Bedtime. Lights off. One more hug. And then your kid drops it: "What if you died?" or "What if my brain makes me think dangerous stuff?" If you've ever frozen—trying to take it seriously without making it bigger—this episode is for you.

Dr. Amy Patenaude breaks down intrusive thoughts in kid language, the "brain pop-up" metaphor that instantly de-shames the moment, and a simple 3-step plan you can use tonight—without turning into the reassurance customer service desk at 9:42pm.

• Spot what intrusive thoughts are (and what they're not)—so you stop treating every scary thought like a safety emergency.
• Use the "brain pop-up" metaphor to separate your child from the symptom: thought ≠ intent.
• Respond in a way that supports your kid without feeding the loop (interrogation, reassurance-on-repeat, avoidance).
• Practice the 3-step protocol: Name it → Neutralize it → Next thing ("Pop-up. Not clicking.").
• Ask the quick sorting question that reduces panic and clarifies the lane: "Did that thought scare you… or do you feel like you want to do it?"
• Know when it's time to get help: when thoughts are frequent, sticky, and interfering with real life.
• Translate this for school (without oversharing the content) and use a simple email/script to request a consistent plan.

• Pick one anchor line and repeat it all week: "A thought is something your brain shows you—an action is something your body chooses."
• Do a calm "fire drill" once: Name it → Neutralize it → Next thing.
• Try Worst / Best / Funniest / Most likely one time when your child catastrophizes.
• Give one calm reassurance response, then pivot: "Pop-up. Not clicking. Next thing."
• If school is part of the stuck-loop pattern, send a short note asking for a consistent phrase + brief reset plan.
• Pick one. One is enough.

• Big Feeling Decoder — turn "bad behavior" into brain language + go-to scripts for the next hard moment: https://psyched2parent.myflodesk.com/bigfeelingsdecoder
• School Psych in Your Back Pocket: The School Testing Toolkit (K–12) — school-language translation + what to ask for: https://psyched2parent.myflodesk.com/schoolpsychtoolkit
• 50 AI Prompts for Tired Parents — done-for-you prompts for routines, scripts, and school emails: https://psyched2parent.myflodesk.com/aiprompts4parents
• Boredom Buster Guide — quick ideas for the "I'm boooored" spiral: https://psyched2parent.myflodesk.com/boredomebusterguide

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psyched2parent/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/psyched2parent
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@psyched2parent
• Show notes and previous episodes: https://psyched2parent.com/podcast/

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical, psychological, or legal advice. Listening to this podcast does not create a provider-client relationship. If you're concerned about your child's mental health, safety, or development, please consult a qualified professional in your area.

If you've been sitting in that exhausting "something isn't adding up" season, this episode is for you. Maybe your child is trying, the school is trying, you're doing tutoring or supports or all the things, and somehow you still don't have a cohesive plan.

In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude walks through how to tell when it's time to request a school evaluation, what actually makes a request move, and how to respond when the school says they want to "keep doing interventions first." You'll leave with a simple decision filter, grounded parent scripts, and a calmer way to think about evaluation as a clarity tool, not a verdict.

• Why the best question to ask is not "Is this bad enough?" but "Will better data change what we do next?"
• How to tell when concerns have moved beyond a short-term wobble and into a pattern worth evaluating
• What "functional impact" really looks like in everyday life, from missing work and shutdowns to big feelings that block learning
• Why it's not either interventions or evaluation, and how to use a calm "yes-and" approach when schools want to wait
• The four common lanes that can help organize what you're seeing: executive function, academic skills, attention/regulation, and processing speed or working memory strain
• What a good evaluation is actually for: understanding patterns, identifying supports, and building a more cohesive plan
• Exact language you can use in an email or meeting to formally request an evaluation without sounding hostile, flustered, or overwhelmed
• What to say if the school says your child is "doing fine," or declines to evaluate
• Why big feelings around school demands are often a sign of overload or skill mismatch, not laziness, drama, or defiance

• Start a 7-day dot log. Write one quick sentence each day: demand → what happened → what support was needed.
• Collect three work samples: one that shows what's hard, one that shows a strength, and one that shows inconsistency.
• Before your next meeting or email, write down just three bullet points so you're not winging it.
• Send your formal request in writing and include a clear follow-up line asking the school to confirm receipt and share next steps for consent.
• If you already have outside supports, sign a release so your provider and school can share information and work from the same story.

• School Psych in Your Back Pocket: The School Testing Toolkit (K–12) — practical support for translating school systems, testing language, and what to ask for
• Big Feelings Decoder — turn "bad behavior" into brain language and next steps
• Boredom Buster Guide — quick ideas for the "I'm boooored" spiral
• 50 AI Prompts for Tired Parents — done-for-you prompts for calmer routines, scripts, and school emails

• Instagram
• Facebook
• TikTok
• Show Notes and Previous Episodes

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical, psychological, or legal advice. Listening to this podcast does not create a provider-client relationship. If you're concerned about your child's mental health, safety, or development, please consult a qualified professional in your area.

When your child forgets directions, drifts off halfway through a task, or looks like they're "not listening," it can be hard to tell what's really going on. In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude breaks down the difference between working memory and attention in plain language, explains why they look so similar in real life, and shows why test scores never tell the whole story. You'll leave with simple ways to tell whether your child didn't take the information in, couldn't hold onto it, or is dealing with both, plus practical tools you can use at home and grounded language to bring to school.

• Why a single score is never the whole story, and why testing should be used to support a child, not define them.
• The difference between attention and working memory using a parent-friendly framework: attention is the flashlight, working memory is the sticky note.
• Why kids who look "fine" at school or in testing can still fall apart at home, during homework, or in the after-school crash.
• How working memory struggles can look like not listening, not caring, or being careless when the real issue is that the brain lost the thread.
• Why not all attention struggles are ADHD, and why context, patterns, and real-life functioning matter.
• Simple supports that actually help, including the "say it back" check, a 3-step visual, a 5-minute start sprint, movement before demand, and First/Then language.
• A school-friendly script for talking about attention and working memory without sounding like you're writing a dissertation.

• Try the "say it back" check: "Tell me what you're going to do first."
• Put one 3-step visual somewhere your child actually needs it, like the backpack zone, bathroom, or homework spot.
• Use a 5-minute start sprint for one hard task instead of asking for the whole thing at once.
• Add one minute of movement before homework or another non-preferred task.
• Pick one routine and change the support before you change the expectation.

• Boredom Buster Guide — quick ideas for the "I'm boooored" spiral
• Big Feelings Decoder — turn "bad behavior" into brain language + next steps
• 50 AI Prompts for Tired Parents — done-for-you prompts for calmer routines, scripts, and school emails
• School Psych in Your Back Pocket: The School Testing Toolkit (K–12) — support for translating school systems, testing language, and what to ask for

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psyched2parent/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/psyched2parent/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@psyched2parent
• Show notes + previous episodes: https://psyched2parent.com/podcast/

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical, psychological, or legal advice. Listening to this podcast does not create a provider-client relationship. If you're concerned about your child's mental health, safety, or development, please consult a qualified professional in your area.