TPP 167: Dr. Rita Eichenstein Offers Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
41 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 5 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the purpose of the episode and who is the guest Dr. Rita Eichenstein?
We have to bust the stigma of shame. Our children, your children, the children I work with every day, they have a right to this world. They belong here and they are special. And it's these out-of-the-box children that are going to be our future leaders. And we have to prepare the world for them. But not just that, we have to be proud of them. So they throw tantrums in the grocery store and throw themselves on the floor. So what?
Welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. My name is Debbie Reber, and I'm the host of this show. And today my guest is Dr. Rita Eikenstein, a licensed psychologist who specializes in pediatric neuropsychological assessments and parent training skills. Rita's areas of expertise include learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, autism spectrum, gifted populations, as well as counseling parents of all ages. She's also the author of the award winning book, Not What I Expected, Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children. Rita is committed to helping parents find more peace in their unexpected parenting journey, and toward that end is very in tune with the emotional journey many parents move through from the moment they first discover their child is atypical.
In our conversation today, she is going to walk us through the five stages of acceptance. They're similar to the stages of grief, but modified for parents of differently wired kids. And Rita will share her insights from working with parents like us about what typically gets in the way of accepting who our children are, as well as what to do about it. And before I get to that, I wanted to make a special invitation to my newer listeners out there. I know there are a lot of you as the podcast is just about to hit one and a quarter million downloads. So if you are newer to this podcast and maybe just discovering Tilt, I wanted to be sure you knew what other resources are available to you. On the Tilt Parenting website, you can find all the previous episodes of this show, all 166 of them, searchable by neurodifference or topic.
You'll also find an in-depth resources page, again, broken down by neurodifference and topic. There are blog posts and articles, the Tilt Manifesto, which is the manifesto I launched Tilt with nearly three and a half years ago. And you'll also find the Differently Wired 7-Day Challenge, which is a free mini course where every day for seven days, you'll receive a short daily video highlighting one practical, actionable thing you can start doing right away to make a real change in the way you think, feel, and act in relation to your child. That challenge also comes with a downloadable PDF mini workbook, so you can work through the challenges and keep track of your observations. as well as an invitation to a private Facebook group just for people who have done or are doing the challenge.
You can also download a free chapter from my book Differently Wired if you haven't read that and learn how to connect with other Tilt community members near you. Lastly, on the website, you can sign up for my short weekly updates where I share upcoming events that you don't want to miss. I highlight news articles relevant to parents like us. And I always share a short personal message from me to you. So you can find all of that over at TiltParenting.com. I hope to see you there. And now without further ado, here is my conversation with Rita. Hey, Rita, welcome to the podcast. Hi, Debbie. Glad to be here. So could you start us off today by introducing yourself? Tell us a little bit about your work and in this particular space of working with Differently Wired Kids.
Oh, absolutely. So I'm a psychologist and a pediatric neuropsychologist, and I'm also an author. I wrote a book for parents. And primarily, I have a private practice in Los Angeles, California. My life work has been to create diagnostic and an assessment environment that's warm and supportive. And I came to realize that understanding that the child is not a single unit.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the purpose of the episode and who is the guest Dr. Rita Eichenstein?
0:00–6:02
2
How does Dr. Rita define “atypical children” and why did she coin the term?
6:02–11:07
3
What are the five stages of acceptance for parents of neurodivergent children?
11:07–16:36
4
Why is busting the stigma of shame important for families of atypical children?
16:36–21:42
5
How can parents move from denial to anger and then to constructive coping?
21:42–25:55
6
What strategies help a parent whose co‑parent is stuck in denial?
25:55–31:42
7
How can families access low‑cost advocacy, support groups, and public services?
31:42–37:54
8
Where can listeners find Dr. Rita’s book, blog, and additional resources?
37:54–41:24
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids