Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Today we’re taking a fresh, much-needed look at screen time—one that moves beyond fear, shame, and power struggles and into something far more nuanced and humane. My guest is Ash Brandin, also known as TheGamerEducator, and the author of the new book, Power On: Managing Screen Time to Benefit the Whole Family. In this episode, Ash and I talk about screen time through the lenses of social equity and moral neutrality, and why empowering kids with skills, not control, is key to navigating technology well. We also explore practical strategies for managing screen use, how engaging with kids around their interests can change everything, and what a truly collaborative approach to technology can look like inside families. This is a grounded, compassionate conversation for anyone feeling stuck or conflicted about screens and modern parenting.

About Ash Brandin, EdS

Ash Brandin, EdS, known online as TheGamerEducator, empowers families to make screen time sustainable, manageable, and beneficial for the whole family. Now in their 15th year of teaching middle school, they help caregivers navigate the world of tech with consistent, loving boundaries, founded on respect for children, appreciation of video games and tech, and knowledge of pedagogical techniques. Ash has appeared on podcasts including Thinking with Adam Grant, Good Inside with Dr. Becky, and Culture Study with Anne Helen Petersen, and has contributed to articles featured on Romper, Scary Mommy, Lifehacker, The Daily Beast, USA Today, and NPR. Their bestselling book, Power On: Managing Screen Time to Benefit the Whole Family debuted in August, 2025. In their free time, Ash loves to hike, bake, play video games, and spend time with their family.

Things you'll learn from this episode 

How screen time can be reframed more positively when we move away from fear-based narratives

Why understanding social equity issues is essential for having nuanced, moral-neutral conversations about technology

How focusing on access, behavior, and content helps parents manage screen time more effectively

Why empowering kids with skills—and engaging with their interests—builds trust and connection

How creating safe, clear boundaries allows children to explore technology responsibly

Why collaborative approaches (and simple tools like the sticky note trick) make screen time transitions smoother and more supportive

Resources mentioned


Power On: Managing Screen Time to Benefit the Whole Family by Ash Brandin

Ash Brandin on Instagram


The Game Educator (Ash Brandin’s Substack)


The Game Educator (website)


Meryl Alper on Screens & Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age (Tilt Parenting podcast)


Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age by Meryl Alper (via MIT Press website)


Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World by Dr. Devorah Heitner


Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World by Dr. Devorah Heitner


Dr. Devorah Heitner on Online Safety, Internet “Rabbit Holes,” and Differently Wired Kids (Tilt Parenting Podcast)


Dr. Devorah Heitner on the Pros & Cons of “Managing” Our Kids’ Screen Time (Tilt Parenting podcast)


Dr. Devorah Heitner on Parenting Kids Who Are Growing Up Online (Tilt Parenting podcast)


Dr. Alok Kanojia on How to Raise Healthy Gamers (Tilt Parenting podcast)


We Asked Roblox's C.E.O. About Child Safety (Hard Fork episode)

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I know that there are concerns among many families that their child’s self-esteem can be negatively impacted by a label, or that others, including teachers may treat a child differently if they know they have one or more diagnoses, especially because of the stigma associated with neurodifferences. So this is what Dr. Karen Wilson and I get into — demystifying the process and offering suggestions for approaching these important conversations. 

In our conversation, Karen breaks down the kind of language we can use when talking with kids about their diagnosis, as well as how that conversation will likely continue to evolve as our kids get older. We also talked about how to navigate this process with a child or teen who is resistant to labels, why it’s critical that we have all of these conversations from a foundation of prioritizing and recognizing strengths.  and how to have this conversation in a household with neurotypical siblings.

Dr. Karen Wilson is a Clinical Neuropsychologist, Director of West LA Neuropsychology, PC, the founder of ChildNEXUS.com, and the host of the Diverse Thinking · Different Learning podcast. She specializes in the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents, and she has extensive experience evaluating children and adults who present with neurological, medical and psychiatric disorders.

Things you'll learn from this episode:

* What a diagnosis actually is and what it can mean to a family

* How to balance communication surrounding your child’s areas of strengths and weaknesses so the emphasis is not on challenges

* What types of language to use when talking with your kids about their diagnoses, and how to evolve language as kids get older

* How to navigate talking with children and teens about their neurodifferences if they’re resistant to labels or being “otherized”

* Best practices for talking about diagnoses in households with neurotypical siblings

* How to give kids the tools and empowerment they need to ultimately feel confident navigating situations in their lives where they are judged by their diagnosis and related stigma

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Today’s episode is a little different—it’s just me, revisiting the Tilt
Manifesto I wrote back in 2015 as part of my development of Tilt
Parenting. In this solocast, I share the context in which that manifesto
was born, what was happening in my own life as a parent of a
neurodivergent child at the time, and why there felt like such an urgent
need to challenge the dominant parenting narratives around compliance,
productivity, and “normal.” This is a look back — and a look forward —
rooted in gratitude, curiosity, and hope.

Resources Mentioned

The Tilt Manifesto 

Jonathan Field’s podcast The Good Life Project
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Today we’re exploring unschooling—not just as an educational choice, but as a deeply personal and often healing journey for parents themselves. My guest is Esther Jones, an unschooling mother of three, the founder of The Unschool Space podcast, and the author of The Parent’s Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. Esther was led into unschooling by her own children, who challenged her to unravel long-held beliefs about parenting, learning, and neurodiversity. Esther and I talk about what it really takes to step away from conventional expectations and learn to trust children’s natural learning processes. We also explore the emotional work parents often need to do along the way, the importance of self-care and community support, and how mindfulness and self-compassion can become essential tools as families build lives beyond traditional schooling—ones where both kids and parents can truly thrive.

About Esther Jones

Esther Jones is an unschooling mother of three, founder of the The Unschool Space podcast and author of the recently published The Parent’s Handbook to Unschooling Yourself.Esther was led into unschooling by her children, who have helped her unravel years of conditioned beliefs around parenting, children, learning and neurodiversity. Today, she supports other parents in transforming their mindset and building a life beyond traditional schooling in which their children and themselves can thrive, using mindfulness and self-compassion as the foundational tools for change.

Things you'll learn from this episode  

How unschooling requires parents to unlearn old beliefs and embrace the discomfort that signals growth

Why trusting children to lead their own learning allows them to explore in organic, joyful ways

How self-care and community support strengthen a parent’s ability to show up for their child in an unschooling environment

Why each child’s needs may look different from their parent’s—and how modeling our own passions supports their learning

How online resources can expand support networks and deepen confidence for unschooling families

Why the unschooling journey often becomes a healing process for parents as much as a learning journey for kids

Resources mentioned

Esther Jones’ website


The Parent’s Handbook to Unschooling Yourself by Esther Jones

The Unschool Space Podcast

Esther Jones on Instagram

Esther Jones on Substack


A Conversation with Dr. Naomi Fisher on Self-Directed Learning (Tilt Parenting podcast)


Blake Boles and His Book, Why Are You Still Sending Your Child to School? (Tilt Parenting podcast)


Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School? The Case for Helping Them Leave, Chart Their Own Paths, and Prepare for Adulthood at Their Own Pace by Blake Boles


The Art of Self-Directed Learning: 23 Tips for Giving Yourself an Unconventional Education by Blake Boles


Blake Boles on the Gift of Unschooling (Tilt Parenting podcast)

 

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This week I’m talking with Dr. Lynyetta Willis about navigating the journey when a child is newly diagnosed with a neurodifference. A psychologist turned family coach, Lynyetta specializes in empowering women in their relationships, as well as combines her foundation in psychology and trauma healing with best practices in empowerment coaching to help her clients strengthen their parenting, partnerships, and personal growth to create joyful, connected, and harmonious families. 

There are so many things I could have talked about with Lynyetta, but I wanted to dig into what happens to a couple, and a family, when a child is newly diagnosed — an often challenging and real process for many parents of differently wired kids. We talk about the sister emotions of grief and
guilt, the importance of self-compassion and self-care in the process, how to handle different reactions in partnerships, and more.

 About Lynyetta

Dr. Lynyetta G. Willis, psychologist and family empowerment coach, helps frustrated families break unhelpful patterns and cross-generational cycles so they can move from stable misery into peaceful harmony. She helps her clients and audiences learn to strengthen their parenting, partnership, and personal growth practices so they can feel harmony in their hearts and homes.

 

What You'll Learn in this Episode:

The difference between practicing clinical psychology and coaching work

What are the common emotions after a diagnosis and how to process them in a healthy way

Lynyetta’s PATHS framework: Perspective, Awareness, Tools, Healing, Self-Empowerment

Tips for getting on the same page as parenting partners

What is meant by the term “stable misery”

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