Ep.190 Mom Vanessa Dittman on Living a Life of Daily Triage & Trauma With a Medically Complex, Neurodivergent Child With Behavioral Challenges (Even With the Support of a Service Dog) Artwork

On The Hard Days

If you're raising an out-of-the-box kid, you've likely struggled with doubt, guilt, and shame in your motherhood. "Am I crazy?" you've likely wondered. "What am I doing wrong?" You've probably never met another mother raising a neurodiverse child like yours, and truth be told, your mental health has suffered. Host Megan Champion gets it and has a mission to bring connection and support to mothers raising neurodiverse children. Each week, a brave and vulnerable mom shares her story to the world, in the hopes of helping listeners feel seen, heard, and validated. Whether your child has a diagnosis or not, if you feel lonely in your motherhood journey, On The Hard Days is for you. Follow Megan @on.the.hard.days on Instagram for personalized messages of hope and support (DMs are ALWAYS open!). Then subscribe to On The Hard Days and share the show with other moms in the trenches. No one knows our kids better than we do, and we are MEANT to be their mothers!

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On The Hard Days

Ep.190 Mom Vanessa Dittman on Living a Life of Daily Triage & Trauma With a Medically Complex, Neurodivergent Child With Behavioral Challenges (Even With the Support of a Service Dog)

June 26, 2023 • Season 1 • Episode 190

"He gets into almost life-ending harm often...there's a whole list of behaviors that are just really scary."

About This Episode: It's Mama Monday! This week, I'm talking with mom Vanessa. I loved this whole conversation and I know you will too! Here are just some of the topics we discussed:

-What behaviors are caused by genetic mutations vs. Autism/ADHD, etc?
-Constantly monitoring her child's heart health and the stress that causes
-How a service dog has vastly improved their home
-The stress of doctor appointments for ND kids
-Bloodwork, restraint, heart monitoring, and growth hormones - where is the priority?
-How the daily behavioral challenges are often harder than the medical complexities.
-Trying to keep her child in school with a lack of support.
-Living one minute at a time - it's so hard.

Please shower Vanessa with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story. You can reach out to Vanessa through email: finch.vanessa@gmail.com

**Exciting news! I've launched a newsletter! I love connecting with you guys – through email, in my Instagram DMs, and in my Mothers Together community, and of course here on the show. But recently I realized that I’d love to be able to provide you with a one-stop-shop where I can share ALL the things – from products we use in my home to accounts I follow to personal stories about my life as a mom of neurodivergent kids. My newsletter, called the “On The Hard Days” newsletter, is the best way to do that!

In addition to sharing pieces of my life and my favorites with you, this newsletter gives YOU the chance to share what’s on your heart! I’ll be accepting your original work – whether it’s a poem, a piece of art, a short story about a recent win you had, or even a video of your original music, to put into the newsletter! I’m also going to share your recommended self-care tips (you know, real self-care that’s practical for moms like us), links to my new merch, and more! I’m really excited about this, honestly.

The only thing I need from you in order to get the newsletter to you is your email address. To send that my way, you have a couple of options. Go to ontheharddays.com/newsletter to put your email address there or you can DM me on Instagram @on.the.hard.days, and say “newsletter” with your email address in the message.

The On The Hard Days newsletter launches soon, so get on my email list asap! As always, thank you so much for your endless support. I hope I can continue to provide you the same validation you guys give me!

I ALWAYS welcome YOUR thoughts! Feel free to DM me on IG (@on.the.hard.days) or email me: megan@mothers-together.com. This podcast is what it is because of YOU.

And speaking of the podcast, YOU all recently got my show to over 175K downloads. Thank you!

The best way to keep this podcast download streak is to:
1) Subscribe to the podcast - your device will automatically download new episodes!
2) Share the show with others - think therapists, pediatricians, and teachers!
3) Leave a rating/review for the show - the Apple algorithm will push the show out to more moms who need the support and validation!

THANK YOU, so very much, for your continued support!