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PODCAST

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis

Welcome to The Empowered Parent Podcast.This podcast is a space for parents to learn, reflect, and grow.Each week, we explore topics that help parents understand themselves and their children more deeply - from communication and connection, to supporting neurodivergent development at home and in the community.We’ve had wonderful conversations with experts, parents, and professionals - including speakers from the Neurodivergence Wellbeing Conference, and a special series following one mum’s journey

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

40:30

BEN'S STORY: Episode 3 - When Services Fail

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/10/07

Send us Fan Mail One dodgy invoice can be a mistake. A pattern of them can be a warning sign. We sit down with Steve Wellings to unpack what it was really like chasing disability services for Ben before the NDIS existed, when “take it or leave it” scheduling, unclear accountability, and limited choice left families carrying the load. Steve walks us through the early pathway of assessments and allied health support, then the moment it turned sour: pressure around a legal document linked to med...

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44:21

BEN'S STORY: Episode 2 - Ben Changed How We Saw The...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/09/30

Send us Fan Mail You can love your child fiercely and still feel completely unprepared for what their body asks of you. Steve Wellings, Ben’s dad, joins us again to help you meet Ben properly: a gentle, funny, observant kid living with quad athetoid spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, where speech and movement are limited but presence is not. We walk through the real world details of disability parenting and complex medical needs: positioning, splints, standing frames, PEG feeding, incontin...

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41:42

BEN'S STORY: Episode 1 - A Difficult Entry Into the...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/09/23

Send us Fan Mail A baby can arrive and split your life into a before and after. When Steve Wellings and his wife Marie move to Seattle for a military posting, they imagine a simple path: work, a home in the burbs, footy, and a couple of kids. Their first daughter Elizabeth is born by planned caesarean and that first year feels like bliss. Then Ben’s birth turns into a crisis that still echoes decades later. Steve takes us through the harrowing detail of a VBAC attempt that should have escala...

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34:25

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE MY PEACE - A MOTHER'S...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/09/10

Send us Fan Mail The hardest part of parenting isn’t the chaos, it’s what we start believing about ourselves and our kids when the chaos keeps coming. For the final chat in our Empowered Parent Program series, we sit down with Sam Primerano to talk about what helps children truly thrive, especially neurodivergent kids with big feelings, intense bodies, and shifting capacity across the day. We get honest about the moments that leave you frazzled, and the simple but powerful skills that help yo...

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33:25

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE MY PEACE - A MOTHER'S...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/09/03

Send us Fan Mail A late ADHD diagnosis doesn’t just add a label, it can rewrite your entire personal history. Sam joins me for an honest, detailed chat about what finally pushed her to seek an adult ADHD diagnosis, how it landed after years of coping, and why the moment of recognition can feel both relieving and confronting. If you’ve ever wondered whether your “anxiety” is really a busy brain, or why you can function for months then suddenly crash, you’ll hear yourself in this story. We unp...

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33:30

Letting Go Of The Imagined Child To See The Real One

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/09/03

Send us Fan Mail Parenting can crack open the life you thought you were going to have. One day you’re holding a picture of family holidays, school concerts, easy mornings, and a child who moves through the world the way you expected. Then the real child arrives with their own nervous system, temperament, sensitivities, interests, and ways of communicating, and suddenly “simple” things can take enormous effort. When that gap shows up, it can bring fear, guilt, anger, sadness, envy, and a quiet...

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36:34

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE MY PEACE - A MOTHER'S...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/08/27

Send us Fan Mail Your kid’s “weird” behaviour might be communication, not defiance and the same might be true of your younger self. We sit down with Sam to trace how a culturally diverse childhood, undetected neurodivergence, and unmet emotional needs shaped her school life, her relationships, and the parent she is becoming. Along the way, we talk about the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our families, and what changes when we finally name what was really going on. Sam share...

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35:05

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE MY PEACE - A MOTHER'S...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/08/20

Send us Fan Mail A toddler who can’t tolerate socks. A child who goes quiet for hours at childcare, then suddenly finds their voice. A kid at a party who slips outside with a juice box and quietly watches the clouds because that’s what their body needs. These moments can look like stubbornness or rudeness from the outside, but Sam helps us see them for what they often are: communication from a neurodivergent nervous system. We unpack the everyday realities of neurodivergence in families, inc...

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27:11

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE MY PEACE - A MOTHER'S...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/08/13

Send us Fan Mail Sam was a full-time nurse who couldn’t stop moving, couldn’t sit with herself, and felt like rest meant failure. Then she became a mum and everything changed, not neatly, not politely, but in the way matrescence often does: it cracks you open and forces you to finally meet yourself. We talk with Sam about the woman she was before children and the mother she’s becoming now, including the hidden drivers underneath “go, go, go” energy. Sam shares how trauma and an abusive relat...

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28:35

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE MY PEACE - A MOTHER'S...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/08/06

Send us Fan Mail “You are not allowed to take my peace.” That line lands hard because it comes from someone who spends her days caring for others and her nights parenting three kids aged five and under. We’re joined by Sam Primerano, a registered nurse and mum, who speaks with rare honesty about what family life looks like when the household runs on big feelings, sensory load, and constant co-regulation. It’s chaotic, it’s loving, and it’s exhausting, and Sam doesn’t pretend otherwise. We ta...

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52:03

ALL4ONE: A FATHER'S STORY: Episode 6: From Carer To...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/06/24

Send us Fan Mail Brad’s doing the things many families are told to stop hoping for: he’s building a life with purpose, friendships, and a sense of belonging, not just “being cared for”. Graham joins us for a heartfelt final check-in on how Brad is travelling now, why small routines like journalling matter, and how volunteering at a school canteen can become real confidence, dignity, and community connection. We also talk honestly about what changes for parents when the caring load eases. Gra...

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49:34

ALL4ONE: A FATHER'S STORY: Episode 5: You Can Love...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/06/17

Send us Fan Mail Watching your child step into independence can be the proudest moment and the most unsettling one. Graham Clark joins us to speak honestly about what happened when his son Bradley, an autistic young adult, moved into his own home and Graham’s full-time carer role began to change. What do you do when the routines that once held you together disappear, and the question “Who am I now?” will not go away? We talk about carer identity and why so many parents lose themselves ...

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44:33

ALL4ONE: A FATHER'S STORY: Episode 4: From Safety To...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/06/10

Send us Fan Mail Buying a home for your child sounds like a practical decision until you realise it also forces a whole new identity for everyone involved. We sit down with Graham to unpack how his family moved from assuming Bradley would live with them forever to building a supported home where he can grow into adulthood with safety, dignity, and choice. Along the way, we talk about OCD, tics, anxiety, and what it looks like when a young person’s needs are expressed through behaviour rather ...

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61:58

ALL4ONE: A FATHER'S STORY: Episode 3: School Was The...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/06/03

Send us Fan Mail School can feel like it’s “for the kids”, but for many families it’s also the first place a parent stops feeling invisible. I sit down with Graham to keep following Bradley’s journey from childhood into adulthood, starting with the school years and the surprising way a school community can become a carer’s support system. We talk about the power of a simple hello at drop-off, how volunteering helped Graham feel he belonged, and why identity shifts for both child and parent wh...

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42:14

ALL4ONE: A FATHER'S STORY: Episode 2: The Survival...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/05/27

Send us Fan Mail Some parenting seasons are loud, messy, and relentless and you don’t even realise you’re surviving until you finally stop to breathe. We pick up Graham's story as a full-time carer for his non-verbal, neurodivergent son Bradley, stepping into the years filled with routines, appointments, behaviour storms, paperwork, and the constant job of advocating through education and health systems. Graham explains why their days had to run like a military operation, and how predictabil...

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35:58

ALL4ONE: A FATHER'S STORY: Episode 1: The...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2026/05/21

Send us Fan Mail A child can be sleeping through the night, walking on time, and lighting up your world with cheeky joy, and you can still end up facing a diagnosis that changes everything. Graham Clark joins us to start a special six-week series, sharing what it’s been like to parent Bradley, a now mid-twenties neurodivergent young man, from the earliest signs right through to supported independence. We talk about the moments that first raised questions, like speech developing into substitu...

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14:06

Year-End Gratitude And New Beginnings

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2025/12/17

Send us a text Dana's reflections on 2025. danabaltutis.com, mytherapyhouse.com.au, https://mytherapyhouse.com.au/your-childs-therapy-journey/ https://www.danabaltutis.com/services

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28:55

Unschooling Series with Paige Carter (Parent,...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2025/12/10

Send us a text What changes when a child’s wellbeing takes the lead and everything else rearranges around it? In this series finale with Paige Carter of Inclusive Oak, we follow a family through unschooling and burnout recovery, anchored by one unforgettable moment: a teacher who shows up at a caravan park simply to say hello, offer a gift, and hold the thread of belonging. No pressure, no performance—just proof that connection travels. You’ll leave with three anchors to navigate your own jo...

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31:05

Unschooling Series with Paige Carter (Parent,...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2025/12/03

Send us a text What if the bravest choice is to stop doing what everyone expects and start doing what your child needs? We sit down with Paige Carter to unpack a seismic family pivot: renting out the house, moving into a caravan, and giving a neurodivergent child time to recover from burnout. It’s not a retreat from learning; it’s a redesign of life around safety, trust, and capacity. Paige shares how they balanced two very different paths for their kids: keeping Lacey in school to the end o...

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60:15

Unschooling Series with Paige Carter and Sarah Lovett...

The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis ·

2025/11/26

Send us a text This week on The Empowered Parent Podcast I sat down with Sarah Lovett from Our PDA Kids and Paige Carter from Inclusive Oak. Both Sarah and Paige are parents of children with Pathological Demand Avoidance, or Persistent Demand for Autonomy, and both run successful services supporting families just like yours. Sarah talked about burnout, why it happens, and how we can support children who find school overwhelming. She also shared gentle reminders about parent self care and why ...

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109 results

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