Low-Demand Parenting

Dropping Demands, Restoring Calm, and Finding Connection with Your Uniquely Wired Child

By: Amanda Diekman

Narrated by: Lauryn Allman

Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Short, easily digestible guide for parents on how to reduce family conflict by dropping unnecessary demands from daily life to help neurodivergent families to thrive.

"Low-demand parenting requires radical acceptance. It says to the kid right in front of you, I see you, just as you are. - You are ok here. I love you right here."

Parent to neurodivergent children and autistic adult Amanda Diekman outlines a parenting approach that finally lowers the bar for the whole family, enabling the equilibrium of the home to be restored.

Low-demand parenting allows you to drop the demands and expectations that are making family life impossible and embrace the joyful freedom of living life with low demands. It can be a particularly effective approach for children with high anxiety levels including neurodivergent children. Amanda talks from experience and teaches you how to identify what the big, tiny and invisible demands are for your own child and gives you the step-by-step instructions on how to drop them.

Full of practical resources and scripts that are easy to implement in busy everyday life, this book is your flashlight and your map to parenting your uniquely wired child. It will not tell you where to go, but it will help you find your way so you and your family thrive.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Amanda Diekman (P)2023 Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Progressive positive future

I like the last parts about what’s going on internally of the parent and how that also affected her relationship with her husband.

Such a great listen

Thanks Amanda for taking the time to write this and in doing so making all of us on this parenting journey feel less alone. I feel so optimistic and hopeful after this. My square pegs will have an unapologetically square home.

I’m not crying, your crying…

Gah this book is exactly what I needed! I feel so validated. This book is for anyone who has a kid that struggles with typical world expectations. ADHD, PTSD, ASD, SPD… doesn’t matter just give it a listen.

very insightful

learned a lot and never considered about low demand parenting style before. hope it helps some parents

Parenting with understanding.

My 16 year old granddaughter has recently been diagnosed with PDA. The correct diagnosis was a looooong time coming. Everything makes sense now. Now to figure out how to help her fit into those Square holes. Actually finding square holes for her are not easy for her parents and is. This book helped me understand her a lot better. Thank you.

Wish I had this years ago

I feel seen and have a renewed feeling of I can do this (parenting my 5 autistic adult children) as I see a light of hope to sift things that are currently not really working.

Thank you

Thank you. For putting this out there for us to find. Thank you for teaching, comforting & inspiring us. We aren’t alone anymore.

I Could Go On and On

From the beginning, this book engages you as Amanda, an undiagnosed Autistic mother shares her own story and instantly becomes someone who I felt, knows and understands the challenges of a PDA children
… no more shame, blame or judgement. She shares how to look at demands… and a low-demand parenting technique allows everyone’s stress to lessen.
Setting the traditional methods of parent/child interaction aside and realizing that there is another way and better way to have a relationship with your PDA child that is much more harmonious makes me want to cry… and at the same time hug Amanda Diekman for making this book available to us all.
To set aside the rewards and punishments philosophy that we grew up with and take a breath… and embrace the idea that your child is doing the best they can all the time… and for that matter… you are doing your best, as well creates a new playing field and an acceptance that rises above the good and bad thought system. This gives a way forward to practice loving kindness to ourselves and in turn to our uniquely wired PDA child. They need our trust and acceptance right where they are. Everything builds upon that. It is and it isn’t an easy first step… but it is a basic place to start.
I had a preview copy of the book and knew I needed the audio version because there was so much practical content that I will be relistening to this book again and again. This is a powerful guidebook that takes us from that first step and leads the path to finding a deep connection for your child to navigate their world feeling safe within the home and in turn outside of the home environment. It will be work and even hard work in the beginning. I can’t recommend this book enough.

This book is the missing piece; it is deeply needed

This book articulates what we have all been missing. The examples set forth here would benefit parents of ALL kids, but those who are raising neurodivergent kids need this message now. This book elaborates on what is often the toughest part of Ross Greene’s collaborative problem solving. This book is the lens change; it is how to start with Plan C. (Not so simple!!!) It outlines the healing of the parents that is absolutely crucial for any collaborative, connected family system to exist. It works well in tandem with Collaborative & Proactive Solutions, and it’s advice has been transformative.
HIGHLY recommend.

So helpful!

I loved this book. Even though my mixed-neurodivergent family looks different from the authors this book made me feel seen, heard, and validated. It was so helpful in describing not only how to be low demand for my kids, but my spouse, and myself. This book gave me the tools to move forward in my family's journey while accepting that I too have needs & that I have to make space for my own self in our family as well. I highly recommend this book.