What actually helps a teenager open up, build trust, and start finding their own way?

In this episode of Name What Works, Ashley talks with Kahlo, a 17-year-old rising senior, hockey player, photographer, and future sports journalism student.

Kahlo shares what life looks like for him right now: hockey, friends, the gym, SAT pressure, college plans, and figuring out who he wants to become. He opens up about how photography became more than a hobby after he started showing up to games with a camera and creating

his own opportunities.

Ashley and Kahlo also talk about the parent-teen relationship from a teen’s point of view. Kahlo explains that teens need guidance, but they also need space to figure things out. He shares why trust has to be mutual, why parents being too controlling can push teens away, and why

freedom comes from earning trust back after it has been broken.

The conversation also explores risk-taking, peer pressure, identity, sports culture, burnout, SAT stress, and the pressure teens feel when they are trying to plan their future while still wanting to enjoy their life.

In this episode:

● Why teens may pull away during the summer

● How Kahlo created opportunities through sports photography

● Why teens still need adults for advice

● What helps a teen feel safe going to their parents

● Why trust is a two-way street

● How teens can earn freedom by rebuilding trust

● Why risk-taking is part of growing up

● How sports can shape identity and pressure

● What SAT stress feels like from a teen’s perspective

● Why parents need to know when to lead, coach, guide, and back off

If you are raising a teenager, this episode is a reminder that connection does not come from control. It comes from trust, curiosity, guidance, and knowing when to step back.

What if the biggest support a child needs in school is not just a better plan, but a stronger

relationship?

In this episode of Name What Works, Ashley Radzat sits down with her lifelong friend Natalia Hamalanien, a special education teacher with more than 20 years of experience working with

students who need extra support. Ashley and Natalia talk about dyslexia, special education, advocacy, parenting, and what it means to really see children as individuals. Both share personal experiences of growing up with learning differences and how those experiences shaped the way they understand students who struggle in traditional classrooms.

Natalia opens up about being told to “work harder” when school was not designed for the way her brain worked. She explains why learning differences have nothing to do with intelligence, how relationships can change a student’s experience of school, and why kids need adults who

believe in them before they fully believe in themselves.

Together, Ashley and Natalia explore the importance of trust between students, parents, and

teachers. They discuss why parents should advocate for their children, how to communicate

with schools without turning every conversation into a battle, and why middle school is a critical

time to help students practice self-advocacy.

This conversation is a reminder that every child is individualized. Some kids fit the school mold

more easily than others, but every child needs relationship, encouragement, patience, and adults who are willing to notice what is working.

In this episode:

● Why dyslexia is not an IQ problem

● How learning differences can become strengths

● Why “work harder” is not always the right answer

● How relationships help students feel safe and supported

● Why parents and teachers need to work as a team

● How to help middle schoolers advocate for themselves

● Why behavior is often communication

● How small wins build trust and confidence

If you are parenting a child who learns differently, struggles in school, or needs extra support,

this episode will help you slow down, see the child behind the behavior, and understand why

relationship is one of the most powerful tools we have.

Connect with Ashley Radzat and tune into more conversations on Name What Works.

Connect with Natalia Hamalaninen: possibilities-abound.my.canva.site/camino-consulting

What happens when a deeply feeling child becomes a teenager trying to fit in, find friends, and figure out who she really is?

In this episode of Name What Works, Ashley talks with Phoebe, a former student she taught from first through eighth grade and has stayed close with into young adulthood.

Phoebe reflects on what it was like to grow up as a deeply empathetic child who felt other people’s emotions intensely. From an early age, she wanted everyone to be okay, often taking on other people’s pain and trying to care for the people around her.

As Phoebe moved into middle school and high school, that sensitivity became more complicated. She shares how friendship, popularity, rejection, and wanting to belong led her to change parts of herself to fit in. At times, she became a chameleon, adjusting her personality

and values around people she wanted to accept her.

Ashley and Phoebe also talk honestly about teen risk-taking, lying, guilt, and the pressure to be accepted. Phoebe explains that some of her choices were not about being a bad kid, but about wanting freedom, wanting friends, and trying to make sense of the noise inside of her.

The conversation gives parents a powerful reminder: teens are still becoming. Their behavior needs boundaries and consequences, but their character does not need to be put on trial.

In this episode:

● What it feels like to be a deeply empathetic child

● Why some kids take on other people’s emotions

● How friendship changes in middle school

● Why fitting in can make teens lose sight of themselves

● What popularity looked like from Phoebe’s perspective

● Why teens may lie to protect freedom or identity

● Why bad choices do not make a teen a bad person

● How parents can separate behavior from character

● Why calm conversations work better than emotional reactions

● What Phoebe would tell her younger self now

If you are raising a teenager who feels deeply, makes mistakes, or seems to be losing sight of who they are, this episode is a reminder that they are still in there. They need guidance, consequences, patience, and the steady belief that who they are is not the worst choice they made.