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

In this special episode, I’m joined by my husband, Derin, for a candid and heartfelt reflection on our journey together—more than eight years of parenting, navigating relationship shifts, and supporting our neurodivergent child through adolescence and into early adulthood. This is a personal conversation for us, one where we open up about what this path has really looked like behind the scenes.

We talk about how our partnership has evolved over time, the challenges we’ve faced individually and together, and the ways we’ve learned to stay connected through some very intense seasons. We also share what’s helped us—communication, honesty, a willingness to grow—and how we’ve come to better understand each other while showing up for our child. This is an honest look at the complexities of parenting and partnership, and what it means to keep choosing each other along the way.

About Derin Basden

Derin Basden is a seasoned and accomplished leader with a proven track record in technology, design, and operations, gained through working with major multinational corporations, including NBCUniversal, Disney, and Microsoft. He is also the husband of Debbie Reber, the founder of Tilt Parenting, and a dedicated supporter of her work. He is enthusiastic about his role on the Tilt Team and is committed to contributing to the movement that empowers neurodivergent children to achieve their full potential. Derin leads technology and finance operations for Tilt, and ensures the smooth functioning and effective execution of Tilt’s mission.

Things you'll learn from this episode 

How family life evolves through moves, global stressors, and the transition from childhood to young adulthood

Why adolescence reshapes family dynamics and invites growth for both parents and kids

How maintaining a strong partnership through communication, shared routines, and intentional connection supports the whole system

Why respecting autonomy while staying connected is essential when parenting a neurodivergent young adult

How simple rituals—like walks, humor, and honest conversations—help rebuild and sustain connection

Why self-regulation, honesty, and ongoing personal growth are key to navigating changing roles within the family

Resources mentioned 


Debbie & Derin on Their Parenting Journey: Part 1 (Tilt Parenting podcast, 2017)


Debbie & Derin on Their Parenting Journey: Part 2 (Tilt Parenting podcast, 2018)

Derin Basden - LinkedIn

Minecraft Mods mentioned (Inventory Pets, Animania, Better Invisibility)

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Dr. Gail Post, the psychologist behind the popular Gifted Challenge blog, joins me to talk about her book, The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children, which combines research, theory, and clinical experience, and extends her advocacy efforts to address the needs of parents of gifted children.

In this episode, we dive into the realities of parenting gifted and 2e kids — the common challenges parents experience as part of their journey, why it can sometimes feel uncomfortable to celebrate our child’s accomplishments with others and how that impacts our kids and us, and how to handle our own expectations and pressures we may feel because of our child’s unique learning profile. We also explore what many families of gifted kids' experience as a complicated relation with the word “potential,” as well as how we as parents can manage our own uncomfortable emotions that may arise in parenting our kids, including anxiety, envy, and guilt.

 

ABOUT GAIL
Gail Post, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist, parenting coach and consultant, workshop leader, and writer. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in practice for over 35 years, she provides psychotherapy with a focus on the needs of the intellectually and musically gifted and twice-exceptional, parenting coaching and workshops, and consultation with educators and psychotherapists. Dr. Post is the parent of two gifted young adults and served as co-chair of a gifted parents advocacy group when her children were in school.

THINGS YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE

The common challenges parents raising gifted and 2e kids may experience as part of their journey

Why parents of gifted kids feel intense pressure surrounding their
child’s educational path and how that can negatively impact families

Why the word “potential” is a loaded one for many families, and how parents can change their relationship with this concept

Why anxiety is common amongst parents raising gifted or 2e kids

The unique challenges BIPOC parents raising gifted kids face

Why self-awareness is the roadmap to attuned parenting when raising gifted and 2e kids

About Gail PostThings you’ll learn from this episode
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In this special 10-year anniversary and 500th episode of Tilt
Parenting, I’m turning the spotlight toward the community that has
shaped the show from the beginning. I’ll share key findings from a new
parent survey about the lived experience of raising neurodivergent kids,
including the profound isolation many families feel and the hard-won
confidence parents develop as they learn to support their children. But
the bulk of this episode features reflections from longtime community
members on how the neurodiversity conversation has evolved over the past
decade, how this journey has changed them personally, and where they
believe the movement needs to focus next. Across their stories, common
themes emerge: greater visibility and language around neurodivergence,
deeper compassion and nervous system awareness, the importance of
community, and the urgent need for more empathy and change in schools,
healthcare, and other systems that still lag behind what families and
research already know.

 

Things You'll Learn from this Episode

Why a lack of understanding across schools, communities, and social circles remains the biggest struggle for families

How parenting neurodivergent kids can feel exhausting and isolating—and how finding language and community can be life-changing

Why so many parents are discovering their own neurodivergence, highlighting this as a whole-family journey

How parents are growing more compassionate, self-aware, and willing to trust alternative paths while holding both grief and hope

Why the future calls for systems change and a stronger commitment to
connection-first, strengths-based support for neurodivergent kids

Resources Mentioned

The Tilt Parenting Report

Zach Morris

Ned Johnson 

Dr. Mona Delahooke’s website


Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported by Emily Kircher-Morris and Amanda Morin

Neurodiversity University Education Hub

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Supporting 2e students continues to be one of the biggest challenges for those of us raising twice-exceptional children, and today we’re going to do a deep dive into how to do this. Maria Kennedy, director of the Bridges Educational Group at Bridges Academy joins me to talk about how the definition of giftedness in some countries keeps gifted students from getting into gifted programs, the importance of appreciating every child’s unique strengths and value, and ways parents can advocate for their children’s unique learning profile, even within their existing school systems that may not be designed to support or understand neurodivergent learners.

 

ABOUT MARIA KENNEDY

Maria Kennedy first joined the Bridges Academy staff as the director of the Phoenix Program. After successfully growing the program each year, she has taken on the position of director of the Bridges Educational Group. A speaker, author, and advocate, Maria has been featured on “Bright and Quirky,” as a panelist and educational expert. Several schools have used her webcast, ‘Strengths, Challenges, and my journey as my son’s advocate,” for teacher training. An educator for almost 30 years, Maria received her B.Ed. and M.Ed. in education from Manchester University (U.K). She earned Advanced Teacher Status from the Manchester Department of Education for her ability to develop curriculum and her skills within the classroom. She traveled internationally, teaching students and training teachers how to tap into the strengths of their gifted and challenged students.

THINGS YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

 How the definition of giftedness in some countries prevents gifted students from getting into gifted programs

Why we should lean into widening the scope of what giftedness means so we can properly identify everyone’s gifts

What appreciating everyone’s unique value can bring to a child’s education and development

What the roadblocks are for our educational system to be more open to embracing the changes needed

How parents who are navigating a traditional educational system can advocate for their 2e children

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Listen to an episode of Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box, about the messy realities of neurodiverse parenting with journalist and radio host Jessica Shaw. As a mom of two, she brings honesty and humor to the everyday chaos, victories, and challenges of raising kids who learn and think differently.

In this episode, I’m the guest, and I share the story of how we ended up homeschooling—something I truly never imagined choosing. We had tried everything to make traditional school work… multiple schools, supports, specialists. Homeschooling was never part of the plan. But when life shifted in a big way, we found ourselves on a completely different path—one that lasted six years and changed how I think about learning, kids, and what success can look like.

If you’ve ever found yourself doing something you swore you’d never do, or questioning the path you thought your family would be on, I think this conversation will resonate.
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