Kate and Mandy talk to peafessional Rebecca, founder of ADHD advocacy and events organisation My Special Child and the National Peke Centre, which offers positive, strengths-based clinical support for ADHD, autism, anxiety, sensory challenges and regulation.

Rebecca has lived experience of ADHD and is a pea mum to children with ADHD and intellectual disabilities. Rebecca also has a neurodivergent partner and mother, so is well immersed in the neurodivergent community in both work and life! She is committed to educating the community about ADHD and addressing all the misunderstandings, lack of awareness and stigma that can be so damaging and harmful.

Rebecca started My Special Child and the National Peke Centre to address the lack of support and availability of accurate, reliable information for parents. At the Peke Centre, a range of different peafessionals offer support that leaves kids and families feeling good about themselves! Rebecca plans to set up dedicated schools in the future to help better address the needs of neurodivergent peashoots who may be experiencing discrimination and exclusion from mainstreams schools.

Rebecca offers advice and tips for parents and educators, reflects on the lack of formal training in ADHD for educators and provides great information about PDA (pathological demand avoidance) – including understanding what capacity a child has to process and respond to a demand in the moment, and having realistic expectations about how consistent a child can actually be. 

Kate, Mandy and Rebecca also reflect on the shift in parenting skills needed to best care for a neurodivergent child, including letting go of the parenting tactics learned from our Baby Boomer parents, such as demanding compliance no matter what. Rebecca encourages everyone to keep accepting that there’s always something to learn to help us better support neurodivergent kids and adults!

Find Rebecca at My Special Child and the National Peke Centre!

Laugh/Cry/Make A Difference things to follow up:

·     Mandy is laughing at Netflix series Motel Makeover

·     Kate is loving the podcast Chickstory – please go and listen so she can enjoy a big boost in her downloads!

Other Pea Business

·      Buy our book The Invisible Life Of Us to keep it on the bookshelves so all the other Peas can find it!

·      Get a signed copy and deck yourself out in some excellent Too Peas merch here!

·      Melbourne forecast for Thursday September 9 – Wind easing, mostly sunny, 24 degrees

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