Differently Wired Children and the Gifts they Bring to Our Lives

Today my guest is Debbie Reber. Debbie is a parenting activist, New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and speaker who, before creating TiLT, spent more than fifteen years writing inspiring books for women and teens and speaking about issues like media literacy, self-esteem, and confidence. But when Debbie learned that her son Asher was differently-wired, she spent years figuring out how to best support him in school and in life, recognizing how incredibly difficult it was to find solid, reliable, useful, and most of all optimistic, information for parents like her. Many of the websites and organizations that did exist didn’t speak to her, nor did they help her figure out a plan for getting Asher what he needed while supporting herself in the process. Her best leads came from word-of-mouth from other parents who’d been down the road before her, but even then, figuring out what to do and where to turn next was like going geocaching without a GPS. She created TiLT so parents stuck in this place of not-knowing and frustration can feel connected and grounded as they move forward in figuring out what their child needs in a way that feels positive and hopeful for the whole family. Since 2002, she’s written ten books, including Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World , which was published by Workman Publishing in June 2018. Her most recent books for young adults include Doable: The Girls’ Guide to Accomplishing Just About Anything   and Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You . Before forging her own career path, Debbie worked in TV and video production, producing documentaries and PSAs for CARE and UNICEF, working on Blue’s Clues for Nickelodeon, and developing original series for Cartoon Network. She has an MA in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research and a BA in Communications from Pennsylvania State University. In December 2018, Debbie, her husband, and 15-year-old Asher relocated back to NYC after living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands for five years. Debbie is an avid runner, traveler, and hiker, and claims reality shows as her guiltiest of pleasures.    To find out more about TiLT parenting go to: https://tiltparenting.com/about/ Or  https://www.instagram.com/tiltparenting/     I have so much gratitude for everyone who has been listening to the Joyfull Parenting Podcast and joining the community of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=40232525 !   If you haven’t already,  please subscribe to the podcast. It’s also super duper helpful to me if you rate it, review it and share it with others!    If you are looking  to work with me one-on-one as your parenting/caregiving coach you can do so  by clicking on this link with  https://www.patreon.com/user?u=40232525. You can also find me on Facebook and IG @joyfullparenting