Different On Purpose Parenting
Free Creative Reflection Guides
for Parents & Caregivers
Hi, I’m Mandy Parida. I’m a licensed therapist, expressive arts facilitator, educator, author, and a neurodivergent parent. Through Different On Purpose Parents, I create affirming expressive arts experiences for adults who want to question the rules they inherited and show up for the kids they love. My belief: your child doesn’t need you to be perfect. They need you on their side, and you deserve support while you learn how.
Neuroqueer Parenting
You didn’t stop functioning.
The conditions changed.
For decades, many late-identified neurodivergent adults got by through masking, overcompensating, and building private workarounds. Parenthood took those workarounds away. It brought nonstop sensory input, constant interruptions, and the job of advocating for a child within systems that weren’t built for either of you.
Most programs try to make the parent better at carrying everything. This framework starts from a different premise. It combines neuroqueer theory, expressive arts, and a distributed model of executive functioning to give you what better coping strategies alone can’t: space to question the conditions you’re expected to function under, to name your own needs, and to share the load.
Sound familiar?
Download the free guide below.
Because you deserve accommodations too!
Raising Gender-Expansive Children
5 creative questions for parents and grandparents who just learned their child is trans, nonbinary, or questioning
Your child told you something important about who they are. You love them, and you want to get this right. But now you’re learning new language, slipping on names, fielding questions from family, and carrying feelings you don’t want to hand to your kid. This free guide offers five expressive arts invitations to make room for those feelings, get curious about how you came to know your own gender, and practice showing up for your child as they are. No art skills required. No perfect words required. Nothing to share.