I’m Fiona Luke bringing you the iThrive Guide, a podcast where I will talk about topics related to child development. We will talk with kids and families and how they used their relationships, their strengths and challenges to be the people they are today.

We will also talk to guests about what they enjoyed as a child and what activities and relationships they developed that really contributed to who they are today.

I have worked with many kids, families and adults and I’m interested in how lives transpire. I want parents to feel empowered to make the decisions they need to make to support their kids. I am also passionate about kids finding themselves, their sense of calm, their sense of self, so they are able to go out into the world, overcome their fears, engage, grow and build a better future for all of us.

I spend a lot of time playing with kids of all ages, and people are wondering, you're just playing. Actually not. We're often looking at a lot of soft sub skills that can be related to the child's physical skills, social-emotional skills, their attention and organizational skills, their own sense of self and spirit that helps them be resilient when times are tough. I like “tuning in” with others to complete something together that creates a bit of a shift in kids so they are more confident to go for what they enjoy doing .

There is often no definitive answer when it comes to child development and trying to understand a child’s developmental profile. It requires lots of objective observation and collating of information and often child may look like they meet criteria for a diagnosis say autism, but the cause is not neurobiological (born with traits) and there are other reasons to explain challenges in participating in society and therefore is not the correct label.

I love diversity, it makes the world go around and I believe all children with developmental challenges and disabilities have so many strengths and our society with the growth of new jobs and technology opens so many more doors for everyone to be active participants of society.

These discussions will be informative but have light and shade so we all enjoy our chats and we may even gain some tips that might help someone who is a parent or is unsure themselves what to do next.

I hope this podcast will be interesting to anyone interested in lifespan development across the ages as it is how people’s motivations, interests, development as kids transpire into their lives and makes them the people they are today.