TPP 496: Dr. Ellen Braaten on Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What they Love to Do

Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Debbie Reber

Education, Kids & Family, Parenting

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today we’re talking about motivation—what it is, what it isn’t, and why so many of our neurodivergent kids get mislabeled as “unmotivated” when the real story is far more nuanced. My guest is Dr. Ellen Braaten, an expert on motivation and the author of several books including Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less, and her newest release, The Motivation Mindset Workbook: Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What They Love to Do. Ellen shares why motivation is not a fixed trait, how identity shapes whether kids lean in or shut down, and what often gets in the way for learners with ADHD and other differences. We talk about how parents can shift from pushing performance to supporting purpose, and how giving kids the space to discover what genuinely interests them can be transformative for confidence, engagement, and long-term growth. About Dr. Ellen Braaten Dr. Ellen Braaten is the founding director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. She has published numerous scientific papers on topics related to ADHD, learning disorders, child psychopathology, processing speed, and intelligence, as well as many books for parents and professionals, including the bestsellers Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up, and Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less: How to Rekindle Your Child’s Motivation. Most recently, she coauthored The Motivation Mindset Workbook: Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What They Love to Do.Dr. Braaten has a strong interest in educating the public on topics related to child mental health, maintains an active speaking schedule, and contributes regularly to local and national news outlets. Things you'll learn from this episode How motivation is a dynamic skill that ebbs and flows based on environment and context, not a fixed trait Why helping teens and tweens identify their strengths and values lays the foundation for authentic motivation How responsibility and meaningful real-world experiences spark engagement and ownership Why identity development plays a central role in sustaining long-term motivation How practical, strengths-based activities can reignite momentum when kids feel stuck Resources mentioned Dr. Ellen Braaten’s website The Motivation Mindset Workbook: Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What They Love to Do by Dr. Ellen Braaten & Dr. Hillary Bush Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less: How to Rekindle Your Child’s Motivation by Dr. Ellen Braaten Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up: Help Your Child Overcome Slow Processing Speed and Keep Up in a Fast-Paced World by Dr. Ellen Braaten How to Rekindle Your Child’s Motivation, with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Tilt Parenting Podcast) Exploring Slow Processing Speed with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Tilt Parenting Podcast) Traits of Flow According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds Dr. Martin Seligman / Positive Psychology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Debbie Rieber and this is Full Tilled Parenting. And today I'm bringing back to the show
0:07.7	Dr. Ellen Broughton for another great conversation about motivation. What it is, what it isn't,
0:14.0	and why so many of our neurodivergent kids get mislabeled as unmotivated when the real story is
0:20.6	far more nuanced.
0:22.3	Ellen is founding director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at Massachusetts
0:26.6	General Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the author of several
0:31.7	books for parents and professionals, including Bright Kids Who Can't Keep Up, about processing
0:36.3	speed, and Bright kids who couldn't care
0:38.6	less. Her brand new book that we're going to dive into today is called the Motivation
0:42.9	Mindset Workbook, Helping Teens and Twins Discover what they love to do. We're going to get into
0:48.5	whether or not motivation is a fixed trait. Spoiler alert, it's not. how identity shapes whether kids lean in or shut down,
0:57.0	and what often gets in the way for neurodivergent learners. But the big idea here is the
1:01.9	tremendous power in giving kids the space to discover who they are and understand what genuinely
1:07.2	interests them when it comes to helping them be more resilient and engage more
1:11.2	meaningfully in their lives. So if you have a kiddo who you feel is not motivated or really
1:16.9	excited about things in their life, this is a must listen to. I hope you enjoy it.
1:22.6	Hey, Ellen, welcome back to the podcast. Thanks for having me. Well, I'm always happy when you want to join me on the show.
1:29.8	We have very interesting conversations, and listeners just I'll say right now, if you haven't heard Ellen's past two visits, I will have a link in the show notes.
1:38.5	The last time you were on the show, we talked about your book about motivation, Bright Kids Who couldn't care less, how to rekindle your
1:45.1	child's motivation. And so this is taking it to the next level. As a way to get into our
1:50.0	conversation, I'm really just curious, what is it about motivation that intrigues you so much
1:54.6	motivation and kids? Well, I think what I have found as a psychologist is motivation is really, it's the fire that gets us going.
	...

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