A fortnightly podcast about the ludicrous realities of being a parent of neurodivergent kids.
Lapsed comedian Mark Allen has three kids - two diagnosed autistic with ADHD and one suspected autistic.
Each episode, he speaks to a similarly frazzled parent and explores how other neurodiverse families deal with seemingly simple events, such as birthday parties, holidays, mealtimes, and leaving the house.
All content for Neuroshambles is the property of Mark Allen and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A fortnightly podcast about the ludicrous realities of being a parent of neurodivergent kids.
Lapsed comedian Mark Allen has three kids - two diagnosed autistic with ADHD and one suspected autistic.
Each episode, he speaks to a similarly frazzled parent and explores how other neurodiverse families deal with seemingly simple events, such as birthday parties, holidays, mealtimes, and leaving the house.
This week, Mark dives into the chaotic, absurd and quite often traumatic world of shopping with neurodivergent children. If you’ve ever emerged from a supermarket having to impulse buy paracetamol just to get you through the shop, then this one’s for you.
Joining Mark is the brilliant Helen Stuart – a mum of six (four of her own and two step-children - all diagnosed or suspected neurodivergent), home educator, and co-founder of Thrive Together Training. Between them, they dissect the minefield of supermarkets, the unpredictability of meltdowns triggered by automatic doors, sensory overwhelm, the trauma of shopping for clothes, rage waiting, and the unholy panic when you realise the supermarket has unexpectedly moved everything around.
This is a laugh-out-loud, painfully relatable episode for anyone who has ever had lofty ambitions to do a quick “top up shop”, before ending up having to negotiate UN-level peace deals with your child in the frozen food aisle.
STUFF WE COVER:
00:00 – Intro & Listener Feedback02:00 – Meet the Guest: Helen Stuart06:00 – Topic of the Week: Shopping13:00 – Why Supermarkets Are Sensory Torture19:00 – The Emotional Toll of Trolleys and Comments25:00 – PDA Autonomy, Meltdowns, and the Elsa Cup Incident33:00 – Supermarket Sweep, PDA-Style39:00 – Self-Checkouts vs Human Interaction45:00 – Clothing & Footwear Battles52:00 – Lush, Libraries and Return Rage59:00 – When Book Tokens Become a Poisoned Chalice1:04:00 – The Positives (Yes, Really!)1:10:00 – Neurodiversity Champions1:16:00 – Tiny Epic Wins1:20:00 – What the Flip? Moments1:23:00 – Wrap-Up & Thrive Together Info
LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE:
PDA Society - Support and resources for families living with a PDA profile: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk
Supermarket Sweep - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket_Sweep_(British_game_show)
Sunflower Lanyard Scheme - For invisible disabilities: https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com
Waterstones Book Tokens - https://www.waterstones.com/help/gift-cards-and-vouchers/32
H&M - https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/kids.html
Skechers - https://www.skechers.co.uk/kids/
Lindsay's Swim School - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063580090089&sk=about
Nelson Street Church, Rochdale - https://www.nelsonstreetchurch.org/
Thrive Together Training website – https://thrivetogethertraining.co.uk
Thrive Together Training Facebook page – www.facebook.com/thrivetogethertraining
Thrive Together Training Instagram account – www.instagram.com/thrivetogethertraining
⸻
CONTACT US
🎧 Do you have a “What the flip?” moment or a tiny epic win to share?📧 Email us: hello@neuroshambles.com
⸻
FOLLOW US
📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles🧵 Threads: @neuroshambles
⸻
CREDITS
🎶 Theme tune by Skilsel on Pixabay: https://pixabay.com
Neuroshambles
A fortnightly podcast about the ludicrous realities of being a parent of neurodivergent kids.
Lapsed comedian Mark Allen has three kids - two diagnosed autistic with ADHD and one suspected autistic.
Each episode, he speaks to a similarly frazzled parent and explores how other neurodiverse families deal with seemingly simple events, such as birthday parties, holidays, mealtimes, and leaving the house.
