October 2018 Workshop Dates

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ADHD Essentials

Tuesday, October 2nd at 6pm

Sharon Public Library
11 N Main St.

Sharon, MA

 

ADHD Essentials for Parents
Thursday, October 4th at 7pm

Norfolk, MA SEPAC

70 Boardman St.

Norfolk, MA

 

ADHD Essentials for Parents

Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:30pm

Northborough, MA SEPAC

Northborough Public Library

34 Main St.

Northborough, MA

 

The Wall of Awful:  The Social Emotional Impact of Executive Functioning Challenges

Saturday, October 27th 8:45am – 9:45am

South Coast SEL Summit

Berkley High School

625 County St.

Somerset, MA

 

Dartmouth SPED Resource Fair

Sunday, October 28th  at 10am – 3pm

Dartmouth High School

555 Bakerville Road South

Dartmouth, MA 02748

Episode 36 - Comics and ADHD with Captain Underpants Author Dave Pilkey

PODCAST 36: Comics & ADHD with Dav Pilkey, Creator of Captain Underpants, and an Adult diagnosed with ADHD

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PODCAST 34: Unraveling ADHD from the 50s & 60s to Today, with Joyce Kubik, ADHD Coach, Parent with ADHD of kids with ADHD (and grandkids with ADHD)

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It was an honor to interview Joyce Kubik for the pod.  Joyce is a mother with ADHD of kids with ADHD.  (In fact, her kids are now grown, and have ADHD kids of their own!)

Joyce is also ADHD coach.  Indeed, she was among the first.  Hers are the shoulders that so many of us stand on when doing this work. She is a pioneer in the industry.  And she shares her story, and some of her pioneering work with us in this episode.

 

 

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

  • Joyce’s life with ADHD.
  • Growing up with ADHD in the 50s & 60s
  • Living with an alcoholic father
  • Joyce’s journey of self-discovery
  • Learning about ADHD from an episode of 20/20 in 1993
  • ADHD Misdiagnosis
  • The importance of accurate descriptions of ADHD symptoms
  • ADHD & Reading
  • Using color to help study & remember content
  • Joyce’s Bridge Model for ADHD
  • ADHD & Memory
  • Struggling to graduate from college
  • Academic tips for students
  • Getting results in a unique way
  • Doing things the ADHD way
  • Parenting in “rescue mode”
  • Being a parent with ADHD of kids with ADHD
  • Why ADHD kids interrupt
  • How to have a calmer dinner

 

Guest Links:

 

ADHD Essentials Links:

 

 

PODCAST 33: ADHD Parents Palooza with Linda Roggli and Diane Dempster

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Today, we’re talking to Linda Roggli and Diane Dempster about the ADHD Parents Palooza, which will run next week, from August 20thto the 25th.

The ADHD Parents Palooza brings together many of the most well-known experts on ADHD to talk about parenting our complex kids.  Guests include Dr. Russell Barkley, Ned Hallowell, and Jessica McCabe.

I wasn’t able to be a part of the Parents Palooza this time, but I hope to participate next year.  I’ll be in the audience with those of you who attend, though.

And if you need help implementing the things you during the Palooza, the ADHD Essentials Parenting Coaching Groups are a great place to get that support.  The next session starts in September.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

  • The goals of the ADHD Parent Palooza
  • The topics that will be discussed at the ADHD Parent Palooza
  • Russell Barkley, Grand-Parenting, & ADHD
  • The Guest Experts who are involved
  • Where to find the Palooza
  • How to avoid being overwhelmed by the all of the information of the Palooza
  • The value parent coaching

 

Guest Links

 

ADHD Essentials Links

PODCAST 28: Taking a Gap Year with Katelynn Shea and Stephanie Kozlowski of Dynamy Internship Year

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It was a pleasure to talk to Katelynn Shea and Stephanie Kozlowski of Dynamy Internship Year.  Dynamy is an outstanding Gap Year Program located in Worcester, MA. Katelynn is their Director of Admissions, and Stephanie is the Business Manager and Onsite Coordinator for USA Gap Year Fairs.

 

 

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

  • What is a Gap Year?
  • The benefits of taking a Gap Year for kids with ADHD
  • How Dynamy develops executive function skills
  • Navigating the area between structure and independence
  • The value of natural consequences
  • The value of participating in an internship (perhaps one in blacksmithing?)
  • How Gap Years help kids who are college bound, but not college ready
  • Why colleges like kids who take Gap Years
  • How Gap Years help students make better career choices
  • Finding a good Gap Program with Gap Matcher
  • The USA Gap Year Fairs

 

Links and Such:

Learn more about USA Gap Year Fairs here:

www.USAGapYearFairs.org

Learn more about Dynamy here:
www.dynamy.org

Take the Gap Matcher Quiz here:
https://gapmatcher.com

Contact Katelynn Shea at SheaK@youinc.org

Contact Katelynn Kozlowski at KozlowskiS@youinc.org

 

And, as always, you can learn more about ADHD Essentials at:

www.ADHDessentials.com.

Contact me at Brendan@ADHDessentials.com.

PODCAST 18: What’s The Skill Set That’s Missing?

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Chandler Creedon is a veteran educator with over 40 years of experience, working as a school psychologist, counselor, and college professor. He’s also a former professor of mine, and one of my mentors.  It was an honor to have him on the show.

In today’s episode, we talk about skills, and how heavily a lack of skills plays into why kids struggle, both at school and at home.  We go deep on executive function, and school issues, but don’t be intimidated if that’s not your background.  I do my best to loop around and explain things when I think they’re unclear.

PODCAST 17: The Baskin Robbins of ADHD with Kate Barrett, ADHD Mother, Wife, and Coach

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It was great to get to talk to my friend Kate Barrett again.  I know her from the ADHD coaching world.  She’s the founding coach of Coaching CVille out of Charlottesville, VA, as well as the mother of sons and the wife of a husband who have ADHD.  Her love for her family really shines through in this episode, and her coaching skills do as well.

If you’re in the Charlottesville, VA area, and need a coach, I encourage you to reach out to Kate.  In today’s episode, she shares only shares a few of her coaching strategies, but I’m sure they’ll be a huge help.  We talk about treating ADHD issues as a symptom of a problem, rather than a problem in themselves, the value of ownership, and how to manage your non-ADHD kid, if the kid with ADHD tends to get more of the focus.

 

 

Kate can be found at https://coachingcville.com.

And as usual, fee free to email me at brendan@ADHDessentials.com.

Enjoy the show!

PODCAST 16: The Struggle Makes Us Stronger with Gabriel Villarreal, Strength & Condition Coach and Mental Health Counselor Specialized in ADHD

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In this episode, I’m talking exercise and fitness, while battlnig a cold!  Gabriel Villarreal is the owner of ADHD Counseling in the Roanoke Valley, as well as a strenth and conditioning coach.  It’s that latter bit that we focus on in the episode.  We talk about the importance of struggling, growth from failure, and the neurological benefits of exercise for the ADHD brain.  (Though, that doesn’t coem unitl the end.)

Gabriel was great to talk to, and you can be sure he’s going to come back.  Both on and off the air we noticed that there were many intersting places for us to go in futire episodes.  I expect he’ll become a “friend of the show”.

 

 

Learn more about Gabriel at www.RoanokeADHD.com.

Or find him on his Facebook page.

Or just email him at gabriel@roanokeadhd.com.

 

And as usual, I can be reached at Brendan@ADHDessentials.com.

Enjoy the show!

 

PODCAST 15: ADHD Friendly Systems in the Household

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Marina Darlow from Vision Framework visits us to talk about how creating systems can benefit families affected by ADHD, as well as what makes for a good system.

A systems expert, and self-proclaimed productivity geek, Marina sees her job as helping impact-driven entrepreneurs get 10-20 more productive hours a week, stop leaking money, and prevent stress-fueled breakdowns.  She works with ADHD professionals to help them develop systems to better navigate ADHD in the workplace, but was kind enough to join the pod and talk about using a systems approach into the home.

An engineer by training, Marina came to a realization a couple years ago: working for a conglomerate is not as inspiring as she wants her life work to be. The quest for inspiration led her to found Vision Framework, a company that builds small, purpose-driven businesses from the inside, helping entrepreneurs run their companies with ease by putting effective, easy-to-use, and fun (yep!) systems in place.

 

 

Marina can be found at  www.vision-framework.com, or at the social media links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisionFramework/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/VisionFramework/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinadarlow/

 

She even provided some freebies!

Cheatsheet: Make a system work for the ADHD-gifted brain: 5 simple rules

Free course: WHICH SYSTEM to TACKLE FIRST ?!

PODCAST 12: The Barrier to Entry with Brendan Mahan, ADHD Poet

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Today’s episode is a bit different.  Due to the recent snow storms, and an exceptionally busy month, I don’t have the 6-8 hours needed to edit a full interview.  In today’s episode, I go back to my English teacher roots, and blend them with my ADHD coach skills to create something short, sweet, and actionable.  I hope you enjoy it.

We’re looking at the struggle that comes about for those of us with ADHD when the “barrier for entry” is too high, and thinking about how we can reduce those barriers.  Oh, and I read an original poem.  (I promise it all makes sense.)

Let me know about your expereicnes/struggles with barriers to entry, and how you’re overcome them at  Brendan@ADHDessentials.com.

The poem I read in today’s episode is below:

If you give a man a snow blower,
He’ll have to fill it with gas.
While he’s filling it with gas,
He’ll think about how loud it is.

Thinking about how loud it is,
Will start to stress him out
So, he’ll want to listen to his favorite podcast.

Thinking about his favorite podcast,
Will make him realize
That he won’t be able to hear it over the noise.
So he’ll put his phone back in his pocket.

Putting his phone back in his pocket,
Will remind him that he needs a key to unlock the snow blower.
Thinking of the key to the lock
Will remind him about the ignition key
Remembering the ignition key
Will remind him that he can never remember
How to start the snow blower

Which means he’ll have to go back in the house
To get the instructions
But going back in the house
Will track snow everywhere.

So he won’t want to do it.
And will feel ashamed instead.
Because he can’t “just remember”
how to start the snow blower

Feeling ashamed will make him want to avoid the snow blower
And he’ll probably use a shovel instead.