Website and Come Back to Care Podcast

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you do when a loved one won’t seek the mental health treatment that they obviously need? We are looking at the very important topic of mental health from the perspective of your concern for a loved one who might be resistant to asking for help, and what you can do about it. I’m joined by Dr. Alec Pollard, a co-author of When A Loved One Won't Seek Mental Health Treatment: How to Promote Recovery and Reclaim Your Family’s Well-Being. With a long career as a clinical psychologist, he is the founding director of the St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• Dr. Pollard’s background and four decades of experience as a psychologist 
• Turning his focus to help those who are concerned about their loved one’s mental health
• Dr. Pollard explains The Family Well-Being Approach/Consultation
• Two types of accommodations that loved ones make: commission and omission
• Differentiation between appropriate and inappropriate accommodations for a loved one
• Recovery avoidance: a pattern of behavior that is inconsistent with the process of recovery
• Creating opportunities for a loved one to get better through support, incentives, and positive rewards
• Dr. Pollard’s book and its approach of finding a balance between long-term planning and crisis management
• Dr. Pollard’s takeaway about his book as his proudest achievement in his career

Resources and Links:

Connect with Dr. Alec Pollard: St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute and When A Loved One Won't Seek Mental Health Treatment

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you joined us for last week’s episode, you know that we promised Part 2 of my conversation with Franchesca Ramsey. She brings an expert perspective on the various aspects of content creation, like authenticity, compassion, handling negative comments, the value of listening, and more. Franchesca Ramsey is an actor, writer, public speaker, and longtime content creator. She wrote and performed in the web series MTV Decoded, where she tackled race, pop culture, and other uncomfortable topics. Other notable accomplishments include writing for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and a nomination for an NAACP award for one of the best books of 2018: Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist. Franchesca shares her expertise and insights about guarding your mental health as a content creator. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• The skills we lack in being human, trusting each other, and genuinely calling someone IN
• The public vs. private sphere of an online presence
• Listening, forgiving, and doing the right thing
• Hard-earned perspectives on hot takes and being silent
• What’s your WHY for content creation?
• Handling critical and negative comments on social media
• Being authentic in content creation means sometimes logging off.
• KC’s thoughts on her WHY as a content creator

Resources and Links:

Connect with Franchesca Ramsey: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and book

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode is a conversation I’ve been wanting to have for awhile, and I’ve found the perfect person for this topic. Franchesca Ramsey is an actor, writer, public speaker, and longtime content creator. She wrote and performed in the web series MTV Decoded, where she tackled race, pop culture, and other uncomfortable topics. Other notable accomplishments include writing for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and a nomination for an NAACP award for one of the best books of 2018: Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist. Franchesca shares her expertise and insights on longevity and mental health as a content creator. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• Burnout is real in the content creation world.
• Lessons learned about life and authenticity as a content creator, influencer, and vlogger
• Are you putting your time and energy in the wrong place?
• You have to censor yourself EVERY day!
• Impulsive reactions on social media can have severe consequences. Give yourself space to step back.
• Prioritizing joy in your content and not reacting with anger
• The nature of social media
• Strengthening internal boundaries by getting comfortable with being misunderstood
• Thoughts on cancel culture and negative backlash
• Our conversation is so good that we don’t want it to end. We will continue with Part 2 with Franchesca in next week’s episode!

Resources and Links:

Connect with Franchesca Ramsey: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and book

Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices