TPP 182: A Conversation with Autism and Neurodiversity Support Specialist Kristy Forbes
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
48 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 12 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the purpose of radical acceptance for autistic children?
I think families need to be supported to tune into who their children actually are. And Look at what their challenges are and find supportive ways. of assisting them. to get the help that they need that way, rather than just taking this entire human being, not even looking at who they are, and just going, Okay, autism means we have to make them something they're not, because it traumatises them.
Welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. I'm your host, Debbie Rieber, and this week I have a very special episode for you. As my guest is Autism and Neurodiversity Support Specialist, Christy Forbes. Christy is the parent of four autistic children and has an abundance of emotional, practical, and lived experience, both working with and raising children who are neurodivergent. She has an extensive background in early childhood education and psychology. And as you'll hear from our conversation, is passionate about radical acceptance without the need or intention to fix, change or cure, particularly in regards to children.
Christie was diagnosed as autistic at age 33 herself and has committed herself to working with children and adults on the autism spectrum with a special interest in people who, like her, have a PDA expression. She provides support through her organization Intune Pathways. Chrissy and I share a deep conversation in this episode about how parents can truly tune in to who their children are and show up for them in a way that reflects true respect for their children's neurodivergence. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including the PDA profile of autism, how parents can get clear about their intentions when exploring interventions for their children on the spectrum, how to support families through periods of intensity and very difficult behavior and the trauma that can result when children are perpetually in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode because they're being forced to conform to a way of being that isn't true to who they are.
Christy is a wise and genuine spirit who is doing healing work for so many families. I'm grateful to be able to share this conversation with you. And now here is my conversation with Christy. Hello Christy, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for
having me. I'm really excited to be here.
I'm thrilled that we were able to make this work despite the fact that we are on opposite sides of the globe. And uh And as I I was just saying before I hit record, you have been perhaps the most requested guest that I've had recently for the podcast. Like I've been getting a number of emails, including just yesterday, saying you have got to have Christy Forbes on the show. So I'm really happy we could make this work.
That is amazing. That just feels like such an honour to me. It's really lovely to hear.
Well, for those of you who weren't requesting and who may not be familiar with your work, would you just take a few minutes to just tell us a little bit about yourself and about the work that you do?
Yeah, sure. So I am an autistic person. And I also have a PDA profile of autism, which isn't well known about at this point, but I'm also the mother of four autistic girls. I have a background as an educator, so I worked in early childhood, primary and secondary. And then I worked for a little while as a childhood behavioural and family specialist, so supporting families whose children had a social, emotional or behavioural difference. Uh and now I'm in business for myself. So I I work to support families raising neurodivergent children. So Children who may be autistic or have ADHD or any form of difference to create. Really joyful. balanced lives that work for them. Um so I work in consultation with autistic adults as well.
And I run a few programmes and webinars. So that's what I do in a nutshell.
It's fantastic. Yeah. You have I really like your social media presence as well. You've had some really powerful posts that I've seen shared in a number of groups.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the purpose of radical acceptance for autistic children?
0:00–7:23
2
How does Kristy Forbes describe the PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile?
7:23–13:18
3
Why do many neurodivergent families end up in crisis?
13:18–19:22
4
How can parents clarify their intentions before choosing interventions?
19:22–25:08
5
What role does parental intuition play in supporting autistic kids?
25:08–30:25
6
How does the fight‑flight‑freeze‑fawn cycle affect demand‑avoidant children?
30:25–36:00
7
What practical strategies help families recover from trauma and reduce aggressive behavior?
36:00–41:59
8
Where can listeners find Kristy’s resources and support programs?
41:59–48:49
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