What happens when what you’re told is “right”… doesn’t feel right?
That’s the question at the heart of this episode with Leah—and if I’m being honest, it’s one that brought me right back to a chapter of my own life.
Because long before we had the language we have now—before terms like neurodivergent were part of everyday conversations—I found myself sitting in classrooms, having a very different kind of conversation.
Not as a teacher.
But as a mother.
🌱 When You Become the One Teaching the System
There was a time when I wasn’t just advocating for my child—I was trying to help the school system understand them.
Trying to explain behaviors that didn’t fit neatly into the expectations of the classroom.
Trying to bridge a gap between what was being seen… and what I knew to be true.
And the truth was simple, even if it wasn’t easy:
My child wasn’t broken.
They were different.
But at that time, we didn’t have the same awareness, tools, or conversations around neurodivergence that we do today.
There wasn’t the same understanding of how differently a child’s brain could process the world—how they could feel things more deeply, respond differently, or struggle in environments that simply weren’t designed for them.
So I had a choice to make.
💭 To Diagnose… or to Trust
I chose not to pursue a diagnosis.
Not because I didn’t believe something was different.
But because, at the time, I believed something else more strongly.
I believed that if my child could learn to understand themselves—
if they could learn how they worked, how they felt, how they moved through the world—
they would find their way.
Even in a world that didn’t always understand them.
That choice didn’t come from certainty.
It came from intuition.
From a quiet, steady knowing that I was doing everything I could to help my child not just fit in…
but thrive.
🔄 Looking Back with New Awareness
Now, with everything we know today about neurodivergence…
I might make a different choice.
And I can say that honestly.
Because today, there are more tools.
More support.
More language.
More understanding.
And that matters.
But here’s what also matters:
We make the best decisions we can with the knowledge we have at the time.
And at that time…
I was trusting myself.
🌿 The Conversation That Comes Full Circle
My child is now in their mid-20s.
And we’ve had conversations about those choices.
Real ones.
Honest ones.
Not from a place of regret…
but from a place of reflection.
Because now, the decision is theirs.
They get to choose:
Do I want to explore a diagnosis?
Do I want a label?
Do I want to understand myself in that way?
Or not.
And that, to me, is the most important part of all of this.
Not the label.
Not the system.
Not even the decisions I made.
But that they now have the awareness—and the autonomy—to choose for themselves.
🎧 Where Leah’s Story Meets Mine
This is why Leah’s story resonated so deeply with me.
Because at its core, her journey isn’t just about motherhood, or business, or even neurodivergence.
It’s about something much more universal:
The moment you realize that what works for everyone else…
might not work for you.
And the courage it takes to trust that.
Even when it’s hard.
Even when it’s uncertain.
Even when it means doing things differently.
💛 Trusting Yourself Is a Practice
If there’s one thing I’ve learned—both in my own life and through stories like Leah’s—it’s this:
Trusting your intuition isn’t a one-time decision.
It’s a practice.
It’s something you return to… again and again.
Especially in the moments where the path isn’t clear.
Especially when the world is telling you one thing…
and something inside of you is saying another.
🌙 A Final Reflection
Sometimes we don’t get it “perfect.”
Sometimes we look back and wonder what we might do differently now.
But that doesn’t mean we got it wrong.
It means we were listening…
as best as we knew how.
And sometimes…
that’s exactly what our children need most.
Not perfection.
But a parent willing to trust themselves—
while teaching their child to do the same.
Loving and Healing with you,
Heather
