ADHD Aha!

Farah Jamil had to stand up for herself when two health care providers told her she couldn’t have ADHD. The reasons cited? One thought she was too smart, charming, and cared for to have ADHD. The other seemed to question whether ADHD was even real. Fortunately, Farah has strong self-advocacy skills that allowed her to debunk these myths in real time.  Farah is an executive coach, ADHD life coach,...

How to ADHD creator Jessica McCabe has been the source of many ADHD “aha” moments — so what were her ADHD “aha” moments?  Jessica was diagnosed when she was 12 years old but didn’t start to look into what ADHD meant for her until she was 32. Taking ADHD medication felt like putting on glasses — experiencing the world as everyone else did. But she didn’t have the skills and strategies to cope with...

Dr. Monica Johnson joins Laura to talk about a topic that comes up a lot on ADHD Aha!: ADHD and trauma. She explains how trauma and ADHD can look alike and whether ADHD can lead to trauma. Dr. J, as she’s known, also talks about misdiagnosis, treatment, and how to support someone who’s struggling.  This episode contains discussion about trauma, PTSD, and examples of traumatic events. It’s intended...

Breon and Dan Gummel are a mixed-neurodiversity married couple. After about 5 years of marriage, Breon was diagnosed with ADHD. The conflicts they’d been having as a couple took on a new shape. The more they learned about ADHD, the better they understood each other. Now, they’ve founded an ADHD community called ADHDinner. This is where people with ADHD, and their close ones, can come together for...

Leadership and career coach Phoebe Gavin was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. Phoebe’s mom was her number one advocate. She never made Phoebe feel like there was something wrong with her, and that’s followed her to this day. Now, she works with clients to empower them in the same way.  Phoebe takes us through serving in the military, to fashion school, to starting a business with ADHD. She shar...

As women, it can feel like we have to do it all, yet not be “too much.” Add ADHD stigma and shame on top, and it can feel impossible. Good thing we have Tracy Otsuka to remind us that no one has ever made a difference by being “too little.”  Tracy is an ADHD coach, the host of the ADHD for Smart Ass Women podcast, and author of the book with the same name! In this episode, host Laura Key and Tracy...

Jesse Anderson wishes he’d had an ADHD manual when he was first diagnosed as an adult, so he wrote one. Before he was diagnosed, he never considered having ADHD himself. After his wife encouraged him to look into it more, his trouble with remembering to do things, time management, and anger started to take a different shape in his mind. Today, Jesse is an ADHD advocate, writer, speaker, and author...

When William Curb learned he had ADHD (and wasn’t just lazy), he felt empowered to build coping skills. Now, he hosts the Hacking Your ADHD podcast where he talks about ADHD supports, workarounds, and more. In this bonus episode, host Laura Key and William talk about ADHD and emotions and his favorite ADHD hacks. Related resources William’s podcast, Hacking Your ADHD ADHD and emotions ADHD and the...

ADHD coach and creator Caren Magill was diagnosed with ADHD in 2020, during the pandemic. Caren gets real about her experience as a teen girl with undiagnosed ADHD: dropping out of high school, smoking, having poor self-care, and being a “messy kid.” She also shares how she manages her ADHD through fitness, sleep, and meditation.   Caren is also the host of It’s The ADHD-Friendly Show podcast. Lis...

Casey McQuiston, best-selling author of Red, White and Royal Blue , grew up in a neurodivergent family and was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. Still, they had trouble coping, and in high school, English teachers gave them an intervention for “not trying hard enough.” Casey is the author of multiple books in the queer romance genre. Casey chats with Laura about how ADHD influences their writing...

What makes being a mom with ADHD so hard? Navigating executive functions and emotional labor, for one. And feeling burned out when burnout isn’t an option — because there’s always something else that needs your very limited attention! Talking about it with someone who just “gets it” is such a relief. In this episode, Laura talks to her friend and colleague Rae Jacobson, also a mom with ADHD. Liste...

Ellyce Fulmore had structures in place her whole life that kept her ADHD hidden. When the pandemic hit, those structures disappeared. Doing basic daily tasks — things like cooking and running errands — got really hard. Then she went down a research rabbit hole on ADHD in women and asked for an ADHD evaluation.   Before the pandemic, Ellyce had been struggling with impulsive spending. It made her f...

ADHD coach Jaye Lin is no stranger to ADHD burnout. As an Asian American former gifted kid with undiagnosed ADHD, her parents thought she was just being lazy and not applying herself. This pressure and shame followed until her 30s, when her anxiety peaked while she was working at a high-pressure job.   Jaye’s therapist thought she was drug-seeking when she wanted to be screened for ADHD. Now, Jaye...

In 2016, Paulette Perhach wrote a piece proclaiming that all women need an emergency fund — what she calls an “f-off fund.” But when she struggled to secure an emergency fund for herself, she suspected she might have ADHD. Paulette, a successful author and writing coach, put off the evaluation because she couldn’t afford the $260 price tag. In this episode of ADHD Aha! , Paulette talks about her t...

As a child, David Flink was told to “just try harder.”  But David wasn’t lazy. He was trying as hard as he could.    After being diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia in the 5th grade, David went to a school that taught him to “try smarter” instead. There he learned to pick paths that work better for his brain.    Today, David is an author, advocate, and speaker. He’s also the founder and chief empower...

Peter Jones used to feel better about saying he had a hearing problem rather than considering ADHD. When he was a child in the 90s, adults thought his “listening problem” was because he couldn’t hear. Turns out, Peter does have some trouble hearing lower frequencies, but that didn’t explain his other symptoms.   Now, Peter knows he has ADHD and is not afraid to say it. On this episode, Host Laura...

ADHD coach Emily Weinberg is no stranger to analysis paralysis. Before she was diagnosed, she thought she was just lazy, and that she couldn’t have ADHD since she wasn’t hyperactive. But whenever she was being “unproductive,” she was actually just frozen. She was stuck thinking about the list of things to do mounting in her head. When she first spoke to a psychiatrist about ADHD, Emily was told th...

Growing up, Carol Blumenstein was labeled an unteachable student. She was terrified to read during class, and school only brought huge anxiety. Luckily, her mom believed in her in a way teachers didn’t. She put Carol in community college courses and pushed her to turn her frustration into motivation. Carol didn’t know she had ADHD and dyslexia until she saw her own children — all five of them — st...

Back when he was a criminal defense lawyer, Ernest Anemone related to one of his clients: An impulsive, irritable teenage boy who burned down the penalty box of a hockey rink. But what Ernie related to wasn’t just the ADHD behaviors. It was the teen’s feeling of having no control over his own life.   Now, Ernie is an actor, filmmaker, and executive coach for Fortune 500 companies. Growing up, Erni...

ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can look similar in many ways. And together, they can morph into what guest Hannah Harris Green calls “a trauma ball of blame that’s hard to untangle.” Hannah is a podcast producer, journalist, and writer who works in public radio. She talked about ADHD and PTSD on KCRW’s Bodies podcast, which she produced. (It’s an incredible episode. Link b...

Everyone with ADHD has trouble with executive function in some way — and these challenges can make the transition to adulthood especially hard. Today, we’re sharing an episode of the In It podcast called “Adulting and executive function skills.” Clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Karen Wilson shares common executive function challenges young adults face in the real world. Get her expert advice on how...

It’s the hair twirling that always gives it away. After silently coping for years, Livingston Steele can spot the signs of ADHD, and the anxiety it can cause. He’d been working here at Understood.org for about a year when he was officially diagnosed. Livingston talks about his perfectionism and what led him to get evaluated for ADHD. He also shares how ADHD helped him build empathy for his brother...

Need organization and decluttering tips? Wendy Zanders has tips for days. She also has ADHD. We don’t usually associate strong organization skills with ADHD. And yet, Wendy is a decluttering coach with ADHD. She moved to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago at 14. At first, she struggled to keep up with her classes. But then she discovered her secret weapon: hyperfocusing on cleaning to de-s...

Before her ADHD diagnosis, accountant Sam Salmons felt “fixed, but still broken.” As a young adult, she spent years in therapy, treated her depression, and had a laundry list of coping skills. So, why couldn’t she stop her body from doing things — like interrupting — that her mind didn’t want to do? Sam saw herself as an “extroverted extrovert.” She was constantly talking and impulsively saying ye...

Parents and caregivers: if you have a child with ADHD, you’ve probably dealt with your share of behavior challenges at home. Just in time for the holidays, here we share an episode of Understood’s newest podcast, What Now? A Parent’s Guide to Tantrums and Meltdowns . Listen to psychologist (and dad) Dr. Andrew Kahn explain how to tell the difference between tantrums and meltdowns and what to do ne...