Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Research psychologist Dr. Rachel Kowert comes back to the podcast for a fascinating and updated conversation about kids and gaming, and why so much of what parents hear about video games doesn’t necessarily line up with what the research actually tells us. In our conversation, we dig into Rachel’s new white paper, Raising Good Gamers, and unpack the research around violent video games, gaming disorder, mental health, and the social, emotional, and skill-building benefits gaming can offer. Rachel also shares her SPACE framework, a practical approach for helping parents move beyond fear and toward curiosity, connection, and collaborative boundaries around their kids’ gaming lives.

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About Rachel Kowert, Ph.D

Rachel Kowert, Ph.D is a research psychologist, award winning author, and globally recognized leader in facilitating policy development for more than 15 years through data-driven research focused on mental health and trust and safety in digital games. She has spoken about her work to thousands of people across the globe, including the United States Congress, United Nations, and Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Kowert is the founder of Psychgeist, a multimedia content production studio for the intersection of science and games, which includes Psychgeist YouTube channel (200+ videos), Most Recent Save podcast, and The Psychgeist of Pop Culture and Games book series’ published by Play Story Press. She currently serves as the Research Director for Games for Change and is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge.

Things you'll learn from this episode

How the conversation around kids, screens, and video games is evolving as research challenges common fears and assumptions

Why violent video games aren’t directly linked to real-world violence and what “gaming disorder” actually means

How increased gaming can sometimes signal underlying mental health challenges or serve as an important coping strategy

Why gaming can support friendships, connection, confidence, competency, and executive function skills

How the SPACE framework helps parents stay engaged and curious about their child’s gaming world

Why collaborative, flexible boundaries can support healthier gaming habits while preserving connection and trust



Resources mentioned

Dr. Rachel Kowert’s website

Raising Good Gamers website

Games for Change

Games for Change on Instagram

Games for Change on Facebook

Entertainment Software Association (ESA)

The Truth About Video Games and Your Child’s Physical, Social, and Psychological Well-Being with Dr. Rachel Kowert (Tilt Parenting podcast)

A Parent’s Guide to Video Games: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Video Games Impact Your Child’s Physical, Social, and Psychological Well-Being by Dr. Rachel Kowert

Purplicious Cow on CurseForge



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Performance poet and advocate LeDerick Horne talks about his journey with a hidden disability, his advocacy work, and how he found his love for poetry.
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Today I’m talking with Dr. Phil Boucher, a board-certified pediatrician who’s particularly interested in helping families understand and support kids with ADHD and help parents better understand their child, trust their instincts, and make informed decisions about what their family needs.

This is a unique conversation for the show because, for the first time, we’re looking at the whole journey through the lens of a pediatrician, especially in those early years when parents may be wondering what they’re seeing, whether to pursue an evaluation, and where to begin. Phil walks us through how he approaches ADHD in his practice, from evaluation and diagnosis to sleep, nutrition, screens, school supports, emotional regulation, anxiety, and medication, and offers a thoughtful, comprehensive look at supporting the whole child and family.

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About Phil Boucher, MD

Phil Boucher, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician, a dad of six, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics who helps parents make sense of pediatric education and development.

After years of answering thousands of parent questions in clinic (and at home), he realized what parents really need isn't more advice—it's honest perspective and practical reassurance from someone who gets it.

He writes, speaks, and creates resources that help parents trust their instincts, understand their child, and take care of themselves along the way.

Things you'll learn from this episode

How ADHD can look different across childhood, with hyperactivity often appearing earlier and inattentive traits becoming clearer over time

Why family history and parents’ own childhood experiences can provide important clues when exploring ADHD

How emotional regulation and executive functioning are central parts of ADHD, beyond inattention and hyperactivity

Why a comprehensive ADHD evaluation should consider sleep, nutrition, school experiences, family history, and other factors

How practical supports like movement, protein, and visual checklists can make everyday routines more manageable

When medication may be helpful and why it’s best viewed as a tool for building skills rather than controlling behavior

Resources mentioned

Dr. Phil Boucher’s website

Dr. Phil Boucher’s Substack Dear parents

Phil on Instagram

Cindy Goldrich on Helping Kids with ADHD Thrive—Without Losing Yourself (Tilt Parenting podcast)

Kim & Penn Holderness Talk About How ADHD is Awesome in Love and in Life (Tilt Parenting podcast)

Ned Hallowell on How Parents Can Best Support Their Children with ADHD (Tilt Parenting podcast)

Dr. Sharon Saline on What Our ADHD Child Wishes We Knew (Tilt Parenting podcast)

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My guest this week is Steve Silberman, an award-winning science writer who authored the 2015 book NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, a brilliant book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently. Steve’s articles have appeared in Wired, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, the MIT Technology Review, and more.

In our conversation, Steve and I talk about neurodivergence, autism, acceptance, tolerance, changing cultures, systemic change, and so much more. As a science writer who researched the history of autism in writing his book for more than five years, Steve brings an incredible breadth of knowledge, as well as passion for the neurodiversity movement, to the show. By the end of this interview I was inspired and motivated for the changes to come, and grateful there are thought leaders like Steve doing this important work in the world. I hope you enjoy our conversation!



Things you’ll learn from this episode

The impetus for Steve’s book NeuroTribes

How and why the anti-vaccine movement has negatively affected the autistic community

The real impact of language like “epidemic” in relation to neurodifferences like autism

How Steve’s book NeuroTribes has been received by members of the autistic community

Steve’s thoughts on how parents raising neurodiverse kids can best support the neurodiversity movement

The importance of autistic peer mentoring



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I’m talking with developmental psychologist Dr. Peter Gray about his new book, Restoring Childhood: How to Set Kids Free in the Age of Anxiety, which challenges one of the dominant narratives about the youth mental health crisis: that smartphones and social media are largely to blame for the rise in anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges among kids. Peter argues that this picture is incomplete, and that when we look more closely at the data and at what has changed in childhood over the past several decades, a very different story emerges.

So today we dig into what Peter believes we’re missing when we focus so much attention on screens, including the rise of intensive parenting and overprotection, the loss of independence and free play, and especially the increasingly stressful and demanding role that school plays in children’s lives. We also talk about why kids need unstructured time, autonomy, and opportunities to take age-appropriate risks, and Peter shares practical ideas for giving our kids more freedom to build confidence, resilience, and a stronger sense of agency.

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About Dr. Peter Gray

Dr. Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. He has conducted and published research in neuroendocrinology, developmental psychology, anthropology, and education. He did his undergraduate study at Columbia University and earned a Ph.D. in biological sciences at Rockefeller University. His current research and writing focus primarily on children’s natural ways of learning and the life-long value of play. He has helped found and continues to support nonprofit organizations aimed at bringing more play and independent activity to children’s lives.He is the author of an internationally acclaimed college introductory psychology textbook (Psychology, now in its 8th edition), which views all of psychology from an evolutionary perspective, and of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life.

Things you'll learn from this episode

How Peter Gray defines childhood as a gradual process of growing independence, autonomy, and responsibility

Why the rise of intensive parenting and overprotection has reduced kids’ freedom and may be contributing to increased stress and anxiety

How Common Core and increasingly demanding, high-pressure school environments have fundamentally changed children’s experience of childhood

Why Peter argues that school pressure and the loss of independence may be bigger drivers of the youth mental health crisis than smartphones and social media

How free play, self-directed activity, and opportunities to take age-appropriate risks build confidence, resilience, and agency

What parents can do to give kids more freedom, independence, and control over their own lives

Resources mentioned

Dr. Peter Gray’s website

Dr. Peter Gray’s Substack

Restoring Childhood: How to Set Kids Free in the Age of Anxiety by Dr. Peter Gray

Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Dr. Peter Gray

A Historic Settlement Over Social Media Addiction (The Daily podcast)

Let Grow



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