In today’s show, Eric is joined by Liz Angoff!  Liz is a licensed educational psychologist with a diplomate in school neuropsychology, providing assessment and consultation services to children and their families in the Bay area.  She is the author of the Brain Building Books and is constantly creating new tools to help parents and providers empower children to help them understand their unique brains. 

Learn more about Liz and her books at brainbuidingbook.com!
brainbuildingbook.com

In this episode, you’ll hear about Liz’s mission to help neurodiverse kids understand and create their personal narratives, how parents can understand their kids better, how Liz has found purpose through her own anxiety, and using affirming language to communicate.  

Then, you’ll hear about the importance of articulating and communicating intentions, engaging in self-awareness conversations with kids, acknowledging parent-guilt, when hyper-verbalism and auditory processing collide, transitions, screen time, and more! 

Find more from Liz at http://www.explainingbrains.com/Parents 

Questions/Topics: 

• [00:02.08] Introducing Liz
• [00:04:10] Having conversations with kids about their diagnoses & 
• [00:06:38] Liz shares her diagnosis story and her experiences with sensory overwhelm
• [00:10:11] Eric asks Liz about self-disclosure when talking to parents and kids 
• [00:19:24] Exploring the neurodivergent home of Eric Tivers and problem-solving at home
• [00:22:31] Identifying the problem and how to better understand a child’s experiences
• [00:29:02] Iterating: Experimentation, evaluation, and assessment 
• [00:31:42] Addressing concerns as a parent and needs as an adult 
• [00:33:51] Worrying about our kids growing up into adults; What-ifs, jumping to conclusions, and catastrophizing 
• [00:37:22] Eric opens up about what happens at home 
• [00:39:26] The importance of relearning and reintegrating skills when reaching milestones 
• [00:41:58] Transitions, outings, and screen time 
• [00:48:26] Closing thoughts from Liz 

Resources & Honorable Mentions:

• Eric’s episode with his son - 483: Neurodivergence Runs in the Family (listen here!)
• Book: The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D https://drrossgreene.com/the-explosive-child.htm
• Website: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions - Ross Greene, Ph.D at www.cpsconnection.com https://www.cpsconnection.com

🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community!

🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

In this episode, Eric is joined by Kim Alexander!  Kim is a clinical social worker turned stay-at-home mom.  After being diagnosed with ADHD in 2022 at the age of 53, she enrolled in ADHD reWired’s Coaching & Accountability Groups.  Furthering her ADHD journey, at the time of recording, she became involved as a peer mentor, or “ADDmin” for the coaching groups.  In between parenting three kids (who all have ADHD,) Kim enjoys storytelling, political activism, skiing, or anything involving snow.  She is also a competitive acapella singer who has won three international medals with her show chorus! 

On today’s show, you’ll hear Eric and Kim talk about inattentive ADHD, Kim’s experience and what she learned going through the coaching groups, how the pandemic affected her, and the positive impacts of self-acceptance and letting go of self-judgment.  Then, you’ll get to hear Kim narrate a short story she wrote, her passion for storytelling, her unique family experiences, and her hopes for others with ADHD who hear her story.  

Questions/Topics: 

• [00:01:10] Introducing Kim 

• [00:02:12] Dear ADHD… 

• [00:04:18] What brought Kim back to seek out an ADHD diagnosis and start working on ADHD management? 

• [00:14:15] Kim takes us on her journey of the last 12 months 

• [00:17:29] Over the last year, what are some changes Kim has observed and experienced after going through ArC? 

• [00:19:40] Self-acceptance, self-compassion, and being a mom 

• [00:26:41] “I’m not going to have anything interesting to share.” 

• [00:28:51] Opening up on feelings of “not enough”

• [00:36:56] Long-term planning. bucket lists, and The Moth

• [00:40:25] Kim shares her moth story 

• [00:45:57] Kim on storytelling and her unique experience

• [00:48:55] Eric asks Kim to “sing” out the show 

• [00:51:16] Closing Thoughts 

🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community!

🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

In this episode, Jessica Hicksted joins Eric on the podcast!  Jessica was late-diagnosed with autism and ADHD and brings together her life experiences and education to advocate for invisible disabilities.  Growing up the “awkward kid,” she faced life’s rough spots head-on, creating resilience and determination.  These skills proved valuable in completing her PhD and dedicating her research into invisible disabilities to help promote positive social change. 

You’ll hear Eric and Jessica talk about workplace success for people with invisible disabilities, masking and executive-function drains, and ableism.  Then, you’ll also hear about how Jessica got diagnosed, self-advocacy, disclosure or nondisclosure in the workplace, what Jessica uncovered in her research, and the benefits and values to businesses for being more accommodating.  

Find some of her writing on ADDitude Magazine! https://www.additudemag.com/author/jessica-hicksted-ph-d/ 

Questions/Topics: 

• [00:01:06] Introducing Jessica & meeting at CHADD 

• [00:02:13] Diving into Jessica’s research, and, “How do we–from a systems perspective–help individuals be successful in the workplace?” 

• [00:05:23] Are the tides really starting to turn in the workplace about invisible disabilities? 

• [00:06:27] Masking in the workplace 

• [00:09:25] Jessica’s experience of being diagnosed as an adult after becoming a parent

• [00:16:14] What is an invisible disability?

• [00:18:56] Disclosure vs. intended disclosure

• [00:19:42] What does the data say about disclosure? 

• [00:21:10] What kinds of questions did Jessica ask while doing her research? 

• [00:24:24] A conversation on the prevalence of ableism in the workplace 

• [00:27:58] Transparency and opening the door of communication 

• [00:33:28] Money talk: What is the benefit and value for businesses to be more inclusive and accommodating for people with invisible disabilities?  What does the data show? 

• [00:38:30] In Jessica’s data, were there any industries that were ‘better’ with acceptance in the workplace than others? 

• [00:42:18] What are some questions a prospective employee could ask to try and gauge if they will be entering a friendly workplace for neurodivergent brains? 

• [00:44:52] If there could be one big change in the workplace to help individuals with invisible disabilities, what would that change look like?  

• [00:45:53] Closing thoughts 

🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community!

🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for our monthly Live Q&A!  Get this episode uninterrupted by ads when you become a Patron at $5.00 a month or more by going to adhdrewired.com/Patreon! 

Questions/Topics: 

• [00:01:06] Welcome & introductions

• [00:02:44] A listener, who has treatment-resistant depression and asks for tips (other than exercise) to help manage ADHD, moods, and depression

• [00:13:29] “How are you using ChatGPT and how do you think it is most beneficial to someone with ADHD?”

• [00:22:14] “Why is it that, with ADHD brains, we can think really fast and great in some situations, but fail in traditional work situations?  If our brains work fast, why do we struggle in the real world?” 

• [00:28:50] A listener asks about non-prescription nootropics

• [00:34:43] “What is a good password manager?”

• [00:36:56] One of the panelists asks for tips to help the transition between seasons easier 

• [00:44:45] “How should I handle the fact that my ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) - Level 1 diagnosis dismissed my ADHD-combined diagnosis in 2019 as being better explained by autism? Am I ADHD or not? And should I stop by ADHD therapy and focus on Autism therapy, in that it might help indirectly with ADHD?” 

• [00:50:47] “Is there any research that indicates baseline dopamine levels are negatively impacted, over time, by taking stimulant medication?” 

• [00:52:44] Closing thoughts

🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community!

🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

This week, Eric is joined by Abby Wilson!  Abby runs a global facilitation, mediation, and coaching practice from her beloved home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  She uses methods from the design field–A.K.A. design-thinking–to help individuals navigate career change, and helps organizations to lead with empathy, reframe challenges, and generate ideas.  

Her ADHD diagnosis, 8 years ago at the age of 35, is one of those before-and-after life moments that so many of us can probably relate to, and is thrilled to be connecting the dots between design-thinking, her life’s work for the last 12 years, and her naturally “curly” mind!  Abby’s “curly” mind has lived in 6 countries, she has birthed a child she adores, has worked in many governments, and has enough letters after her name for a competitive Scrabble game! 

In this conversation, you’ll hear Eric and Abby talk about design thinking, how it’s beneficial for ADHD folks, the messiness of the creative process, and solving for the right problem.  You’ll also hear about how having a lot of great ideas also means having a lot of not-so-great ideas, prioritizing, risk-taking, the importance of specificity, and why design-thinking is helpful for relationships, tapping into your creativity, and more.  

Get in touch and learn more about design thinking and Abby at her website: abbywilson.com https://www.abbywilson.com 

Questions/Topics: 

• [00:01:10] Introducing Abby

• [00:02:41] What is design thinking?  

• [00:04:11] Abby on teaching iterative process, roadblocks faced during design thinking, and the messiness of the creative process 

• [00:05:13] Eric shares a real-life example and asks Abby about applying design thinking to this situation

• [00:07:09] The most basic framework for a design process is… 

• [00:08:04] The “Rose, Thorn, Bud” method for being endlessly curious and to start to add an additional layer of meaning 

• [00:11:35] Abby on finding a specific problem-definition and methods to help reframing 

• [00:13:55] What do we do when one idea spawns 20 other ideas?  How do we go back to the original idea when we get sidetracked with other ideas?

• [00:21:27] A discussion on prioritization: What do we do first? How do we say no? 

• [00:22:56] The sweet spot of ideas and Abby’s favorite method for prioritization: The Importance/Difficulty Matrix

• [00:25:42] Eric asks Abby, “What kinds of questions do you ask yourself when you’re trying to identify a ranked order of importance?” and defining “importance” 

• [00:27:21] Executive function use, observing energy and emotional investments, and emotional temperatures

• [00:32:17] Why do design thinking skills matter? 

• [00:37:12] Whether it’s a boss, a partner, a friend, or a group: How do we help them understand the value of design thinking? 

• [00:39:50] What do we do and how do we communicate when ideas happen “too fast?”

• [00:42:33] Abby shares a book recommendation

• [00:43:27] Connect with Abby and closing thoughts

Resources:

• Article: The Double Diamond: A Universally Accepted Depiction of the Design Process  (read here)

• Article: Framework for Innovation: Design Council’s Evolved Double Diamond at designcouncil.org.uk  (read here)

• Article: Rose, Thorn, Bud at luma-institute.com (read here)

• Article: The Importance/Difficulty Matrix at luma-institute.com (read here)

• Book: The One Thing by Gary Keller (Goodreads)

• Book: What Do You Do With an Idea? By Kobi Yamada (Goodreads)

• Website: Stanford d.school at dschool.stanford.edu  https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources 

Honorable Mentions:

• “...the things that we have captured become a participant in the conversation.” 

• “We can only define our challenges effectively if we’ve got good data and observations.” 

• “We don’t have to kill our darlings.” 

• “Design thinking helps us harness our natural curiosity and creativity to bring new things into the world.” 

🌟 Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network by going to adhdrewired.com/podcastnetwork

🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community!

🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!