Parents of neurodivergent children are often forced into an impossible decision frame: push or protect.

In this episode of Decision Pause, Dr. Leslie Jensen-Inman explores why this binary causes so much stress—and why the problem isn’t your ability to decide, but the question itself.

We talk about fluctuating capacity, invisible data, recovery costs, and why responsiveness is not the same as inconsistency. This episode offers a gentler way to think about decisions that honors real life, real constraints, and real nervous systems.

1. Why “push or protect” is a false and harmful binary
2. How fluctuating capacity makes prediction impossible
3. The hidden emotional weight many parents carry when they choose to protect
4. Why changing your mind isn’t failure—it’s responsiveness
5. The invisible data parents of neurodivergent children are constantly tracking
6. A gentler reframe for making decisions without guilt or judgment

Instead of asking “Should I push or protect?”, consider asking:

1. What does capacity look like right now?
2. What is the recovery cost of this decision?
3. What am I protecting—and what am I supporting—with this choice?
4. What would make this moment gentler?

Sometimes what you’re protecting is your child’s nervous system.

Sometimes it’s trust, safety, or your relationship.

Sometimes it’s your own capacity.

Those are not small things.

You are not failing when you refuse a false choice.

You are allowed to make decisions that don’t fit neatly into someone else’s framework.

And you’re allowed to decide differently at different times—without having to justify that change.

In the next episode, we’ll talk about the cost that doesn’t show up until later:

The meltdown after the activity, the next-day exhaustion, and the impacts that don’t fit neatly into reports or data.

Thank you for being here.

This has been Decision Pause—and we’ll pause again next time.

Episode Description

Decisions don’t feel heavy because you’re indecisive, anxious, or doing something wrong.

They feel heavy because of what they’re carrying.

In this episode of Decision Pause, we talk about why decision-making feels especially hard when you’re raising a neurodivergent child—and why most advice about “just deciding” misses the point entirely.

This conversation is about naming the real weight behind everyday choices, understanding why hesitation can be a form of awareness, and beginning to separate capacity from character.

If you’ve ever replayed a decision late at night, wondered if changing course says something about you, or felt exhausted by the constant mental load of choosing—this episode is for you.

1. Why decision-making isn’t usually a skill problem for parents of neurodivergent children
2. The hidden costs every decision is carrying—nervous systems, trust, recovery time, and stability
3. How constant vigilance keeps your decision-making system from ever fully resting
4. Why the fear of being “wrong” makes hesitation completely reasonable
5. The difference between deciding under ease vs. deciding under pressure
6. A gentle reframe that can change how you relate to hard decisions

1. Decisions feel heavy because the context is heavy—not because you are failing
2. Hesitation can be a sign of awareness, not weakness
3. Second-guessing often comes from deciding under exhaustion and uncertainty
4. You deserve support that reduces harm, not advice that adds pressure

Instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?”, try asking:

“What is this decision asking me to carry?”

That single question can soften the entire process.

In the next episode, we’ll talk about one of the most painful decision binaries parents face:

Push or protect—and why that framing often makes decisions harder instead of clearer.

Thank you for listening to Decision Pause.

If decisions feel heavy today, you’re not alone in that.

We’ll talk again soon.