Your kid doesn’t need you to fix everything. They need support building the skills to handle challenges themselves.

Join hosts Julie Ross and Dr. Elizabeth Cohen as they speak with Dr. Tara Williams, an educator, tenured professor, and expert in executive functioning and neurodiversity in higher education. The conversation focuses on what happens when neurodivergent kids leave the K-12 world and move into college, where support systems change and self-advocacy becomes essential.They explore the line between scaffolding and over-controlling, how shame can block help-seeking, and why universal design benefits every student, not just neurodivergent ones.
If you’re parenting a neurodivergent teen or college student, you’ve probably asked yourself: How do I help without doing too much? That balance can feel especially tricky when your child has ADHD, autism, or other executive functioning challenges and is suddenly expected to manage classes, deadlines, roommates, and daily life on their own. The big takeaway is simple: your job isn’t to eliminate every struggle—it’s to help your child build skills to handle them.

The goal isn’t to make your kid “open up” — it’s to become the adult they actually want to talk to. Silence is hard. But rushing to fill it can make kids shut down even more.What helps:

Listen for the story behind the behavior, not just the behavior.

Validate the feeling without condoning the action.

Ask, “What do you think?” and let them surprise you.

Kids are always watching how we handle honesty, boundaries, and discomfort.Sometimes the most authentic thing you can do is pause, stay calm, and make room. Listen to the full conversation on parenting, authenticity, and how kids learn by watching us.

Co-hosts Julie Ross and Dr. Elizabeth Cohen speak with author and nonprofit leader Alexander Kopelman about authenticity in childhood, parenting, and the systems that shape both. The conversation explores how kids learn selfhood, why unfiltered honesty is not the same as authenticity, and how adults can become safer, wiser people for children to turn to. In this episode, Alex shares the personal experiences that led him to write For Real, along with practical frameworks parents and educators can use to support children’s emotional development without shutting down their voice.

What if grief wasn’t something to fear, but something to understand?

In this conversation, we talk about why death, loss, and grief deserve more honesty, more curiosity, and more space in our lives — especially with our kids.

Because when we make room for grief, we make room for love, memory, and healing too.

Discover how to shed light on the often avoided or feared topics of death and grief with insights from grief educator Joanne DiMauro, author of the book "What Remains Is Love-My Journey of Losing My Brother and Healing through Grief."

In this sensitive and caring episode we discuss:

• Transforming societal attitudes, nurturing grief literacy, and finding joy and healing in the midst of loss.
• The power of talking openly about death with children and adults to foster healing and joy.
• Practical strategies for parents on how to introduce grief and death conversations early and naturally.
• The value of sharing memories and maintaining connection after loss to keep loved ones alive.

Joanne emphasizes that grief is an integral part of the human experience, and embracing conversations about death can lead to more love, compassion, and collective healing. She invites us all to normalize grief, share our stories, and foster a culture where facing mortality enriches life rather than diminishes it.

Thank you for listening to this deeply important conversation.