Finding your people when you have neurodivergent kids | Sam Bayley

Mark is joined by Sam Bayley - founder of mASCot, a Sussex-based parent-to-parent support network for families of autistic, ADHD and PDA children and young adults - for a warm and genuinely uplifting conversation about one of the most important things you can do as a neurodivergent parent: find your people. They dig into why parenting a neurodivergent child can feel so isolating - especially in the early days before diagnosis, when you're still trying to crowbar your kid into situations built for neurotypical families and slowly realising it isn't working. Sam shares the story of how mASCot grew from a few breakout coffee sessions into a community supporting thousands of families, and Mark recounts the moment he first walked into Sunday Club and felt the blessed relief of a room with absolutely no judgement in it. They also get into the thornier side of finding your people - namely, the bit where you have to let go of the ones who aren't. From unsupportive friends who just aren't listening, to family members who think it's all a fad, this episode doesn't shy away from how hard it can be to protect your energy when you haven't got much of it to spare. If you're after a neurodivergent parenting podcast that feels human, honest and occasionally sweary, this one's for you. --------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (Estimated): 00:00 - Intro 01:11 - Meet the Guest: Sam Bayley 04:01 - Topic of the Week: The Importance of Finding Your People 09:10 - How mASCot Was Born: Coffee Mornings and the Birth of Community 10:09 - Early Expectations and the Reality of Neurodivergent Parenthood 27:19 - The "Coming Home to Autism" Event That Changed Everything 31:35 - The mASCot Card: A Little Bit of Context, a Lot of Confidence 37:51 - Sunday Club and the Joy of a Non-Judgmental Space 47:59 - Inspired to Act: Hannah Woods and Spectrum Squad Penarth 52:16 - The Online Community: Why mASCot's Facebook Forum Matters 59:52 - When Lockdown Showed Us What Our Kids Already Knew 01:01:49 - Finding Your People Means Letting Go of the Wrong Ones 01:09:05 - The Tricky Business of Unsupportive Family Members 01:13:18 - It's Not All Rubbish: The Positives of Finding Your People 01:16:17 - Neurodiversity Champions: mASCot, Bill Bayley and the BNC 01:22:40 - Tiny Epic Wins 01:26:12 - What the Flip? Moments --------------------------------------------------------- LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE: Podcasthon - https://podcasthon.org/ mASCot - https://www.asc-mascot.com Donate to mASCot via Givey - https://www.givey.com/mascot National Autistic Society - https://www.autism.org.uk/ PDA Society - https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/ Bristol Parent Carers Forum - https://www.bristolparentcarers.org.uk/ The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene - https://amzn.eu/d/0jkdMxga Spectrum Squad Penarth - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2039735040102766/ Brighton Neurodivergent Community (BNC) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/brightonneurodiverse --------------------------------------------------------- 📣 CONTACT US 🌐 Website: www.neuroshambles.com 📧 Email: [email protected] 📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles 🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod 📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles --------------------------------------------------------- 🎙️ CREDITS 🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: pixabay.com