Scrolling through Facebook,  you see all the photos of families enjoying family time together. “Holidays! #blessed” “Family Fun Day”.  We often can’t help but to compare our family's lives to others. As a mum of 3 boys with ADHD (throw some Tourette’s, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, sensory processing disorder and specific learning disorders in there too), I know that often our family days out can end in tears… or sometimes in emergency room visits eeekkkk.  We have had our fair share of disasters - all of us leaving the...

"Why can't you just focus?!!!"

It is the night before an important assignment is due at school. It is on the most boring of topics. Your child has left it to the last minute. Every time they try and switch their brain into gear to get it done, it gets worse.  They can't focus.  You can feel your stress rising.  Why can't they just focus! The more they try, the harder it gets!

I know you understand what I am talking about. It is so hard for people with ADHD to focus on things that they are not interested in. I watch my kids (and husband) struggle with this daily. Sometimes...

I was thinking about what the most important things are that I want my kids to know as they navigate through life with ADHD. We get so caught up in just surviving each day that I loved the idea of sitting down and writing a list of the things I want them to learn from my experiences.

I have 3 boys with ADHD and I spent some time last weekend thinking about what I want them to learn from me.  Not as an ADHD coach but as their mum.  What advice would I give them or what are 10 things that I would like them to know.

Here they are:

1. Friends

I know making and keeping friends can be...

Hey - are you exhausted?

I talk a lot about how important it is to take care of ourselves because what we deal with each day can be challenging. 

We need to have something left in our tank to weather the storm of life. I am so lucky to show you this series of three short 5 minute videos from our wonderful naturopath friend, Jules Galloway, as she touches on sleep, stress and chronic fatigue.

Today's blog is all about SLEEP 

Jules works with women with fatigue and exhaustion.  She really brings so many valuable tips in these 5 minute videos.

It is well worth a watch, so...

How do we actually get our children to do what needs to be done? It is a tough one and it is something we talk about a lot in my one on one coaching sessions.  The truth is, it is a tricky one and we often need to explore what motivates your child specifically.

 Here are some tips to help motivate your child:

1. One step simple instructions.  Please do not interrupt that task with further instructions, as it will distract them.
   
   
2. Be visual have a chart or draw out what they need to do.  Have the action of moving the paperclip down the side of the paper or ticking the task...

It blows my mind when the media lead with negative traits of ADHD and special needs in general.  It is everywhere. You see, time and time again throughout history the big change makers, the big hitters, the big risk takers, the greats, the outside the box thinkers, have been people with ADHD.  So why do we only seem to hear of the negatives?  It is something that makes me cranky.  

Well it could be because these are kids are challenging to parent, the negatives are in your face.  Everyday on facebook groups there are parents at their wits end.  They...

We all know we need to look after ourselves... but life happens and we are looking after children that have special needs and behavioural challenges - somehow every week something seems to come up and our needs fall to the end of a very long to do list.

But the truth of the matter is, we are a seriously high burn out risk. 

Over the years I have come to realise that I was waiting for someone to swoop in and take care of me.  I didn't put myself first, everyone else's needs came first.  Sadly, if we don't look after ourselves, we wont have anything left in the tank to assist...

So.... what is in your freezer?

Most people can rattle off a few things... but the truth is not many of us know exactly what is in there... what is that mystery meat hiding behind the frozen bananas? We keep buying more, spending more money and not using what we already have.  

I wanted to chat about this today, because we are focusing on saving money right now and I know that this can be challenging for people with ADHD - so this is a tool that can help.

In the ADHD and Families Online Program we talk about predictable problems and ensuring you have back up meals ready...