Hello, I'm Leigh.
I’m a mom to two amazing, neurodivergent daughters, one of whom is a PDAer.
I had a thriving career in entrepreneurship and international development when our family’s lives fell apart. Our youngest daughter – who has always been fiercely independent and danced to the beat of her own drum – became debilitatingly explosive. I read every book, tried every recommended technique, and it all only made things worse. My husband and I felt lost and alone, desperately seeking “experts” who could give us a solution, not yet brave enough to trust our own intuition.
We didn’t know it at the time, but our sweet girl was rapidly heading for burnout. Over the next few months, our hearts broke again and again, as the joyful, creative, energetic child we had always known disappeared before our very eyes. She couldn’t get dressed, brush her teeth, or leave the house. She couldn’t attend school, despite desperately wanting to. She spent all day, every day, on screens. We felt disconnected from her and terrified for the future – unsure what the next hour or the next day would bring, much less what her life might look like.Â
When I discovered PDA, it felt like a lens shifted in front of my eyes and suddenly everything clicked into focus, all the way back to our daughter’s newborn stage, when she was fussy and inconsolable, already struggling with a nervous system that couldn’t self-regulate. I sat at my computer for hours, just reading and sobbing, knowing in my gut that I had finally found the answer we had been seeking for so long. I flew into action - still naively hopeful that I could “fix” things – and sent myself on an exhaustive crash course to learn everything I possibly could about PDA so that we could support our deeply struggling child. I studied the neuroscience of the PDA brain. I worked with nervous system coaches and went deep on Polyvagal theory to understand how critical a healthy, flexible nervous system is to all our lives. I sought out and learned from the lived experience of PDA adults. I became a full-time advocate for my daughter and her disability. As a family, we embraced low-demand parenting and declarative language. Most importantly, we let go of everything we had ever learned about what it takes to be a “good” parent. We worked to process our own grief and loss to radically accept the reality of our family life, however different it may look from what we had envisioned. And I did all of this while working to recover from my own burnout, and trying to give my depleted nervous system glimpses of the safety it so desperately needed.
Changing everything about our lives, and the way we parent, was an enormous leap of faith...
...but I knew in my heart that PDA was the answer and that this was the path forward. Sure enough, over time our precious daughter returned to herself. She started engaging with us again. Laughing again. Being creative again. We marveled at how much our lives had changed, and how we would never again take for granted the little things, all of which now felt like tiny miracles.Â
Don’t get me wrong – we still have tough days. The path is not linear, and it can feel like one step forward and two steps back. Burnout recovery takes time. Healing from parenting trauma takes time. But there is hope on the other side. I wish I could offer you short cuts, silver bullets, quick answers, but unfortunately they don’t exist. Parenting a PDA child is HARD. But I can promise you that, by deeply understanding your child and adapting your parenting style to meet their needs, you can live a life with more joy and ease.
Having walked this path myself, I want to be there for you as you navigate yours. My goal is to offer the kind of education, support, and advocacy that I wish I had when my family began our PDA journey. You’ve got this. And I’ve got you.
My Education
Education & Credentials
- BA, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
- MPH, School of Public Health, University of California - Berkeley
- MBA, Haas School of Business, University of California - Berkeley
- PDA Certification, Level II - Positive Autism and Support (PAST) (accredited by OCN London)
Relevant Coursework
- A Paradigm Shift in Understanding Children’s Behavior - Drs Stephen Porges and Mona Delahooke, The Polyvagal Institute
- The Low Demand Masterclass - Amanda Diekman
- The Paradigm Shift Program - Casey Ehrlich, At Peace Parents
- Control vs. Equity: Understanding PDA and the Illusion of Control Seeking - Kristy Forbes, InTune Pathways
What’s in a name?
The name Rise Parenting is deeply meaningful to me because it feels like our family has risen from the ashes of trauma and crisis and learned how to thrive on the other side. Our logo evokes the phoenix to represent this evolution, as well as a lotus blossom to symbolize strength, resilience, and rebirth. My passion is helping your family experience this same powerful transformation, walking with you through the fire so you too can rise, emerging stronger and healthier as a result of the experience.
