The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast

ADHD, academic pressure, homework stress, executive function struggles, and the pressure to succeed can leave kids overwhelmed and parents wondering when to push and when to step back. What does success really look like for a child with ADHD?

In this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, ADHD Parent Coach Kate Brownfield, ACC, talks with Dr. Denise Pope, Senior Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and co-founder of Challenge Success, about ADHD and school stress, student well-being, academic pressure, and redefining success for kids who may not thrive on a traditional path.

Dr. Pope explains why some students are simply “doing school” rather than truly engaging in learning, what happens when academic demands exceed a child’s coping skills, and how parents can support executive function, emotional regulation, belonging, and motivation without adding unnecessary pressure.

You’ll also hear practical insights on homework overwhelm, playtime, downtime, and family time, different learning paths, screens and social media, and how AI may affect students with ADHD.

Most importantly, Dr. Pope reminds parents to look beyond grades and achievement and keep seeing the whole child in front of them.

Learn more about Dr. Denise Pope and Challenge Success:
https://challengesuccess.org/

ADHD Parent Coaching + Resources:
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/

Is bedtime one of the hardest parts of your day?

For many children with ADHD, autism, or other forms of neurodivergence, sleep struggles are not simply behavioral. Brain biology, sensory sensitivities, anxiety, delayed circadian rhythms, and difficulty transitioning can all make it harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake feeling rested.

In this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, Kate Brownfield, ACC, ADHD Parent Coach, speaks with pediatric sleep expert Dr. Melisa Moore about why traditional sleep advice may not work for neurodivergent children and what parents can do instead.

Dr. Moore is a clinical psychologist, board-certified specialist in behavioral sleep medicine, and author of The Good Sleep Guide for Neurodivergent Kids. Drawing from her clinical expertise and her experience raising a neurodivergent child, she explains why persistent sleep challenges are not necessarily defiance or a sign that parents are doing something wrong.

Kate and Dr. Moore discuss:

• Why ADHD and autism can affect sleep
• Delayed circadian rhythms and nighttime bursts of energy
• Flexible bedtime routines and visual sleep schedules
• Sensory challenges during nighttime routines
• Sleep associations and frequent nighttime waking
• How screens may affect children differently
• Stimulant medication and sleep
• Melatonin, magnesium, and other sleep supplements
• When to consult a pediatrician or pediatric sleep specialist

This conversation offers practical ADHD sleep strategies, a more individualized approach to bedtime, and reassurance for exhausted parents who feel as though they have already tried everything.

Learn More About Dr. Melisa Moore
https://www.drmelisamoore.com/

The Good Sleep Guide for Neurodivergent Kids
https://www.drmelisamoore.com/book

ADHD Parent Support

Anchor Your ADHD Family
A 90-day ADHD parent coaching program with recorded education, live coaching, and an online parent community. Join anytime for $97 total.
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/anchor-your-family-adhd-parent-coaching/

Private ADHD Parent Coaching
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/private-adhd-parent-coaching/

For more ADHD parenting resources and podcast episodes, visit:
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/

What if your child with ADHD is not the first person who needs to change?

When mornings, homework, screens, and bedtime become repeating battles, it is easy to believe your child simply needs more motivation, better behavior, or stronger consequences.

But what might change if the parent changed the environment, expectation, or response first?

In this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, Kate Brownfield, ACC, ADHD Parent Coach, explores what can happen when parents stop waiting for their child with ADHD to be the first one to change.

Kate explains how challenges with executive functioning, emotional regulation, transitions, time awareness, motivation, and follow-through can turn ordinary family moments into ongoing power struggles. She shares why adding more reminders, pressure, lectures, or consequences does not necessarily build the skills a child is struggling to access—and may sometimes create more resistance, anxiety, shutdown, or shame.

Kate also discusses why ADHD parent training and parent support can be so valuable. It is not because parents are doing something wrong. Raising a child with ADHD often requires a different understanding of behavior and a different set of tools.

This episode explores co-regulation, the role of the parent nervous system, and what it means to become the more grounded, anchored adult in the room while still holding boundaries and expectations.

Parents are invited to consider a different question when their child is struggling. Instead of asking, “Why won’t my child change?” ask:

“What can I change in the environment, expectation, or response that could help my child succeed?”

ADHD Parent Support

Anchor Your ADHD Family
A 90-day ADHD parent coaching program with recorded education, live coaching, and an online parent community. Join anytime for $97 total.
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/anchor-your-family-adhd-parent-coaching/

Private ADHD Parent Coaching
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/private-adhd-parent-coaching/

ADHD Kids Can Thrive
https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/

For more ADHD parenting resources, podcast episodes, and support, visit ADHDKidsCanThrive.com.

What does the science really say about ADHD? In this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, Kate Brownfield talks with Dr. Stephen Faraone, one of the world’s leading ADHD researchers and founder of the ADHD Evidence Project, about ADHD medication, misinformation, co-occurring conditions, and evidence-based treatment. This conversation helps parents better understand what’s supported by research, what gets overstated online, and how to think more clearly about treatment decisions for kids and teens with ADHD.

In this episode:

ADHD myths vs. evidence

stimulant vs. non-stimulant medication

ADHD medication and addiction concerns

anxiety, depression, and other co-occurring conditions

behavior therapy, CBT, and skill-building support

Resources mentioned:
ADHD Evidence Project: https://www.adhdevidence.org/
ADHD Kids Can Thrive: https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/

Enjoyed this episode? Follow, rate, and share with a parent who wants a more grounded, research-based understanding of ADHD treatment, medication, and support.

If your child looks “fine” at school but falls apart at home, melts down over everyday expectations (homework, transitions, getting out the door), or is sliding into school refusal, this episode will help you make sense of what might be going on, especially when autism, AuDHD, and anxiety are part of the picture.

On this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, host Kate Brownfield sits down with Diane Gould, founder of PDA North America and co-author of Navigating PDA in America, for a grounded, parent-friendly conversation about Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) (often reframed as a Pervasive Drive for Autonomy). Diane explains why PDA is best understood through a nervous system lens (not “defiance”), why many traditional behavior plans can backfire, and what actually helps kids who experience everyday demands as a threat response.

This episode is especially helpful if you’ve heard “PDA” mentioned in an evaluation, therapy, or online, and you’re trying to understand what’s real, what’s misunderstood, and what supports are most effective at home and at school.

In this episode, we cover:

What PDA is and how the definition has evolved (and why there’s still debate)

Why PDA often overlaps with autism and/or ADHD and why it’s frequently missed or mislabeled

PDA vs. ODD: how “oppositional” behavior can look similar on the surface but be driven by something very different underneath

The common pattern of masking at school and meltdowns or shutdowns at home, and why parents are often told, “They’re an angel here.”

Why school refusal is so common for PDA kids (and what Diane is seeing in families today)

Why rewards, consequences, sticker charts, strict routines, and compliance-based strategies often don’t work and what to try instead

The role of relationship, trust, and co-regulation, especially as kids get older and school support gets more fragmented

Practical ways parents can reduce stress, protect the nervous system, and support learning without crushing autonomy

What PDA can look like in adulthood and why support systems and interdependence matter

Resources mentioned

PDA North America (website): https://pdanorthamerica.org/

Diane Gould: https://dianegouldtherapy.com/
Book: Navigating PDA in America (Diane Gould & Ruth Fidler): Amazon Link

Kate / ADHD Kids Can Thrive: https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/

 

Enjoyed this episode? Follow, rate, and share with a parent who needs a clearer, calmer framework for PDA, demand avoidance, school refusal, autonomy needs, and nervous system support.