In brief: Co-parenting neurodiverse children after divorce

This week, Kate is joined by Jo Thurston from Action for Children's Parent Talk to discuss co-parenting children with neurodiversity after divorce. Jo shares some tools and tips that can make the whole process smoother, helping your children feel included and making sure you and your co-parent are on the same page. Parenting a neurodiverse child means that both parents should focus on effective communication, consistency and understanding to help their child thrive.

About the episode:

Jo starts by defining neurodiversity and giving a quick overview of some of the most common neurodivergent profiles, for example ADHD, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia. Kate and Jo move on to discuss the nuances of co-parenting neurodiverse kids and how to keep your communication with an ex-partner child-focused. They finish off with some actionable tips to help you in the process.

Here are some of the points they cover in this episode to help on your co-parenting journey:

• The importance of consistency when co-parenting
• How to talk to your children about divorce
• How to smooth the transition between two homes after separation or divorce
• Tips for communicating with your ex-partner, with insights from Jo Thurston from Action for Children’s Parent Talk

About our guest:

Jo is a co-ordinator at Action for Children’s Parent Talk service, which offers free online advice for parents and carers of children aged 0-19. The service also supports families with disabled and neurodivergent young people up to age 25.

Its confidential 1:1 live chat service connects parents and carers directly to an experienced parenting coach for judgement-free practical advice and emotional support, while its online advice content answers to some of the most common parenting questions.

Jo first joined Action for Children in 2018 as a Family Support Worker in a Children’s Centre. She has a background working in schools and pastoral care, with a particular interest in supporting families impacted by SEND._ _

More resources:

Visit Parent Talk to read parenting advice or to chat online with a parenting coach. You can also learn more about the charity on Action for Children's website.

To help your children prepare for handovers, you can use Mum’s House Dad’s House or My Home tools from Elsa Support.

Try the amicable co-parenting app free for three months. Share calendars, track expenses and communicate clearly. iPhone: Redeem your three months free via this link Android: Download the app and create an account. At the paywall, choose your payment method, select 'Redeem code' and enter DIVORCEPODCAST.

We'd love to know how we can help you further. Share your questions on divorce, separation and co-parenting with us at hello@amicable.co.uk, through direct messages on Instagram or by starting a new forum thread on amicable’s advice forum. They might be the topic of our next podcast!

You can also get in touch with amicable for more information on the legal, financial and parenting aspects of separation. Book a free 15-minute consultation with an amicable expert today.