TPP 516: A Conversation with Dr. Gila About Supporting Single Parents of Neurodivergent Kids
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
34 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 9 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What unique challenges do single parents of neurodivergent children face?
I'm Debbie Reaver, and this is Full Tilt Parenting. Today we're talking about a parenting experience that comes with its own unique set of challenges and complexities: raising neurodivergent kids as a single parent. My guest is Dr. Gila. She's a clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, certified parenting coach, and a single mom who is passionate about helping parents support complex kids with compassion and connection. Dr. Gila has her own podcast called Single Parenting with Connection, Not Perfection, which I guested on recently, and I just had such a good conversation I had to bring her on to talk to you guys. So today we're gonna explore the realities of solo parenting neurodivergent kids, including the emotional load, decision fatigue, the constant balancing act that so many single parents face, and creating more sustainability in daily.
life, especially when you don't have someone living with you to hand the baton to. This is a very validating and encouraging conversation for any parent caring a lot and especially for those who are doing it on their own. So here's Dr. Gila on raising neurodivergent kids as a single parent. Hey Gila, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you. I'm so excited. Such a big fan of the show and of you. Thank you for having me here. And I also wanted to say thanks for like creating space for this topic, single parenting, because I think sometimes it's overlooked and so I appreciate you making space for that.
Thank you. Well, I'm so happy that we've connected and I had such a good conversation. You had me on your podcast. And I was like, I need to bring Gila onto my show because I agree. It is an overlooked conversation. And when you're already marginalized for one or multiple ways of parenting a neurodivergent kid, then to feel like even within that marginalized community, you have a separate experience is really isolating, I imagine.
Yeah, it's isolating and right, this sort of common experience of people don't get it, right? So you're often in spaces where it feels like people don't really fully understand what your experience is.
Well, that's why I'm so glad that you do the work that you do and you do support parents navigating a single parenting journey. But let's talk about your story. I'd love parents to understand who you are and how you came to be doing this work and what your why is.
Yeah. So I actually started out as a clinical psychologist and a neuropsychologist and I do have a separate therapy practice in New York State, a virtual practice. But what I like to say is that even with all of my fancy degrees and background and experience, single parenting, a neurodivergent kid, I think like nothing Has stretched me more. inspired me more, taught me more, challenged me more than this parenting journey. And so we had some challenges of our own that I was struggling to navigate. And I took a deep dive into trying to figure out how to support my kid through all of that in a way that was aligned with my own values. And of course that in and of itself is its own journey, right? Figuring out your own
parenting values and how to kind of thread those needles. as it were. And in that process I became really passionate about supporting other parents. And I do support partnered parents and single parents, but because of my lived experience and my passion about supporting single parents, I do have a lot of clients who are single parents.
Before I hit record, I was mentioning that I have a number of folks in my community who are single parenting for, you know, whatever their circumstances are and it kind of stops me when we're having a discussion about something and they'll mention this and I'm like, oh yeah, like it's a whole other layer, right? And so I'm wondering if we could start there and if you could share with us what are some of the I guess realities of being a single parent of a neurodivergent kid that people who are outside of that experience may not even be aware of.
Yeah, and I also, as you were talking, I was reminded at the beginning of my business was debating whether to really lean into the single parent niche.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What unique challenges do single parents of neurodivergent children face?
0:03–6:18
2
How did Dr. Gila’s personal journey shape her approach to single parenting?
6:18–11:46
3
Why does grief, worry, and emotional exhaustion commonly appear for single parents?
11:46–17:44
4
How does the “sink model” explain mental, emotional, and cognitive overload?
17:44–23:05
5
What practical tools (stop‑drop‑roll, compassionate reframing) help during dysregulation?
23:05–28:00
6
Why are community, audio journaling, and support groups essential for sustainability?
28:00–33:34
7
How can single parents create values‑based decisions and prioritize connection?
33:34–34:41
8
What final words of hope and resources does Dr. Gila offer to overwhelmed single parents?
34:41–34:58
Speakers
1 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