On The Hard Days

10 Episodes
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By: Megan Champion

If you're raising an out-of-the-box kid, you've likely struggled with doubt, guilt, and shame in your motherhood. "Am I crazy?" you've likely wondered. "What am I doing wrong?" You've probably never met another mother raising a neurodiverse child like yours, and truth be told, your mental health has suffered. Host Megan Champion gets it and has a mission to bring connection and support to mothers raising neurodiverse children. Each week, a brave and vulnerable mom shares her story to the world, in the hopes of helping listeners feel seen, heard, and validated. Whether your child has a diagnosis or not...

Ep.202 Mom Chantelle Stieghan on Facing Motherhood Struggles With Humor & Rolling With the (Literal) Punches
#202
12/04/2023

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Chantelle. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-The lack of support when living in a foreign country
-When doctors have never heard of the struggles your child is facing
-Eating disorders as part of being neurodivergent
-How ADHD can look so different in different kids
-How emotional it is to feel alone in your struggles
-Trying to advocate for your child in a different...


Ep.201 Mom Felicia Watkins on Stopping the Cycles of Self-Gaslighting and Judging How She Parents Her Neurodivergent Kids
#201
11/27/2023

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Felicia. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-Raising multiple children with Autism
-Learning how to stop self-gaslighting when looking at your child's struggles
-The exhaustion she feels from trying to meet the needs of all of her kids
-Rolling with the punches while establishing your household "norms"
-How she's practicing self-love with less judgement

Please shower Felicia with love and support by SHARING...


Ep.200!! Celebrating 200 Episodes With Megan Through Vulnerability & Validation
#200
11/13/2023

About This Episode: I'm celebrating 200 episodes today - join me as I reflect on how sharing stories brings us the crucial validation we need.

** HUGE NEWS!! Our next Mothers Together "Open House"  is coming up at the end of the year! At Open House, you'll walk away with actual connections to real moms just like you AND the validation you deserve but often don't receive. I'm thrilled to be able to bring you a taste of how inclusive, safe, and judgment-free the Mothers Together community is. If you are ready to m...


Ep.199 Mom Stephanie Fluger on Asking For Help: Learning to Let Go of Control, Shed Guilt & Anger, and Actually Take Care of Yourself
#199
10/30/2023

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Stephanie. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-The hardships of raising a non-verbal toddler and a baby during Covid with very limited resources.
-Relearning how to ask for help and take care of herself as a stay-at-home mom.
-When everything just feels like too much
-Feeling like we have to do everything and letting go of control
-Why did she feel so angry all the...


Ep.198 Mom Cathy Shields on Acceptance & Understanding of a Neurodivergent Young Adult
#198
10/23/2023

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Cathy. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! 

Please shower Cathy with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story.

Find Cathy at cathyshieldswriter.com!

** HUGE NEWS!! Our next Mothers Together "Open House"  is coming up at the end of the year! At Open House, you'll walk away with actual connections to real moms just like you AND the validation you deserve but of...


Ep.197 Dad Rob Gorski on the "Sudden Detour" of a Massive Regression & Parenting the Kid, Not the Diagnosis
#197
10/16/2023

About This Episode: Today's brand new episode features a dad!!  I'm talking with Dad Rob Gorski. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-How challenging a massive regression was for him to process
-How fevers brought back the "old" child - and going through the grief all over again
-What "survival mode" looked like for him
-How he channeled his struggles into writing and podcasting
-What life looked like as a single dad - and how he chose t...


Ep.196 Mom Taylor Alexander on Surviving & Prioritizing What's Important When Managing a Whole Family With ADHD
#196
10/09/2023

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Taylor. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-How she received an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood and what ADHD looks like for her
-How ADHD looks differently in girls vs. boys
-The process of acquiring stimulant medication for multiple people in the family at the same time.
-How hard it is to leave the house as a family - always preparing for the worst-case scenario
-Figuring...


Ep.195 On The Hard Days is BACK! Here's The Update!
#195
10/08/2023

After a hiatus, we're back, my friends! I'm thrilled to be pushing out new episodes to you starting TOMORROW and every Monday after that.

**You're invited to the Mothers Together "Open House", a virtual gathering to give you a taste of what my Mothers Together community is all about. Be sure to get on the email list, as I'll be sending out more information soon.
Go to
mothers-together.com/openhouse to sign up!


Ep.194 (Replay): Dad Brent Nohl on How Therapy & Meds For YOU Help Your Neurodivergent Kids Become the Best Versions of Themselves
#194
08/07/2023

About This Episode: Dad Bren was the first in a series of dads to join me on the show. He was so vulnerable in sharing what it's like from a dad's perspective to raise a neurodivergent child with challenging behaviors. I'm so excited to you all to hear what he has to say - and if YOU know a dad who might benefit from hearing Brent's story, please send him this episode! Here's just some of what we discussed:

-Frightening febrile seizures
-Play therapy experience with a child with severe ADHD
-Hearing negative...


Ep.193 Mom Courtney Welsh on How Working Through Post-Natal Depression Helped Shape a Positive Mindset to Raise Her Neurodivergent Child
#193
07/24/2023

"I could only find people talking about all the negatives or all the positives. There was no middle ground."

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Courtney. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-What apraxia of speech looked like in her child
-Loneliness during the postnatal depression period
-How she handled judgmental comments from others
-Finding a balance of what to share and how to share it to create a safe...