Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Dr. Gail Post, the psychologist behind the popular Gifted Challenge blog, joins me to talk about her book, The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children, which combines research, theory, and clinical experience, and extends her advocacy efforts to address the needs of parents of gifted children.

In this episode, we dive into the realities of parenting gifted and 2e kids — the common challenges parents experience as part of their journey, why it can sometimes feel uncomfortable to celebrate our child’s accomplishments with others and how that impacts our kids and us, and how to handle our own expectations and pressures we may feel because of our child’s unique learning profile. We also explore what many families of gifted kids' experience as a complicated relation with the word “potential,” as well as how we as parents can manage our own uncomfortable emotions that may arise in parenting our kids, including anxiety, envy, and guilt.

 

ABOUT GAIL
Gail Post, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist, parenting coach and consultant, workshop leader, and writer. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in practice for over 35 years, she provides psychotherapy with a focus on the needs of the intellectually and musically gifted and twice-exceptional, parenting coaching and workshops, and consultation with educators and psychotherapists. Dr. Post is the parent of two gifted young adults and served as co-chair of a gifted parents advocacy group when her children were in school.

THINGS YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE

The common challenges parents raising gifted and 2e kids may experience as part of their journey

Why parents of gifted kids feel intense pressure surrounding their
child’s educational path and how that can negatively impact families

Why the word “potential” is a loaded one for many families, and how parents can change their relationship with this concept

Why anxiety is common amongst parents raising gifted or 2e kids

The unique challenges BIPOC parents raising gifted kids face

Why self-awareness is the roadmap to attuned parenting when raising gifted and 2e kids

About Gail PostThings you’ll learn from this episode
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In this special 10-year anniversary and 500th episode of Tilt
Parenting, I’m turning the spotlight toward the community that has
shaped the show from the beginning. I’ll share key findings from a new
parent survey about the lived experience of raising neurodivergent kids,
including the profound isolation many families feel and the hard-won
confidence parents develop as they learn to support their children. But
the bulk of this episode features reflections from longtime community
members on how the neurodiversity conversation has evolved over the past
decade, how this journey has changed them personally, and where they
believe the movement needs to focus next. Across their stories, common
themes emerge: greater visibility and language around neurodivergence,
deeper compassion and nervous system awareness, the importance of
community, and the urgent need for more empathy and change in schools,
healthcare, and other systems that still lag behind what families and
research already know.

 

Things You'll Learn from this Episode

Why a lack of understanding across schools, communities, and social circles remains the biggest struggle for families

How parenting neurodivergent kids can feel exhausting and isolating—and how finding language and community can be life-changing

Why so many parents are discovering their own neurodivergence, highlighting this as a whole-family journey

How parents are growing more compassionate, self-aware, and willing to trust alternative paths while holding both grief and hope

Why the future calls for systems change and a stronger commitment to
connection-first, strengths-based support for neurodivergent kids

Resources Mentioned

The Tilt Parenting Report

Zach Morris

Ned Johnson 

Dr. Mona Delahooke’s website


Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported by Emily Kircher-Morris and Amanda Morin

Neurodiversity University Education Hub

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Supporting 2e students continues to be one of the biggest challenges for those of us raising twice-exceptional children, and today we’re going to do a deep dive into how to do this. Maria Kennedy, director of the Bridges Educational Group at Bridges Academy joins me to talk about how the definition of giftedness in some countries keeps gifted students from getting into gifted programs, the importance of appreciating every child’s unique strengths and value, and ways parents can advocate for their children’s unique learning profile, even within their existing school systems that may not be designed to support or understand neurodivergent learners.

 

ABOUT MARIA KENNEDY

Maria Kennedy first joined the Bridges Academy staff as the director of the Phoenix Program. After successfully growing the program each year, she has taken on the position of director of the Bridges Educational Group. A speaker, author, and advocate, Maria has been featured on “Bright and Quirky,” as a panelist and educational expert. Several schools have used her webcast, ‘Strengths, Challenges, and my journey as my son’s advocate,” for teacher training. An educator for almost 30 years, Maria received her B.Ed. and M.Ed. in education from Manchester University (U.K). She earned Advanced Teacher Status from the Manchester Department of Education for her ability to develop curriculum and her skills within the classroom. She traveled internationally, teaching students and training teachers how to tap into the strengths of their gifted and challenged students.

THINGS YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

 How the definition of giftedness in some countries prevents gifted students from getting into gifted programs

Why we should lean into widening the scope of what giftedness means so we can properly identify everyone’s gifts

What appreciating everyone’s unique value can bring to a child’s education and development

What the roadblocks are for our educational system to be more open to embracing the changes needed

How parents who are navigating a traditional educational system can advocate for their 2e children

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Listen to an episode of Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box, about the messy realities of neurodiverse parenting with journalist and radio host Jessica Shaw. As a mom of two, she brings honesty and humor to the everyday chaos, victories, and challenges of raising kids who learn and think differently.

In this episode, I’m the guest, and I share the story of how we ended up homeschooling—something I truly never imagined choosing. We had tried everything to make traditional school work… multiple schools, supports, specialists. Homeschooling was never part of the plan. But when life shifted in a big way, we found ourselves on a completely different path—one that lasted six years and changed how I think about learning, kids, and what success can look like.

If you’ve ever found yourself doing something you swore you’d never do, or questioning the path you thought your family would be on, I think this conversation will resonate.
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Today we’re talking about what it really means to thrive in a world that often feels overwhelming—for our kids and for us. My guest is Stephanie Malia Krauss, author, speaker, and strategist whose new book How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World explores the urgent need to protect the human essentials—things like sleep, play, connection, and wonder—that modern life so often erodes. Stephanie and I explore the idea of “rehumaning” how we live, learn, and parent. We talk about the interconnectedness of body, mind, heart, and spirit, and the importance of collective care in raising kids in today’s world. Stephanie shares practical, grounded ways to navigate overwhelm and make small shifts in daily life that can help families move from merely surviving to truly thriving.

 

About Stephanie Malia Krauss

Stephanie Malia Krauss is an author, speaker, and strategist helping leaders rehuman how we live, learn, and work. Her newest book, How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World, examines the urgent need to protect the human essentials—like sleep, play, connection, and wonder—that modern life diminishes or denies.

Stephanie's commitment to this work began as a teacher and coach, where she witnessed how different environments can deplete or restore people. She later founded a school for young people furthest from opportunity, and now leads national and state efforts in education and youth development. Working with leaders from classrooms to Congress, Stephanie advises states, districts, and national organizations through her consulting shop, First Quarter Strategies. Stephanie is also the author of Whole Child, Whole Life: 10 Ways to Help Kids Lives, Learn, and Thrive and Making It: What Today’s Kids Need for Tomorrow’s World.

Things you'll learn from this episode 

Why collective care and community are essential antidotes to modern overwhelm and burnout

How the practice of rehumaning helps us reconnect with our core human needs

Why honoring the interconnectedness of body, mind, heart, and spirit is key to real resilience

How small, intentional shifts in daily rhythms can meaningfully improve family well-being

Why thriving means living in full animation—rooted in love, belonging, and advocacy—not just enduring

 

Resources mentioned


How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World by Stephanie Malia Krauss


Rehumaning Childhood (Stephanie’s Substack)

Rehumaning website


Geoffrey Cohen on Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides (Stanford Digital Education)

Stephanie Malia Krauss’ website


Whole Child, Whole Life: 10 Ways to Help Kids Live, Learn, and Thrive by Stephanie Malia Krauss


Making It: What Today’s Kids Need for Tomorrow’s World by Stephanie Malia Krauss

Whole Child, Whole Life website


How We Can Prepare Differently Wired Children for an Uncharted Future, with Stephanie Malia Krauss (Tilt Parenting Podcast)


How to Help Our Kids Thrive in Tough Times, with Stephanie Malia Krauss (Tilt Parenting Podcast)


Making It: What Today’s Kids Need for Tomorrow’s World by Stephanie Krauss


Dr. Eric Soto-Shed (Harvard researcher)

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