Neurodiversity Podcast

12/29/2025

In this episode, Emily Kircher-Morris talks with psychologist Dr. Danika Maddocks about twice exceptionality, when giftedness and learning differences coexist, and why so many bright kids are misunderstood, overlooked, or supported too late.

They unpack:
🧠 Why giftedness can mask learning disabilities
📊 How traditional assessment models fall short
🎭 The emotional cost of masking and compensation
💡 Why compassionate understanding can be life-changing

When we look beyond performance and toward processing, we create space for clarity, equity, and support.

🎧 Listen to Episode 298 at the link in our comments.

12/23/2025

Our host, Emily Kircher-Morris, and her co-author, Amanda Morin, Author and Consultant, were honored by having their book, Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted and Supported, included on this Best of 2025 Book List! ❤️

The GGSC's education team picks some of the most thought-provoking, practical, and inspirational education books of the year.

12/19/2025

Are we measuring intelligence or just measuring exposure?

In Episode 297, Dr. Jack Naglieri explains why many assessments miss the strengths of multilingual learners, culturally diverse students, and neurodivergent kids.

Process-based assessment helps us understand:
✨ How students think
✨ Where their cognitive strengths lie
✨ How to support learning more effectively

Swipe through the carousel for key ideas from the episode, and listen at the link in our comments.

12/17/2025

The CAS doesn’t just diagnose, it reveals what traditional testing often misses.”

In this clip, Dr. Jack Naglieri explains how the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) helps uncover learning disabilities, identify twice-exceptional learners, and guide meaningful instructional planning.

It’s not about labeling kids.
It’s about finally seeing the thinkers they’ve always been.

🎧 Listen to Episode 297: Measuring Thinking Rather Than Knowledge

12/15/2025

Episode 297 is here! Measuring Thinking Rather Than Knowledge with Dr. Jack Naglieri

In this reprise episode, Emily Kircher-Morris sits down with renowned psychologist and assessment researcher Dr. Jack Naglieri to explore a question that still shapes education today:

👉 What if intelligence tests measured how we think, not what we already know?

They discuss:
• Why traditional verbal-heavy tests miss so many students’ abilities
• How biases in assessment affect multilingual learners & neurodivergent students
• The origins of PASS Theory (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous & Successive processing)
• How cognitive process–based testing offers a clearer, more equitable picture of student strengths
• Why measuring thinking can change how we support learning, intervention, & gifted identification

Dr. Naglieri’s work fundamentally shifted how we understand intelligence, and this conversation is more relevant than ever.

🎧 Listen to Episode 297 at the link in our comments.

12/13/2025

RSD isn’t “overreacting.” It’s a neurological response that hits without warning.

In this reprise episode, Dr. Bill Dodson breaks down the emotional intensity of Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria and why understanding it is essential for supporting ADHDers.

Swipe through ⬅️ to explore the differences between RSD and social anxiety, and why compassion (not criticism) is the path forward.

🎧 Listen now to Episode 296: Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria at the link in our comments

12/12/2025

“Rejection Sensitivity Disorder (RSD) doesn’t give warnings. It just hits.”

In this clip, Dr. Bill Dodson explains why ADHD medication and supportive relationships matter so deeply in managing Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria.

RSD episodes don’t arrive on a schedule, and they’re not a choice.
People don’t need judgment. They need understanding, regulation, and care.

🎧 Listen to Episode 296: Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria

12/10/2025

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) is one of the most misunderstood aspects of ADHD.

In this powerful reprise episode, Emily sits down again with Dr. Bill Dodson to revisit one of the most impactful conversations we’ve ever had about ADHD, emotional dysregulation, and Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria.

Together they explore:
🧠 Why RSD feels so overwhelming for ADHDers
💔 The difference between RSD and social anxiety
🔍 How early experiences shape emotional responses
🤝 Why supportive relationships are critical for healing
📘 The need for updated diagnostic criteria

Whether you’ve lived it, loved someone through it, or are trying to understand it better, this conversation brings clarity to an often misunderstood experience.

🎧 Listen to Episode 296: Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria with Dr. Bill Dodson at the link in our comments.

12/05/2025

Inclusion isn’t a placement; it’s a practice.

“Schools should be a place where everyone belongs.” — Tim Villegas

In Episode 295, we talk about what it takes to move inclusion beyond intention toward daily, lived belonging in every classroom.

🎧 Listen at the link in our comments

12/04/2025

Don't miss your chance to join Sarah Ward live!

This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from Sarah Ward, one of the most respected experts in executive functioning.

In this 90-minute workshop, she’ll share simple, powerful strategies to help kids and teens manage time, get started, and follow through, all using a brain-based approach that actually sticks.

Hosted by Elizabeth Sautter, Essential Executive Functioning: Routines, Regulation & Readiness takes place on Monday, December 8, and includes replay access + bonuses.

🎓 $47 (or $67 with CE hours)
📅 9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET

👉 Claim your seat before registration closes at the link in our comments.

12/04/2025

When Santa brought up the naughty-or-nice list, we gently reminded him that labeling people based on compliance isn’t exactly neurodiversity-affirming. He said he’d take that under advisement and created a new list called ‘Creative, Passionate, and Occasionally Overstimulated.’ We accepted.

Having fun at the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented conference at the .