Low Demand Parenting

Amanda Diekman
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Parenting
  • Updated weekly

The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. Hosted by Amanda Diekman—author, autistic adult, and mom of three—this podcast isn’t about perfection or expert advice. It’s about learning together how to drop the demands that weigh us down and find the ease we crave in our families. Whether you’re navigating neurodivergence, challenging behaviors, or simply the highs and lows of life, this show offers honest conversations, practical insights, and a whole lot of compassion. Let's thrive, even when it feels like life is on level 12 hard.

  1. 1 day ago

    What Burnout Is Really Like

    What happens when your kid is suddenly or persistently exhausted, raging, avoiding school, crying, or withdrawn? What do you call it when your child is struggling day after day? What does it mean when the light goes out of their eyes, when they no longer connect or communicate? We have faced all of that and more -- and discovered that it is a classic part of childhood burnout. It can impact children, teens, and young adults, and is little known, studied, and understood. In this podcast, I share the introduction from my new book, "The Parent's Handbook for Kids in Burnout" (warning: I do cry in reading it to you). If you have felt alone, if you care for struggling families, if you work with parents of neurodivergent kids, I guarantee you need to understand burnout, as it can save lives. FIND THE BOOK (available worldwide in ebook and print) - www.amandadiekman.com/book -- Additional Resources: Explore the new book - the Parent's Handbook for Kids in Burnout Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

    What Burnout Is Really Like

  2. 12 Oct

    Part 2: Deep-diving PDA

    In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Katherine Olson, we deep dive into PDA and why so many of the strategies we're told to use can backfire for PDA kids. We talk about autonomy, neuroception, connection, and the invisible energy underneath our words—and why relationship is probably the most powerful intervention we have. -- ABOUT KATHERINE: Dr. Katherine L. Olson is a licensed clinical psychologist who lives and works on the central coast of California. She is a part-time psychologist and full-time mom and caregiver to two wonderful, neurodivergent kids, one of whom is PDA. Despite her years of training in neurodevelopment, she continually learns and unlearns so much more from her kids than she ever expected (or bargained for!). Through her private practice consultations, she has been privileged to work with many other PDA families along their journey, as well as other professionals who are hoping to better understand and support their PDA clients. Dr. Olson’s hope is to help bring autonomy focused, neurodiversity affirming care to the families who need it most. Learn more about her practice here: https://www.katherinelolsonphd.com/  -- Additional Resources: Explore the new book - the Parent's Handbook for Kids in Burnout Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

    Part 2: Deep-diving PDA

  3. 5 Oct

    Part 1: Deep-diving PDA

    In this first part of a deep dive into PDA from a professional's lens, I’m talking with Dr. Katherine Olson, a clinical psychologist with extensive training in autism, early childhood intervention, and neurodevelopment. But Katie is also a parent who had to completely rethink what she thought she knew clinically, when her own child didn't fit the frameworks she'd been trained to use. Next week we'll talk more about the definition of PDA itself and why so many common parenting strategies fail so spectacularly for PDAers. -- ABOUT KATHERINE: Dr. Katherine L. Olson is a licensed clinical psychologist who lives and works on the central coast of California. She is a part-time psychologist and full-time mom and caregiver to two wonderful, neurodivergent kids, one of whom is PDA. Despite her years of training in neurodevelopment, she continually learns and unlearns so much more from her kids than she ever expected (or bargained for!). Through her private practice consultations, she has been privileged to work with many other PDA families along their journey, as well as other professionals who are hoping to better understand and support their PDA clients. Dr. Olson’s hope is to help bring autonomy focused, neurodiversity affirming care to the families who need it most. Learn more about her practice here: https://www.katherinelolsonphd.com/  -- Additional Resources: Explore the new book - the Parent's Handbook for Kids in Burnout Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

    Part 1: Deep-diving PDA

  4. 28 Sept

    The radical freedom of trusting our kids

    Listen in as I talk with somatic coach and artist Jo Kelly about what happens when we practice truly trusting our children (and ourselves) for the long haul. Jo shares her experience stepping away from traditional schooling and choosing a radically child-led educational path for her children, who are now young adults, including what she learned about feeling our feelings, self-trust, curiosity, and the ways children flourish when we release the expectation of conformity. We talk about how conditioning teaches us to disconnect from our own bodies and feelings, why so many of us struggle to trust our instincts as parents, and what it can look like to create a life where our children are allowed to follow their interests, honor their needs, advocate for themselves, and become who they already are. What if our work isn't to fix or heal our children, but to stop interrupting the incredible humans they already are?  About Jo: Jo Kelly is the founder of To Be Or Not To Act and creator of the 33-Day Reset Journey. For over 30 years, she has explored human instinct, emotional freedom and the conditioning that disconnects us from our natural intelligence. With an MBA specialized in systemics and human resources, her work looks beyond the individual to the family, education and social systems that shape how we learn to behave, express ourselves and trust our own internal signals. She is also directing the documentary Why Isn’t Everyone Dancing?, exploring what happens to our natural freedom and expression as we learn to behave, perform and fit in. Website: https://www.tobeornottoact.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobeornottoact_jokelly/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jo.kelly.77/  About the Podcast: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

    The radical freedom of trusting our kids

  5. 24 Aug

    Parenting a gamer

    DISCOVER THE LOW DEMAND COURSE This powerful 8-week course hones your parenting intuition, builds your self-trust, supports collaborative work with your kid, and yields massive shifts in families. I love it. I hope you love it too. Find out more here.   ABOUT ANDREW Andrew Fishman, LCSW, is a licensed mental health professional in Chicago, where he specializes in the impact of video games on mental health. He earned a master’s degree in social work at Loyola University and is certified to counsel gaming disorder by the International Problem Gambling and Gaming Certification Organization. His new book, Parenting a Gamer, is a comprehensive guide to all the challenges of parenting a gamer. Andrew has written extensively for Psychology Today, and he has been featured in interviews with outlets including The Wall Street Journal, AJ+ and Fintech Beat, among others. Connect with him online.   Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest   The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

    Parenting a gamer

  6. 17 Aug

    How does unschooling work?

    Esther Jones is a long-time unschooling parent who joins me to talk about how kids learn, how we can support learning, and what it looks like to truly trust our kids in their own educational journey. A rich conversation for people regardless of your schooling approach, Esther embodies a conviction that learning is our kids' native state, and that all we have to create a open, trusting, collaborative space, and they will learn in abundance! Meet Esther: - Esther's website: https://www.esther-jones.com/  - Read Esther's book: https://us.jkp.com/products/the-parents-handbook-to-unschooling-yourself  -Explore the Unschooling Summit: https://www.theunschoolingsummit.org/  - Esther's podcast: https://theunschoolspace.buzzsprout.com/  Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

    How does unschooling work?

  7. 13 Jul

    Healing parenting burnout

    What if the reason compassion feels so hard isn't because you're failing—but because your nervous system is protecting you? In this conversation, Melissa Corkum and I explore the concept of "blocked care," why so many parents of high-needs kids experience it, and how shame, grief, and chronic stress can leave us feeling disconnected from the children we love so desperately. We talk about soothing and practical ways to begin restoring connection by caring for ourselves first. ABOUT MELISSA CORKUM: Web: risetoregulation.com Book: Every Parent's Guide to Reclaiming Compassion Email: melissa@risetoregulation.com

    Healing parenting burnout

  8. 9 Jul

    Maternal ambivalence: when you love your kids and sometimes hate parenting

    In this episode, I talk with psychotherapist and researcher Dr. Margot Lowy about maternal ambivalence—the reality that parenting often holds both joy and grief, love and frustration, freedom and limitation all at the same time. We explore why these difficult feelings remain so taboo, how perfectionism and social expectations keep parents isolated, and why naming our experiences can be profoundly healing. Margot shares insights from decades of research and clinical work, reminding us that parenting isn't meant to be perfect. It's messy, interrupted, loving, and deeply human. ABOUT DR. MARGO LOWRY: Dr. Margo Lowy is a psychotherapist and researcher specializing in motherhood and women’s reproductive health. She holds a PhD and Research Masters from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, with a focus on maternal ambivalence and infertility. Her newest book, Maternal Ambivalence: The Loving Moments & Bitter Truths of Motherhood (Post Hill Press, 2025), examines the complex emotions that accompany motherhood. She is also the author of The Maternal Experience: Encounters with Ambivalence and Love (Routledge, 2020), which grew out of her doctoral research, and a contributor to Psychology Today. Through her writing and clinical work, she aims to disrupt the silence surrounding the unspoken realities of motherhood.  Learn more:   - https://drmargolowy.com    - https://www.instagram.com/drmargolowy   - https://www.facebook.com/drmargolowy

    Maternal ambivalence: when you love your kids and sometimes hate parenting
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About

The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. Hosted by Amanda Diekman—author, autistic adult, and mom of three—this podcast isn’t about perfection or expert advice. It’s about learning together how to drop the demands that weigh us down and find the ease we crave in our families. Whether you’re navigating neurodivergence, challenging behaviors, or simply the highs and lows of life, this show offers honest conversations, practical insights, and a whole lot of compassion. Let's thrive, even when it feels like life is on level 12 hard.

Information

  • Creator
    Amanda Diekman
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Amanda Diekman
  • Show Website
    Low Demand Parenting

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