Parenting ADHD Podcast

The sex talk with your kids doesn't have to be nearly as painful as you imagine it. In this episode, Dr. Ari Tuckman walks us through the when, why, and how of this important conversation. We discuss starting the conversation about romantic relationships when our kids are young, how to talk about sex and sexuality with our teens, keeping our kids safe when they're prone to impulsivity and risky behavior, strategies to help keep our adolescents safe in the heat of the moment, and, most importantly, how to open the door for our teens to come to us and keep talking to us about relationships and sex.

What parents of kids with ADHD (and/or autism) want more than anything is for our kids to succeed. And, yet, success can be elusive with the many challenges and hurdles a neurodevelopmental disorder like ADHD adds. That's why providing opportunities for successes and wins for kids with ADHD must be a crucial part of your parenting plan. In this episode, pediatric neurologist, Dr. Sarah Cheyette, and I discuss how to help your child win with ADHD. We're not simply talking about nurturing talents and interests, but also about teaching our kids resilience and showing them that they can, indeed, do hard things and succeed. 

Holidays are challenging for kids with ADHD, and for their parents. Schedules are different, excitement is high, big gatherings are routine, and that's the only thing that's routine. Yikes! This frenzy guarantees some struggle. It's really easy to get tangled up in the fallout of a lot of new things and people, a ton of sensory overwhelm (hello, Uncle Buck's loud voice and Aunt Mildred's heavily perfume aura), and the excitement of impending gifts, so close you can almost touch them. Don't let a focus on the traditional and neurotypical celebration expectations ruin your holiday, because — let's face it — our kids are kids, but we are the ones with the storybook visions and the inflexible expectations. In this episode, I'm talking about what parents can do during the holidays to prevent letting ADHD (or autism) ruin the spirit of the season. Listen in now and plan for a truly happy holiday.

There are few times more chaotic and stressful for families of kids with ADHD than mornings, especially school mornings. Kids with ADHD struggle with staying on task, time management, working memory, and many other executive functioning deficits that make mornings difficult — difficult to get out the door on time, difficult to get everything done, difficult to not lose your sanity. In this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast, I'm talking to executive function coach, Brendan Mahan, MEd about how to survive mornings in a household challenged by ADHD. This episode is packed full of tools and strategies. Don't miss it. 

When you have a child with ADHD, almost all of your attention and energy naturally goes to that child — they're more intense and they're struggling. And yet, that child's siblings are likely struggling too. The experience of being the sibling to a child with ADHD, autism, or other special needs is hard, at the very minimum, but traumatic to many. On this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast, I'm talking with Jessica Leving,  author of the children's book, Special Siblings: Growing up with a sibling who has special needs, a book inspired by her own experience with a brother with autism. Listen in and learn what your other children might be going through and hiding from you, and how you can make sure the siblings in your family feel as loved and as important.

Our culture says that parents should be authoritarian and have control over their children. I call BS.  Authoritarian parenting and trying to control behavior with punishment and fear is bad parenting. I explain why that's bad parenting, and outline a better way in this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast. We should be parenting individuals and celebrating individuality, not pushing for conformity. There is room for positive parenting and teaching your values. Let's talk about how.

Many kids with ADHD are brilliant in one way or another, but still struggle. You can be smart, and struggle — and that doesn't mean you're lazy. In this episode, I'm talking to child psychologist and author of the book Raising Will: Surviving the Brilliance and Blues of ADHD, Katherine Quie, PhD,  about the inconsistencies that are the very nature of ADHD. Katherine talks about her experience raising her son with ADHD and the challenges of raising a kid who is gifted and still struggles. This conversation offers an honest look at real life parenting kids with ADHD. 

Most students with ADHD go through what I call a school honeymoon at the beginning of each new school year. The newness is stimulating and the demands are less starting out and our kids do pretty well. But the honeymoon ends and reality sets in — kids with ADHD struggle in school. In this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast, I'm talking with educational advocate, Brandie Rosen, about what parents can do to help ease the transition from honeymoon to everyday reality at school. We discuss how to prevent this sharp decline in the first place, as well as how to work with teachers to to get through this tough period to ensure continued success, if you weren't able to prevent it. 

Executive functioning skills — including organization, planning and time management — are almost always impacted in kids and teens with ADHD. There are a myriad of strategies and tools to assist with disorganization and poor time management. In this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast, I'm talking with coaches Natalie Borrell and Alison Grant of Life Success for Teens about how to help your disorganized teen. Natalie and Alison share many tools and strategies they use to help their students and coaching clients, as well as insights on how to implement them successfully for your teen or pre-teen. 

Never meeting expectations means our kids with ADHD and/or autism feel like they never succeed. That is a heavy burden that can take a monumental toll on any individual. In this episode, I outline all the repercussions possible when a child feels like they never succeed and what you can do to keep the worst of the consequences from happening to your child. 

Parents are expected to be authoritarian and parent through a system of crime and punishment. We're raised to believe this is what defines a "good parent." I argue that we need to flip this idea on its head — that crime and punishment parenting is actually making you a "bad parent." It does more harm than good for our kids, especially kids with ADHD and/or autism. There is a much, much better way to raise kids that will become happy, successful adults. Listen in and I'll explain why crime and punishment is bad and how to serve our children much better.

Our culture dictates that our kids should go to college after high school in order to be successful adults. Yet, that isn't true. Just as the misbelief that kids with ADHD and/or learning disabilities can't succeed in college if they choose that path. In this episode of the Parenting ADHD Podcast, I'm talking with Learning Disabilities Consultant, Elizabeth Hamblet, to separate fact from fiction when it comes to ADHD and college, and learn how to help our kids transition after high school, into college or whatever endeavors they pursue. This episode is packed full of resources and information even parents of younger kids with ADHD need to know now, to prepare for the future. Listen in now!

The sex talk with your kids doesn't have to be nearly as painful as you imagine it. In this episode, Dr. Ari Tuckman walks us through the when, why, and how of this important conversation. We discuss starting the conversation about romantic relationships when our kids are young, how to talk about sex and sexuality with our teens, keeping our kids safe when they're prone to impulsivity and risky behavior, strategies to help keep our adolescents safe in the heat of the moment, and, most importantly, how to open the door for our teens to come to us and keep talking to us about relationships and sex.

There's no disputing that — especially team sports — can be a difficult environment for individuals with ADHD to naturally succeed in. It's not just developmental delays and social differences with peers that can make it tough. Things like emotional sensitivity and dysregulation, poor working memory, anxiety, and lagging executive functioning skills can also make it hard to meet peer and coach expectations, because they are set or neurotypicals. However, this doesn't mean that kids with ADHD cannot succeed and thrive in athletic endeavors. Join me as I talk with Susan Stout, founder of My Own Beat, about the challenging areas of athletics for those with ADHD and how you can help your child succeed in sports that are interested in and/or passionate about. Even if your child just plays Little League or Peewee Football, you can't miss this discussion. Listen now!

The sex talk with your kids doesn't have to be nearly as painful as you imagine it. In this episode, Dr. Ari Tuckman walks us through the when, why, and how of this important conversation. We discuss starting the conversation about romantic relationships when our kids are young, how to talk about sex and sexuality with our teens, keeping our kids safe when they're prone to impulsivity and risky behavior, strategies to help keep our adolescents safe in the heat of the moment, and, most importantly, how to open the door for our teens to come to us and keep talking to us about relationships and sex.