Just One Thing for Parents with Dr Bettina Hohnen

What does neurodiversity really mean — and how can parents navigate the joy, confusion and exhaustion that can come with it?
In this episode, I'm joined by Professor Amanda Kirby, a leading expert in neurodiversity, co-founder and CEO of Do-IT Solutions, and author of more than ten books. Drawing on over 40 years of clinical experience — and her own life as a parent and grandparent in a neurodivergent family — Amanda brings practicality and compassion to a topic that can often feel overwhelming.
Together, we explore the tension between the medical model and the neurodiversity movement, why children rarely fit neatly into diagnostic "boxes", and how labels can both open doors and create confusion. Amanda shares practical strategies for navigating transitions, preparing in manageable three-year "chunks", building organisation into family life, prioritising sleep, and forming constructive partnerships with schools. We also talk about the emotional reality for parents — the self-doubt, the fatigue, the systems that can feel adversarial — and why being "consistently inconsistent" is part of being human.
You can find out more about Professor Kirby and her work here: https://doitprofiler.com/about-us/

How can we help our children make and keep friends — especially when friendships feel messy, painful or confusing?
 
In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a clinical psychologist, author and friendship expert. Together, we explore why friendship is so foundational to children's wellbeing and why almost every child will struggle socially at some point. Eileen explains how parents can support the development of perspective-taking — the essential skill that underpins healthy, lasting friendships.
 
We talk about what to say when children come home upset and why empathy must come before problem-solving. Eileen shares practical, memorable tools, including her "maybe game" for broadening perspective and her "soft criticism" framework for addressing unkind behaviour. This episode is full of usable language to help you support your child's friendships with confidence.
 
You can find out more about Dr Eileen and her work here: https://eileenkennedymoore.com/ including her podcast for children called Dr Friendtastic 

 
A Long-Form Special: Living in the Age of Diagnosis with Dr Anna Hutchinson and Dr Libby Nugent
 
Diagnosis in mental health and neurodiverity is on the rise - what's really going on and what does this mean for children, families, and society?
 
In this special long-form episode, the first in a series of extended conversations, I'm joined by Dr Libby Nugent and Dr Anna Hutchinson, both clinical psychologists. Together, we explore the role of diagnosis in modern life, particularly in the fields of mental health and neurodiversity, where increasing numbers of children and adults are being assessed and identified, while waiting lists continue to grow.
 
We discuss how diagnoses can validate pain, reduce shame, and help people make sense of their experience, while also considering their limitations, the power they hold within systems, and the broader historical and political context in which they sit. This is an in-depth conversation about both the usefulness and the risks of psychiatric labels — and what families might need to consider as they navigate them.

How do you hold on to your cultural identity while raising children in a different cultural environment?
 
In this episode, I'm joined by Margaret Taribo, a visionary community leader and CEO of Parenting Skills to Go and Distinct Family Services.
 
Together, we explore what culturally appropriate parenting really means in a diverse society. We talk about identity, belonging and the tensions that can arise when home culture and peer culture don't always align. 
 
Margaret shares powerful reflections from both her professional work and her lived experience, offering thoughtful insight into how parents can celebrate their heritage while helping their children integrate confidently into the world around them.
 
You can find out more about Margaret and her work here:
YouTube (Echoes of Our Community):
https://www.youtube.com/@MEEWithMargarettaribo/ 
Parenting Skills to Go:
https://www.parentskills2go.org/

How can parents help children recover when things don't go to plan?
In this episode, I'm joined by Ramita Anand, teacher, educational mentor, and creator of the Elevate programme, a mentoring programme supporting preteen girls.
Together, we explore how parents can support children to navigate setbacks, build resilience, and experience repair after mistakes, disappointments, or struggles. We talk about why mistakes matter, how growth actually happens through challenge, and the role parents play in creating emotional safety while not rushing in to rescue.
We also reflect on modelling resilience as parents, normalising difficulty, and helping children learn that struggling doesn't mean failing — it means growing.
You can find more about Ramita and her work at
 https://www.elevate-ra.com/ramita-anand/

What if your child's behaviour isn't about disobedience, defiance, or "pushing boundaries" — but about what's happening in their nervous system?
 
In this episode, I'm joined by Emily Hughes, parenting coach and founder of Finding Flow Parenting, to explore what parents can do to become a nervous-system-aware family.
Emily invites us to move beyond seeing children's behaviour as wilful or intentional, and instead to understand it through the lens of the nervous system. When we do this, she explains, we gain a far more accurate and compassionate picture of what is really going on for our children — and for ourselves.
 
We talk about why behaviour such as running away, aggression, or hitting often reflects a child's nervous system moving into fight or flight, rather than "naughtiness" or defiance. Emily shares how reframing behaviour in this way can reduce shame, soften our parental reactions, and help us stay more grounded in moments that would otherwise escalate.
 
You can find out more about Emily and her work at
https://findingflowparenting.coach/