TPP 271: Suicide and Suicidal Tendencies in Neurodivergent Teens & Children, with Dr. Matt Zakreski
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
39 min
2 speakers
4 chapters
transcribed 13 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the purpose of this episode and who is the expert guest?
When we talk about that with our kids, it's about holding space. And what I w when I say to clients and intakes and when it comes up is My job my number one job is to keep you safe. I'm never gonna make a decision without talking to you. When feelings like that come up, it's our job to think about all the options that are presented to us. Everything from yes, we need to go out to a hospital right now to maybe I need a day off from school. Right. And like you need to trust me as the adult in the room to know what those options are and how to connect you to them. And I need to trust you, my child or children, to tell me what's going on in your in your mind, but also in your heart.
Welcome to Tilled 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 before I get to today's episode, I wanted to share a trigger warning that this episode explores topics that might be difficult to hear about, including suicide and suicidal ideation. I've been wanting to have this conversation with Dr. Matt Zagreski for a long time because I think suicide is a really important topic to demystify and bring to light, especially in the current state of the world. doctor Matt is a high energy creative clinical psychologist who utilizes an eclectic approach to meet the needs of his neurodiverse clients.
He is a consultant, a professor, and a researcher on giftedness, the co founder and lead clinician at the Neurodiversity Collective, and is also a member of Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted and the National Association for Gifted Children. I've seen Dr. Matt speak about heavy topics in a way that felt approachable and actionable, so I wanted to share his insights and wisdom for listeners whose child is dealing with heavy feelings or suicidal ideation. During our conversation, we talk about how COVID has impacted the mental health of kids, how to hold space for the difficult conversations surrounding suicide, breaking past the fear of talking about it, and the importance of parents seeking support for themselves too.
This is such an important conversation to be having right now. If this resonates with you or you know of communities who would benefit from listening to this honest dialogue about a topic that often goes undiscussed, please share this episode. And also don't forget to check out the show notes page for more resources. You can find that at tiltparenting dot com slash session two hundred seventy one. And now here is my conversation with Matt. Hey Matt, welcome to the podcast.
Oh, I am so happy to be here.
I am really, I don't know if excited is the right word for the conversation we're about to have, but I feel very drawn to bring this conversation to the podcast. And it's just such an important topic right now, more than ever. And I knew you were the person I wanted to bring on the show to talk about this because of your experience. I've seen you speak about lots of complicated, heavy subjects that we're gonna get into today. So I've already read your formal bio, but would you spend a few minutes introducing us in your own language, what you do in the world? Sure.
Um, so hi, I'm Dr. Matt Zukraski. Uh, I'm a clinical psychologist. Uh everybody calls me Dr. Matt, so I'll invite you guys to do the same. Um, and I specialize in working with neurodiverse kids and teens, specifically gifted, twice exceptional, kids on the spectrum. It's something that as you know, someone who grew up as gifted, I realized sort of in my own educational career that like there's a lot of great resources for kids who are doing who fit the box of education and there aren't as many resources for kids who don't. And when I got to graduate school, I thought, this is what I want to do. These are the kids I want to work with and I can help sort of smooth their paths a little bit. And, you know, I try to wear a lot of hats, therapy, intelligence testing, advocacy.
I give a lot of talks.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the purpose of this episode and who is the expert guest?
0:00–13:37
2
How does Dr. Matt Zakreski describe his work with neurodivergent children and teens?
13:37–21:00
3
How has the COVID‑19 pandemic changed mental‑health risks for kids?
21:00–38:57
4
What is suicidal ideation and how does it differ from active plans?
38:57–39:40
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