The Behaviour Coach Podcast

For years, I thought I was just an anxious parent around water and cars. I now know I was not anxious. My neurodivergent kids were baseline less safe. That knowing changes everything. This week's episode was originally going to be about travel. When I sat down to record, I felt compelled to talk about safety instead. In this episode, Erica walks through what the research actually says about sa...

Summer is harder for ADHD families than we are told to expect. The structure just left. Your kid is burnt out from a school year of holding it together. You are too. Now it's two depleted nervous systems trying to navigate 10 weeks together without the scaffolding of school. If summer is hard in your house, you're not failing. This season is genuinely harder for our families. This week&#39...

I'm joined by Fayth Caruso, who has spent 15 years working with rebounding as a tool for the body, with people of all ages and abilities, including a lot of neurodivergent kids and adults. We talk about why movement is so powerfully regulating for the ADHD nervous system, the difference between sensory seekers and avoiders, why so many neurodivergent kids crash and chew and never stop moving,...

If you've watched your ADHD kid stare at something they can absolutely do, unable to start, this episode is for you. Executive functioning is one of the biggest areas of impact in ADHD, and it's almost never what we think it is. Erica walks through what executive functions actually are, why they work as a team, and Dr. Russell Barkley's 30 percent rule, the developmental delay that has...

Your ADHD kid isn't a troublemaker. They're a justice keeper. This week: why fairness can feel like survival for an ADHD brain, why these kids get in trouble for defending others, and the support sequence that helps. Research and Resources: ADHD and justice sensitivity (the foundational pilot study) Why ADHD brains can't just ignore unfairness (parent-friendly overview) Never miss an e...

You can't out-parent a child who can't sleep. This week: why sleep difficulty is biology, not bedtime discipline, why your ADHD kid genuinely isn't tired at bedtime, and the tools that actually move the needle. A note: this episode touches on sleep as a health need and mentions supplements and medical support in general terms. Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Please talk to y...

The sock was never the problem. This week we get into sensory processing in ADHD: the two senses nobody taught you about, why your kid crashes and chews and melts down over a tag, and what to do when you can't remove what's overwhelming them. Research and Resources: Sensory processing in ADHD (2025 systematic review & meta-analysis) The case for including sensory differences in ADHD di...

If you have ever heard the word routine and felt a little bit of dread, this episode is for you. So many parents have tried to build a routine, hit resistance on day three, and decided routines just do not work for their family. In this episode, I offer a different way to think about predictability. The difference between a rhythm and a routine. Why structure paired with flexibility is the goal, n...

There is a symptom of ADHD that is not in the diagnostic manual, not on the official list, and yet adults consistently describe it as the most painful part of living with this brain. It is called rejection sensitivity, or RSD. In this episode, I explain what RSD actually is, why it is not the same thing as being overly sensitive, and what is happening in the ADHD nervous system that makes rejectio...

Friendships might be the topic that carries the most emotional weight for ADHD parents. In this episode I talk about why friendships are genuinely harder for ADHD kids, why one-on-one friendships are often easier than groups, and why so many social struggles are not a deficit in your child but a translation challenge between different kinds of brains. I introduce the double empathy problem, talk a...

Meltdowns are one of the hardest parts of ADHD parenting and also one of the areas where understanding makes the biggest difference. In this episode I walk through what is actually happening in the brain during a meltdown, how meltdowns are different from tantrums, and what the full cycle looks like from buildup to tipping point to recovery. I share a story about my youngest daughter at an archery...

Your child threw a snowball when they knew the rule. They punched a kid on the soccer field and couldn't explain why. They blurt out in class even though they have been reminded a hundred times. Adults read this as disrespect or aggression, but in most cases the action happened before the thinking brain had time to weigh in. In this episode I talk about what impulsivity actually is, why it happens...

Your child wants to do the thing. They are excited about it. They have ideas. And they still can't start. In this episode I talk about the intention-action gap, why the ADHD brain runs on different fuel than the world expects, and what actually turns on motivation when importance alone doesn't work. I share a client story about a 12-year-old who couldn't start a large school project, a...

Overwhelm is one of the biggest parts of the ADHD experience and it doesn't always look the way we expect. In this episode I talk about what's actually driving overwhelm, why your child falls apart at the end of the day, and how to start reducing the load so they have more capacity for the hard stuff. In this episode:  The ladder analogy  why your child loses it over "nothing"  W...

This one is for you, not your child. Your nervous system matters just as much as theirs and your child is co-regulating off of you whether you realize it or not. I share what co-regulation actually looks like, why you don't need to be perfectly calm, and what to do when you're the one who's activated. In this episode: Why your child's regulation starts with yours  The parent stress...

What is actually going on inside your child's ADHD brain and why understanding it changes everything about how we support them. This is the starting point for everything that comes next in this podcast. In this episode:  How ADHD is a neurological difference, not a behaviour problem Why dopamine matters and what dopamine seeking looks like in daily life The interest-based nervous system and wh...

If your child is melting down, shutting down, refusing, or falling apart,  that behaviour is telling you something. In this episode I talk about why behaviour is a message to understand, not a problem to fix, and how to start reading what your child's behaviour is actually communicating. In this episode:  Why behaviour in ADHD is almost always a nervous system response  The difference between...