In this episode of Neuroshambles, Mark Allen is joined by devoted dad and fellow Neuroshambler Mark Holborow, for a refreshingly honest look at the difficulties of holding down a job, while raising neurodivergent kids and trying (often unsuccessfully) to keep those two worlds from colliding.

They discuss naked Zoom call interruptions and the emotional labour of school drop-offs, as well as the guilt, the resilience, and the accidental skillsets parents of ND kids develop.

It’s a cathartic, relatable deep dive into the realities of navigating employment when your home life is anything but typical – with plenty of laughs, rants, and candid talk about autism, ADHD, PDA and neurodivergent parenting.

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CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (Estimated):

00:00 – Intro & Listener Survey Feedback 05:30 – Meet the Guest: Mark Holborough 10:00 – The Challenges of working parents 16:30 – Working from Home with neurodifferent Kids 25:00 – Background chaos, interruptions and client calls 33:00 – The emotional guilt of being the breadwinner 40:00 – Supporting the non-working Parent 53:00 – How open can you be at work? 1:00:00 – Hiding a child at work: Real life stories 1:07:00 – Why parents of neuro-exceptional kids make great employees 1:13:00 – The economic cost of caring 1:26:00 – The Positives 1:29:00 – Neurodiversity Champions 1:33:00 – Tiny Epic Wins 1:37:00 – What the Flip? Moments 1:41:00 – Wrap-up and thanks

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LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE:

• Neuroshambles Listener Survey: https://forms.gle/2wFVupe4HumCYym6A
• LSE Report – The Economic Case for Prioritising Autism in Policy and Reform: http://lse.ac.uk/cpec/assets/documents/Autismeconomics.pdf
• The Sunflower Alliance – raising awareness of hidden disabilities: https://hdsunflower.com/
• BUPA Medical Insurance: https://www.bupa.co.uk/health/health-insurance-ppc-b

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CONTACT US

🌐 Website: www.neuroshambles.com 📧 Email: hello@neuroshambles.com 📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles 🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod 📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles 🧵 Threads: @neuroshambles

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CREDITS

🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: pixabay.com