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Advocating for your ADHD kid at school is one of the most important jobs you have as their parent, and one of the most emotionally exhausting. In this episode, Erica reframes advocacy as bridging, not fighting. She shares the story of a high school student whose grade jumped two full letter grades from one small accommodation (his science teacher started emailing the lesson slides one day before class). She walks through a quick primer on IEPs, 504 plans, and informal support plans, plus her favourite categories of accommodations for the classroom environment, learning and instruction, transitions, emotional and behavioural support, and home-school communication. And she shares what to do when the school pushes back on an accommodation. RESOURCES Top ADHD Accommodations Cheat Sheet Support Profile (editable Canva template for teachers, plus ADHD and autism info sheets) Never miss an episode: sign up for my weekly newsletter! Advocating for School Support Mini Course

If homework in your house is a nightly battle, if the 20 minute assignment somehow takes 3 hours, if your kid was fine at school and is now falling apart at the kitchen table, this episode is for you. Erica shares what restraint collapse is and why homework at the kitchen table can be a place of meltdowns and frustration, the after-school sequence that actually helps, her real opinions on homework in elementary school, and the exact phrase to use with teachers when advocating for accommodations ("reduce quantity, not content"). She also gets into body doubling, task initiation, and scaffolding for teens, plus a full section on preventing the assignment pile before it becomes an avoidance spiral. Plus one of her own homework stories from childhood, involving Grimms Fairytales, a reading log, and a C in elementary school reading that made no sense until you looked closely.   FREE RESOURCE Grab the Support Profile here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sOhSMxXwJSzk4uMHgXbj6pz5_47iXxNv/view?usp=sharing Or head to Instagram @behaviourcoach and comment THRIVE on any post for the same resource, plus ADHD and autism info sheets. Never miss an episode: Get on the weekly newsletter! AUDIO COURSES (Pay what you can) If homework battles are tipping into meltdowns, check out my Meltdowns Mastery audio course. If friendships are the harder piece this school year, The Belonging Blueprint course is for you!

If your ADHD kid is coming home from the first weeks of school completely fried, melting down over things that seem small, unable to do basic tasks they were handling fine in June, this episode is for you. Season 2 of The Behaviour Coach Podcast opens with a full back-to-school arc, and this first episode is about why the transition itself is so hard. Erica walks through the enormous executive function load of "new" for an ADHD brain, what the first weeks of regression actually are (spoiler: it is not regression), how to take load off at home during September, and how to help your kid's new teacher see them clearly in the small window at the beginning of the year. She also introduces a free resource for parents: the Support Profile, an editable Canva template you can give to your kid's teacher, plus one-pagers on ADHD and autism. FREE RESOURCE Grab the Support Profile here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sOhSMxXwJSzk4uMHgXbj6pz5_47iXxNv/view?usp=sharing Or head to Instagram @behaviourcoach and comment THRIVE on any post for the same resource, plus ADHD and autism info sheets. Never miss an episode: sign up for the weekly newsletter! If meltdowns are part of the back-to-school picture, check out my Meltdowns Mastery audio course. Pay what you can. If friendships are on your mind for the school year, The Belonging Blueprint course is for you. Pay what you can.

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 safety risk in neurodivergent kids, including the sobering statistics on drowning and wandering. She covers water safety and the layered system her family uses (including the pilot-style verbal handoff for supervision), sun and heat considerations including how ADHD stimulant medications affect hydration and thermoregulation, elopement and wandering protocols, and road and travel safety. If you have ever been told you are too worried, too hyper-vigilant, too much when it comes to your neurodivergent kid, this episode is for you. Your hypervigilance is not neurosis. It is love, translated into vigilance, in a body that has learned it needs to be watching. This is the Season 1 finale. Season 2 returns in late August with a back-to-school arc. In the meantime, the entire back catalog of Episodes 1 through 17 is available wherever you listen. FURTHER READING Columbia University research on wandering and injury in autism: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/individuals-autism-substantially-heightened-risk-injury-death ADHD stimulant medications and heat regulation, clinical guidance: https://careadhd.frontkb.com/en/articles/9982338 Autism and thermoregulation research overview: https://biologyinsights.com/autism-and-temperature-regulation-key-thermosensory-insights/ Never miss an episode: get on the weekly newsletter If meltdowns are part of the summer picture, Meltdowns Mastery audio course. Pay what you can. And of course, come say hi over on instagram!

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's episode walks through the five things that actually help: decoding what "I'm bored" really means, building boredom infrastructure that quietly does the work all summer, a real summer screen plan, how to prep summer camp counsellors so your kid can succeed, and downtime, for your kids and for you. Next week: travel with neurodivergent kids.

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, what to do when a movement tool makes overwhelm worse instead of better, and how to introduce movement so it actually gets used. A note on disclosure: this is not a paid or sponsored episode. I have been gifted a bellicon through a past social media collaboration, and I genuinely love and use the product. There is an affiliate link in the show notes, which I disclose to listeners. But the conversation is editorial. The focus is sensory, movement, and supporting neurodivergent kids. FURTHER READING 2025 randomized controlled trial on vestibular and proprioceptive exercises reducing hyperactivity and impulsivity: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S305065652500015X Rebounding for ADHD and autism, in plain language: https://www.boogiebounce.com/rebounding-with-autism-and-adhd/ Never miss an episode: subscribe to the behaviour coach newsletter My bellicon affiliate link Use code BEHAVIOURCOACH for a discount. If meltdowns are part of the daily picture, Meltdowns Mastery audio course. Pay what you can!

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 nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with how the brain manages getting things done. Your child isn't lazy. They aren't choosing not to try. They're working with a brain whose project-management system develops on a different timeline. And it can be supported. FURTHER READING The 30 percent rule, in plain language: https://lifeskillsadvocate.com/blog/adhd-executive-age/ Brain-maturity research from NIH: https://impactparents.com/blog/adhd/the-link-between-brain-maturity-academic-success-with-adhd/ Never miss an episode, join the behaviour coach podcast weekly newsletter. If meltdowns are part of the daily picture, Meltdowns Mastery audio course. Pay what you can!

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 episode: join the newsletter When a sense of injustice floods the nervous system and tips into a meltdown, the Meltdowns Mastery audio course breaks down the whole cycle. Pay what you can, starting at just $5!

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 your own medical team about what's right for your family. Research and Resources: ADHD as a circadian rhythm disorder (2025 research review): Sleep and ADHD, in plain language (clinician overview): Never miss an episode: join the newsletter When exhaustion is unraveling your days, the Meltdowns Mastery audio course can help you understand the whole cycle. Pay what you can (starting at just $5).

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 diagnosis (open access) Never miss an episode: join the newsletter here Follow me on Instagram for more ADHD Parenting tips If sensory overwhelm tips your child into full meltdowns, the Meltdowns Mastery audio course walks through what's happening and what helps, before, during, and after. All of my ADHD courses are pay what you can starting at just $5.

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, not rigid schedules. The shift that changes everything when a piece of your routine has become a daily battle. And practical strategies for mornings, evenings, and after school that actually work for the ADHD brain. Plus the question every parent of an ADHD child needs to stop asking themselves, and the permission slip you might not realize you need. If you want to go deeper check out my audio course on hiro.fm Connect with me: Instagram: @behaviourcoach  Newsletter: neilsonmahoneycoaching.com/podcast

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 rejection land so much harder. You will hear about a child who tore up her homework after gentle feedback, a teen who blocked her closest friend on every platform over a single message, and the most powerful research backed strategy for moving through an RSD episode. Whether you are a parent watching your child fall apart over something small, or an adult who has spent a lifetime people pleasing and replaying conversations at 2 in the morning, this episode is for you. If you want to go deeper check out my audio course on Hiro.fm Connect with me: Instagram: @behaviourcoach  Subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss an episode!

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 about ADHD communication patterns that get misread like interrupting and connecting through shared stories, and explain what happens when the drive for connection intensifies in a dysregulated nervous system. On the practical side, I share my favourite strategy for kids who feel disconnected, how to bridge from acquaintance to friend with concrete steps, and how to have conversations about unhealthy friendships. If you are lying awake worrying about whether your child has friends, this one is for you. Mentioned in this episode: Dr. Damian Milton (the double empathy problem) Connect with me:  Instagram: @behaviourcoach  Subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss an episode!

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 range that I think is going to make a lot of this click. I also cover the traffic light model, how to identify rumblings before they escalate, the know-plan-intervene framework for prevention, what to do mid-meltdown, and how to take care of yourself and your child after. If you want to go deeper on meltdowns, check out my Meltdowns Mastery audio course, available on a pay-what-you-can basis. Connect with me:  Instagram: @behaviourcoach  Newsletter: https://masterclass.neilsonmahoneycoaching.com/behaviourcoachpodcast

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 in the ADHD brain, and how to build plans that actually work. I cover hazards and triggers, why generic "stop and think" advice fails without a concrete plan underneath it, and three targeted approaches for physical impulsivity, verbal impulsivity, and impulsive decision-making. There is also a section for adults with ADHD who recognize themselves in every example. Connect with me: Instagram: @behaviourcoach Newsletter: https://masterclass.neilsonmahoneycoaching.com/behaviourcoachpodcast