Sorcha Rice is an occupational therapist and the clinical manager of Neurodiversity Ireland, who I met at their 1st conference last year. She identifies as AuDHD and PDA and spoke with me about how she understands and experiences PDA, what her childhood and teen years were like before she was diagnosed, going through burnout and recovery, how she manages her nervous system now, and some of the practices she incorporates to support her PDA occupational therapy clients.

It was wonderful to connect with Sorcha and hear her insights and so much of her story!

I hope you enjoy it too.

Xoxo,

Casey

PS - You can find more about Sorcha on instagram at both @ot_sorcharice and @neurodiversityireland

And in our conversation she also recommended a resource for other OTs - Kim Barthel.

In this episode I speak with a mom of a six-year-old PDAer who wouldn't eat or drink and was extremely dysregulated during a holiday because of a loose tooth.

We discussed:

1 - how internal demands and losses of autonomy like losing a tooth matter as much as external demands.

2 - the importance of understanding PDA as a fluctuating nervous system disability.

3 - creative ideas for deepening accommodations the next time there is a loose tooth.

I hope you find the episode helpful. It's from the show we stream live on our social media on Fridays, Parenting PDA Your Way.

xo,

Casey

Here's part 2 of my episode on the 10 hardest lessons I learned in 2025. They include:

6 - Your PDA child can go into burnout even if you're fully accommodating them.

7 - Burnout can feel like you are making no progress, especially with an internalizer.

8 - Screens can be a wonderful thing.

9 - Your kids will surprise you.

10 - Spirituality sustained me.

xoxo,

Casey

Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2026 by sharing the 10 hardest lessons I learned parenting my PDAers (often the hard way) in 2025.

The first five are in this episode:

1 - There are some things in life you can't outsource

2 - The key to sanity is accepting constraints and finding agency within them

3 - Doubt about PDA is the antidote to dogma

4 - The importance of trusting yourself in the face of judgement

5 - Burnout with trauma is different than burnout without trauma

xo,

Casey

In this episode I talk with a mom about her 7-year-old daughter - with PDA, ADHD and anxiety - about when she might help her build her frustration tolerance, and when she likely cannot.

We also dive in on a specific challenge she was facing when her both her daughters need support at the same time.

The conversation is from Parenting PDA Your Way, the show we stream live on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube most Fridays at 1pm ET.

I hope you find it helpful!

xo,

Casey

In this episode I speak with a mom of a PDA 14-year-old who regulates himself by wrestling his father after school each day, which causes Mom lots of anxiety. Together we use my cost-benefit decision making tool to weigh her options and she then decides a new strategy to try.

I hope this episode is helpful for you. It's from Parenting PDA Your Way, the show we stream live on our Instagram, Facebook and YouTube most Fridays at 1pm ET.

xo,

Casey

In this episode I speak with a mother of a PDA teen about:

• Setting boundaries when other kids are involved
• Making decisions in public when you are being judged
• Helping young siblings understand the PDA threat response.

The episode is from Parenting PDA Your Way, the show we stream live most Fridays on our Instagram, Facebook, YouTube accounts.

xoxo,

Casey

In this episode I spoke with clinical psychologist Alex Klein about

• considerations when thinking about getting an evaluation for Autism or PDA as an adult
• my own neurodivergence
• doing therapy as a neurodivergent adult
• getting an evaluation and therapy for your PDA child or teen

I hope you find it helpful!

xo,

Casey