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Beautifully Complex — Kids & Family
Beautifully Complex

Parenting a neurodivergent kid is one of the hardest things you will ever do. If you are exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering why nothing seems to work, this is the place for you.

I am Penny Williams, parenting coach, author, and mom who’s in the trenches alongside you. Each week on Beautifully Complex, I bring you honest conversations and real strategies for raising kids with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and learning differences. Our kids aren’t broken, just wired differently.

My work is grounded in the SIGNAL Framework™, a nervous-system-first approach I developed around one core truth: regulation is required before any skill or strategy can take hold.

Every episode delivers insights you can actually use to reduce your stress, rebuild your confidence, and create a family life that feels good for everyone in it. I’ve helped thousands of families worldwide, and this community is here for you too.

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex–6137613/support.

Copyright: © Copyright Penny Williams

Latest Episodes:

194: Helping Your Child Discover Their Greatness, with Cathy Domoney Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

I truly believe that we all have greatness within us. Each and every one of us. My guest for this episode, Cathay Domoney, believes this wholeheartedly as well, and it’s one of the core tenets of her work with children and families. Listen in as Cathy shares her process to help kids discover their own individual greatness. We talk about the mindset and “pure filter of love and curiosity” required to truly allow our kids to discover their authentic selves and shine, which starts by stripping away the expectations of culture and others. You’ll learn how to build a relationship with your child that provides sacred space for exploration (and mistakes) so they can discover themselves… and their greatness.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

193: Keeping Your Child Safe Online with Titania Jordan Oct 20, 2022

Show notes

Parenting is hard. Parenting kids in this generation is even harder. Our kids today have a lot more potential pitfalls — and risks — to navigate with the internet and social media. And we parents have that whole additional world of risk to help our kids navigate. It’s vast, it’s tricky, and it’s scary. In this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast, I’m talking with Titania Jordan with Bark Technologies. Listen in to learn all the dangers our kids face online as well as important conversations to have with your kids about these risks and tools and strategies to keep them safe. This is a very difficult but important topic and a must-listen for all parents.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

192: Are You Applying Too Much Pressure? With Penny Williams Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

Are you pressuring your child? You may not realize when you’re adding pressure, but you are very likely doing it often and not recognizing it. Neurodivergent kids don’t do well under pressure. It’s dysregulating and actually makes them less capable of actually doing the thing you’re pressuring them to do. In this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast, I outline how we pressure our kids, what the pressure does to them and why we should stop, and what to do instead.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

191: Discovering How Your Child Thinks and Feels, with Dawn K. Brown, MD Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

When you don’t have ADHD yourself, it’s really how to know how your child with ADHD thinks and feels. Even if you do have ADHD too, the experience is different for each individual with ADHD, meaning it’s different for your child than it was and is for you. Yet, it’s important for parents to know what life is like for your kids so we can help them thrive. In this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast, I’m talking with Dr. Dawn Brown of the ADHD wellness center about how to discover how your child thinks and feels. We cover a variety of perspectives and topics including development, intense feelings and big emotions, sensitivity and rejection sensitive dysphoria, dysregulation, meeting your child where they are, and more…
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

190: Calming Techniques for Kids (and Parents) Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

If there’s one tool we all need for life in this world — kids and parents — it’s calming techniques. In this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast I explain the role of the vagus nerve and our autonomic nervous system in getting us activated and feeling unsafe, and then list more than 20 tools and techniques to use for calming yourself or your child, by stimulating the vagus nerve to calm the nervous system.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

189: When Mom or Dad is Neurodivergent Too, with Terry Matlen, MSW Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

Seeing that ADHD and autism can be genetic, it stands to reason that there are many neurodivergent parents raising neurodivergent kids. Terry Matlen is one of them, but she’s also an expert on ADHD, especially in women. In this episode, Terry shares the feelings of guilt and inadequacy she felt raising her kids, because she struggled with many of the daily tasks due to her ADHD. She also offers some simple strategies to help make things like preparing meals and cleaning up more manageable when you may be struggling with executive functioning skills yourself.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

188: School Struggles Are Real — Here’s How to Help, with Penny Williams Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

One in five children has a learning disability or attention issue that causes school struggles. In the U.S. alone, that’s approximately 56.6 million students (Educationdata.org). And yet, we continue with an educational system that is solely focused on conformity and compliance. It is built for your average student with little consideration for those that can’t succeed in that system, even though they are virtually required to. My own son is one of those students and, despite a gifted intelligence, he graduated high school feeling stupid and worthless. He’s one of millions with a similar experience and that’s just not ok. That’s why I created the free, online School Struggles Summit. In this podcast episode, I’m sharing some of the amazing insights and strategies from the experts in the Summit. You have actionable strategies here in this overview and the opportunity to register for the Summit and learn so much more to help your struggling child or student have the opportunity to succeed in school (in their own way).
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

PAP 187: Compliance vs. Regulation, with Greg Santucci Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Most of our systems that involve children are designed on the compliance model — that’s true in parenting and educating. We’ve leaned on compliance in our educational system since the 1800s, and it’s been part of our parenting culture for centuries. And yet, neuroscience has now taught us that there’s a monumentally better way. Through research we know that our neurobiology is a driving force in behavior — particularly our autonomic nervous system and our brain. We know that there are sensitivities and differences in our neurodivergent kids’ neurobiology too, making it crucial that we adopt this brain-based lens when responding to and managing behavior. In this episode, OT Greg Santucci, explains why focusing on regulation (and dysregulation) are both a more effective and more humanistic approach than compliance. He also provides some actionable mindset shifts and strategies to help you implement a regulation model right away.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

PAP 186: Ensuring a Smooth Start to the New School Year, with Stephanie Pitts & Rachel Kapp of Learn Smarter Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

Most parents look forward to the start of a new school year. Their kids no longer need to be entertained all day every day and they get a bit of a break. However, if you the parent of a neurodivergent kid who struggles in school, you probably dread the start of a new school year — I know I did. In this episode of the Beautifully Complex Podcast, I’m talking with educational therapists, Stephanie Pitts and Rachel Kapp about how to create a plan for a smooth start to the school year. You’ll learn about the 3 systems you need to support, how to simplify, and the communication necessary for your child to have a good school year.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

185: The Art of Talking to Children, with Rebecca Rolland, Ed.D. Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

The way we talk to our child matters. Not only does it become the little voice inside their heads and influence how they feel about themselves, but it can foster connection, build communication skills, and inspire confidence and resilience. In this episode, Rebecca Rolland, Ed.D. shares her formula for Rich Talk and other strategies from her book, “The Art of Talking with Children: The Simple Keys to Nurturing Kindness, Creativity, and Confidence in Kids.” Learn how to implement reflective and active listening with your child and what benefits you and your child will be rewarded with when you do. Rebecca’s strategies help engage kids, make them feel seen, heard, and validated, and nurture their relationship with you.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.
You can find additional resources at parentingadhdandautism.com. It's not just about the struggles, it’s about progress, one step at a time.

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