Advice from clinical psychologist and author of “How to have incredible conversations with your child” Dr Bettina Hohnen?
This article summarizes the Nip in the Bud Podcast on Neurodiversity, the brain, child development, behaviour, setting boundaries, mental skills.
- What is considered neurodiversity?
- How do you explain neurodivergent to someone?
- What are some of the conditions that are classed as neurodiverse?
You might like to start by reading the short Nip in the Bud blog piece called: What is neurodiversity? .
And then listen to our enlightening podcast How to parent and educate neurodiverse brains with our Educational Consultant Alis Rocca in conversation with Clinical Psychologist Dr Bettina Hohnen.
Here are some of the topics covered by with Dr Bettina:
Neurodiversity – is a relatively new term, which describes the differences in the way people’s brains work, how we all process information differently and interact with the world in unique ways.
- Being neurodivergent is not a disability, it’s a divergence, which is just a difference
- It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong, it’s just different, brains work differently
- Neurodivergence includes Autism, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Tourette’s Syndrome
- Bettina discusses the myths around neurodivergence
Parenting and child development – Bettina talks about the different parenting roles through the phases of a child and young person’s development
- Being a comforter – from birth to two years
- Being a coach – two years to early teens
- Being a counsellor – early teens to age 17
- Being a consultant – 18 through adulthood
How should we set boundaries? Being firm but kind
- By setting boundaries we are keeping children secure
- By monitoring socialising online, we are safeguarding what they’re exposed to at different times of their development
- By limiting screentime we’re creating a healthy balance
- By setting boundaries we are helping children to solve problems
What is Attachment Theory in child development?
- As social beings, relationships between humans are crucial to survive
- Relationships formed early in life form the basis for future relationships
- It’s important for children to form a bond with a parent or caregiver to help them feel secure
- How can teachers become an attachment figure?
What are the different parts of the brain responsible for?
- the emotional part of the brain is called the amygdala
- the logical/thinking part of the brain is called the pre-frontal cortex
- the executive functions (or set of mental skills) are in the frontal lobes of the brain which help manage day to day life
- the development of the brain continues up to age 25 which is vital to understanding how children and young people process different experiences, manage their emotions or respond to stress, and how we as carers can respond to those differences.
How do I deal with a child when they’re angry?
- Take time for the child to calm down, for their emotions to die down
- Once the child is calmer later, they can use their thinking brain to be able to listen and resolve the issue
What does a Growth Mindset mean? The belief that people can improve or develop their abilities through learning and effort. This can foster a “Can do” approach, helping children see obstacles as something that can help them learn, improve and build resilience.
What does a Fixed Mindset mean? The belief that people’s qualities or abilities are fixed and can’t be changed. This can lead to inflexibility with the person feeling unable to achieve and then giving up.
What are Executive Functions or Mental skills? And how to build up skills such as:
- Self-control
- Working memory
- Flexible thinking
- Self-regulation
…and why these skills are important.
The importance of teachers understanding neurodiversity so they can develop adaptive teaching skills:
- Is bad behaviour dictated by a child’s Executive Functions skills deficit or is it just naughty behaviour?
- What is going on emotionally with the child when they are acting up or misbehaving?
- Can making adjustments to help a child improve the child’s behaviour?
The 3 Cs:
- Curiosity – be curious to avoid mislabeling children’s behaviour and punishing it
- Compassion – detaching behaviours from the individual child and getting adults to find ways to speak to children in more compassionate ways, helping them with strategies and techniques or pathways that might help them with their executive function skills, interactions with others and ultimately good mental health outcomes.
- Courage – Adults need to be flexible and find keys to unlock how the child’s brain works.
The Nip in the Bud Podcast gives the opportunity for our experts to do a deep dive into some valuable discussions to which we couldn’t do justice in a short film.
Each episode will feature our Educational Consultant Alis Rocca in conversation with a range of specialists and educational professionals on many topics and to share best practice, as well as giving members of the community a voice to share their own stories.
We hope you enjoy our podcasts and let us know if there’s anything you have a curiosity about, as a parent, carer or a professional who works with children or young people.
