NeuroDADverse

🎧 Episode 14 – Development wins, School Wobbles & Hair Hammocks

This week, Ben and Dan unpack another emotional rollercoaster in the NeuroDadverse. From Oscar's snack-time independence (and a perfectly sassy strut) to Mabel navigating school photo overwhelm and GCSE prep, this one’s full of vulnerability, advocacy, and the everyday nuance of neurodivergent parenting.

Meanwhile, Dan reflects on quiet but meaningful wins with Frankie, making strides in his toilet journey and growing more confident around spiders.

It’s a week of celebrating progress that doesn’t always shout but matters deeply.

There’s also a difficu...

🎧 Episode 13 – Positive Energy, Car Symbols & School Wins

In this heartfelt episode, Dan and Ben reflect on the surprising joys and ongoing challenges of getting their neurodivergent kids back into the school routine. From bath time meltdowns to unexpectedly peaceful transitions, the dads talk about managing expectations, building emotional safety, and honouring small wins.

Ben shares a special moment where Oscar opens up with emotional insight and compares Ben to a new teacher with “positive energy.” Dan shares Frankie's transition going back to school. Ben explores the balance of being a teacher-parent as Mabel starts se...

🎧 Episode 12 – Shoe Heels, Shelf Battles & Strutting into September

Ben and Dan wrap up summer with a high-energy, high-emotion episode full of wardrobe challenges, unexpected wins, and bold self-expression. As the kids prep for a new school year, Ben takes us through an emotional decluttering session with Oscar, which turns into a sensory-sensitive sorting game (with a surprise echolalia moment).

Meanwhile, Dan reflects on Frankie’s subtle bath-time wins and the return of those school-year anxieties, with a party full of supportive friends, a cinema outing that starts with a strut, and reflections on podcast...

🎧 Episode 11 – Forgotten Needs, Heartwarming Teens & Neurodivergent Room Chaos.

This week on The NeuroDADverse, Ben reflects on a parenting moment where he forgot to communicate accessibility with Oscar and how a simple bedroom reorganisation turned into an emotional reminder about invisible needs.

Dan feels like a new man after sleeping more in the past four days than he has in the past two weeks and shares the challenges involved in engaging with dental appointments.

Lastly, Ben shares a heartwarming story from a beach trip with extended family, as his teens surprise him w...

🎧 Episode 10!

In a very special episode of The NeuroDADverse, Ben and Dan welcome their first guest: Ben’s wife, Laura, who opens up for the first time about her brand new ADHD diagnosis at 44.

This candid conversation unpacks Laura’s experience of going through the assessment process, the emotional weight of late diagnosis, and the joyful, if surprising, validation that followed.

Elsewhere, it’s a week of high emotions, meltdowns, clothes-related identity struggles, and bath time tactics. From family beach days and bowling with noise-cancelling headphones, to hyper-focused DIY and parenting...

🎧 Episode 9 – Transitions, Teen Independence & The First-Ever Perfect Bath

This week on The NeuroDadverse, Ben and Dan reflect on the sometimes messy, sometimes magical balancing act of parenting neurodivergent kids over the summer.

They cover emotional transitions, the challenge of growing teen independence, gaming boundaries, family sleepovers, unexpected sibling support, and how routines don’t always go to plan — especially when you think you've finally cracked them.

Also in this episode: social wins, reflective garden chats, risk-taking with family days out, and the first-ever 10/10 bath time score (complete with nail-cleaning and hair dryi...

🎧 Episode 8 – Finding Comfort in Chaos

This week on The NeuroDADverse, Ben and Dan reflect on the small but powerful wins that make parenting neurodivergent kids so rewarding. From managing tricky transitions at the SEND gym to celebrating social breakthroughs at the beach, it’s a conversation filled with honest insight, humour, and hard-earned lessons.

Oskar navigates a challenging week with moments of self-regulation and self-advocacy, while Frankie’s experience at a sensory-rich bounce house offers lessons in patience, perspective, and letting go of the perfect plan. The pair also explore the value of safe spac...

🎧 Episode 7 – Pride, Parenting & Penalties

In this shorter then usual episode in The NeuroDADverse, Ben and Dan reflect on a summer weekend packed with big moments. From marching at Pride to navigating teenage boundary testing, all while trying to keep family life connected and calm.

Oscar embraces Pride with a homemade non-binary flag, Mabel shines as a supportive ally, and the family enjoys a joyful cinema trip. Meanwhile, a challenging conversation about teen boundaries sparks open, respectful discussions on honesty, independence, and trust.

There’s also football joy (England win!) and the eve...

🎧 Episode 4 – Fashion Shows, Solo Dads & Emotional Throwbacks

In this episode of The NeuroDADverse, Ben tackles two nights of solo parenting that include a sensory-triggered meltdown, an emotional bathroom floor moment, and a makeshift fashion show to help Oscar choose clothes for a beach trip.

Meanwhile, Dan shares a massive win with Frankie around self-initiated haircuts a sensory success with a touch of comic timing. The pair also explore emotional regulation, parent shame, lanyards in public spaces, and the quiet victories we rarely get to celebrate out loud.

💬 Topics t...

🎧 Episode 5 Routines, Transitions & Emotional End of Term

In this episode of The NeuroDADverse, Ben and Dan dive into the complexities of summer routines, end of term emotions and SEND school transitions. From the bittersweet news of a child staying in the same class, to spontaneous sports days and “Champion of Champions” family traditions. This is parenting through chaos with compassion and creativity.

They explore the real reason routines are so hard to stick to (and who they’re really for), how ND kids (and adults) cope with unpredictability, and share some of their best bath...

🎧 Episode 6 – Routines: Who Are They Really For?

This week on The NeuroDadverse, Ben and Dan reflect on the bittersweet emotional load of end-of-term life — school reports, transitional stress, and the tension between creating magical memories and just surviving the week.

They unpack the wins (a 9.5 bath score! an actual family dinner with no meltdowns!) and the challenges (burnout, shifting routines, and navigating neurodivergent logic when school says “just play board games today”). There’s a beautiful reflection on self-advocacy, family pride, and learning to let go of perfectionism in summer planning.

If you’ve eve...

🎧 Welcome to the very first episode of The NeuroDadverse!

In this heartfelt launch episode, Ben and Dan dive into the real highs and lows of parenting children with ASD and ADHD — and navigating their own possible diagnoses too.

🍼 It’s Father’s Day, there’s a surprise dental meltdown, a sensory overload birthday, and a gig that ends with an unexpected emotional breakthrough in the car. This is the unfiltered, unpolished reality of raising neurodiverse kids — from bath time battles to breakthrough moments with first words.

👨‍👧‍👦 Whether you’re a SEND parent, an educator, or neurodi...

🎧 Episode 2 – Heat, Hydration & Holding It Together

In this episode of The NeuroDADverse, Ben and Dan battle through a blistering heatwave with their neurodivergent kids — and all the chaos that comes with it. From sensory meltdowns and nighttime wake-ups to battles over fans, windows, and hydration, the struggle is real.

But it’s not all stress. There are big parenting wins too — like watching a daughter play (and win!) a cup final under pressure, or cracking the code on bath time routines that finally work.

☀️ If you’ve ever tried to parent through a...

🎧 Episode 3 – Prevent Training, Parenting Pressure & Permission to Feel

Dan and Ben reflect on how institutional systems like Prevent training can unintentionally stigmatise neurodivergent traits. It sparks an emotional, wide-ranging chat about justice, advocacy, and the subtle harm of misrepresentation.

But this episode isn’t just about systems. It’s also about the stuff at home: giving your kid Calpol without a meltdown, seeing your teenager self-regulate in a crowd, and how a trip to Tesco can undo you when you’re running on empty.

This is one of our rawest episodes yet — where...

Welcome to NeuroDADverse — the podcast for parents who sometimes feel like they’re parenting on hard mode.

We’re Ben and Dan, two dads raising neurodiverse kids and figuring it out as we go.

If you’ve ever felt isolated at the school gate, overwhelmed at another meltdown, or just unsure if you’re “doing it right,” this is your space.

Each week, we share the real stuff. The wins, the wobbles, and all the spicy-sparkly moments in between.

This isn’t expert advice. It’s lived experience. It’s t...