What happens when you throw out the parenting rule book?

In this episode of the All Aboard ADHD podcast, Claire is joined by parent guest Mark Allen - a former stand-up comedian who juggles working in IT, with being a writer, podcaster, and dad to three neurodivergent children, who have a combination of diagnoses including ADHD, Autism and PDA. 

Mark describes himself as an “undiagnosed neurotypical”, who navigates the competing needs of his family with humour and insight, which he channels into his podcast Neuroshambles, where he chats with guests about the lighter side of parenting neurodivergent children, including an episode with Claire.

Mark kicks off by describing how differently ADHD presents in his children, with Jay's early signs of ADHD manifesting as a need to move constantly, whereas Otto’s distractibility and inattentiveness provide challenges in terms of planning daily activities. Mark also shares some insight into how difficult it is to distinguish between ADHD and autism in his children, and the different pathways their family took to get diagnoses for their children. Mark speaks of the relief and understanding that came with the diagnoses, allowing them to better understand and support their children. He also shares some wonderful examples of how accommodations such as movement breaks and sensory-seeking activities support his children to learn and regulate themselves.

Claire and Mark also discuss the positive impact of allowing children to be themselves and how it can boost their self-esteem. In fact, Mark advises other parents to ditch the parenting rulebook altogether, along with their expectations of neurotypical children. He shares his own experience of how changing their approach to meal times has reduced stress and increased happiness for their family. He also shares a lovely take on his children's unique character and energy, particularly their strong opinions and eccentricity - fedoras and all!

This is a must-listen for any parent navigating the day-to-day challenges of raising neurodivergent children, particularly the dads!

The Journey into S.E.N.D Fatherhood: Fathers Beyond Limits book:

https://amzn.eu/d/iT1fOTM?sfnsn=scwspwa

Neuroshambles Podcast (Claire’s episode):

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3JTYK9U0KUGSb2u18lKk6f?si=N2x-hFQaQEGI06k7SLAJfA