School Struggles. Sobriety Milestones. & Kitchen showdowns | NeuroDADverse Ep.23 cover art

School Struggles. Sobriety Milestones. & Kitchen showdowns | NeuroDADverse Ep.23

School Struggles. Sobriety Milestones. & Kitchen showdowns | NeuroDADverse Ep.23

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🎧 Episode 23 of The NeuroDADverse podcast, Dan and Ben open up about a week filled with radical acceptance, a kitchen showdown and a sobriety milestone.


We unpack:

  • The emotional toll of watching your child struggle with school
  • How ND kids are often perceptive in ways mainstream education can’t support
  • Ben’s personal reflection on 8 years of sobriety and how it’s shaped his parenting
  • A Frankenstein movie night that turned into a conversation about ADHD and misunderstood monsters 👀
  • What “soft skills” really mean for our kids and how current assessments leave them behind
  • As always, our wins of the week, bath time scores, and a look ahead at more parenting curveballs.


If you’ve ever felt like school isn’t built for your neurodivergent child or like you’re parenting without a map, this one’s for you.


⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Welcome to The NeuroDADverse

01:00 – Our Week in Three Words

03:30 – Dan’s Challenge: Frankie’s School Joy & ND Development Isn’t Linear

09:00 – Ben’s Challenge: Mabel’s School Struggles and Radical Acceptance

14:00 – A System Not Built for Our Kids (Education Deep Dive)

16:45 – Curriculum Failures: Exams vs Soft Skills

20:00 – Alternative Assessment Gaps (Why video essays aren’t accepted?)

22:00 – Parenting Through It: Empathy, Not Shame

23:00 – Wins of the Week: Ben’s 8-Year Sobriety Milestone

28:00 – Movie Night Meltdown: Frankenstein, ADHD, and Parental Projection

33:00 – Film, Themes, and Family Banter

38:00 – The Joy of the Rollercoaster: Parenting and Cinema

42:00 – Looking Ahead: Colleges, Appointments & Zoo Trips

45:00 – Cinema as a Safe Space: Oscar’s Journey

48:30 – Bath Time Scores: From Epic to Exhausting

52:00 – Reflections on Growth, Support & Letting Go

55:30 – Outro: You’re Doing Great. You Are Enough. You’re Not Alone.


🎙️ Two dads. One mission. Raising ND kids in a very NT world.


💡 If this episode resonates, whether you’re a zebra, a stripy horse, or still figuring it all out. There’s space for you in the NeuroDADverse.


🔔 Subscribe for weekly real-talk on neurodivergent parenting

📢 Like, share, or leave a comment to help more families find us

📧 Get in touch: neurodadverse@gmail.com


🌐 Find us in all the usual places:

linktr.ee/NeuroDADverse


🎧 Listen on:

•Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/NeuroDADverseApple

•Spotify: bit.ly/NeuroDADverseSpotify


📺 Watch full episodes + clips:

Spotify: bit.ly/NeuroDADverseSpotify

YouTube: youtube.com/@NeuroDADversePodcast


🔗 Hashtags:

#NeurodiverseParenting #SENDLife #AutismAdvocacy #ParentingPodcast

#NeuroDadverse #DifferentNotLess #ADHDDads #AutismFamily #EmotionalRegulation

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