Translating ADHD

The hosts culminate the current theme of disruption and ADHD by exploring how change and disruption can fundamentally change one’s relationship with their ADHD. We often think that once we learn about our ADHD and lock into effective tools, practices and perspectives that our relationship with our ADHD will become fairly immutable. Just like any relationship, though, life events both planned and unplanned will change the dynamic of a relationship, including our relationship with our ADHD. Ash and Cam discuss the challenges Ash is currently facing with his executive functioning and challenges of managing his ADHD. Ash acknowledges his struggle and the recent discovery of this significant change. Cam points out how Ash had to get both vulnerable and curious to make this observation. Even seasoned ADHD coaches like Ash have to re-navigate their own Understand, Own, Translate process. Ash reflects on his recent experiences and major life events, including the pandemic, divorce, moving to a new home, his father's passing, his child coming out and his own transition. Ash discusses how these events have led him to reevaluate his relationships, especially with his mother and her family, and how these events allowed him to prioritize authenticity and integrity. Asher shares the emotional and physical changes he has experienced, as well as the challenges of navigating his ADHD alongside hormonal changes. The discussion touches on the need to let go of expectations of returning to a previous "normal" and embracing the journey of self-discovery and adaptation. Cam highlights the dynamic nature of change and the challenges of pinning down and understanding evolving situations. They discuss the importance of shifting from binary thinking to journey thinking, accepting that change is a continuous process. Ash shares his personal journey of self-acceptance and finding new ways to navigate his ADHD and gender transition. The episode concludes with Ash expressing gratitude for the support and love he has received from listeners and the greater community. Ash is grateful for the platform to share his story as a trans person and continue their work on the podcast. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam continue to discuss the topic of disruptions in the context of ADHD. They reflect on previous episodes where they talked about daily hiccups and bigger life disruptions. In this episode, they explore the concept of the new normal all of us are facing, especially post pandemic, and the challenges it poses for those of us with ADHD. They address a paradox with change, where we crave novelty and spontaneity but struggle with unexpected disruptions. They also discuss current disruptions in the world today, such as supply chain issues and medication shortages. Both hosts share client stories regarding the medication shortage, touching on the frustrations and the difficulties in obtaining prescriptions, as well as the impact on individuals' executive functioning. They mention the importance of tending to one's nervous system and finding ways to relax and reduce stress in order to navigate the constant disruptions of the new normal. Finally, they encourage listeners to take stock of their experiences and consider the challenges they have overcome over the past five years. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

In this episode, Ash and Cam discuss the concept of life disruptions and how individuals with ADHD can navigate them. They start by reflecting on smaller disruptions and the opportunity to anticipate them to achieve better outcomes. They mention the ADHD assumption that life should be free of disruptions harkening back to the concept of greenlight planning. They then transition to discussing more significant disruptions that require pivoting towards a new normal. Ash shares an example of a client whose adult daughter had a traumatic fall, leading her to move across the country temporarily. They highlight the importance of recognizing when there's no opening for change and supporting clients through disruptions. They also mention the importance of reconnecting clients to what they already know, such as their values, needs, and strengths. They discuss how coaching can prepare clients for pivots and provide resources to navigate disruptions. Another example is given of a client who lost their job and returned to coaching to reconnect with their identity beyond their previous position. The conversation emphasizes the significance of reconnecting with knowledge and perspectives amidst disruptions. They also discuss how disruptions can lead to new opportunities and the importance of reevaluating goals and priorities. The hosts highlight the challenges of being in a limbo state for individuals with ADHD and the need to find ways to make progress while accepting limitations. Ash and Cam discuss how coaching can play a role in helping clients manage disruptions, navigate new normals, and make choices aligned with their values and aspirations. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

After a deep dive into being misunderstood with ADHD, Asher and Cam pivot to managing disruptions with ADHD. They start by looking at the smaller variety of disruptions that are a part of modern living. Ash separates these into internal and external categories. Small external disruptions are the ones like hiccups in our calendars, when things don't go according to plan. Internal disruptions are those where we start to hyper-focus on a thought or feeling, a misstep or a miscue. Cam introduces the concept of expectation inertia that can come into play with external disruptions. We can really struggle when plans don’t go according to plan, or as Ash explains with a client example, when we are faced with a "different kind of month,” say one with an abundance of birthday celebrations. Ash continues to share another client example where awareness and self-compassion, along with a practice of anticipating little disruptions, can open the door for real change. Discerning what we can and can not control really matters in managing disruptions. Cam finishes out the episode with a client example where a client kept getting tripped up by the shifting roles through the year. Thinking about these periods as seasons helped to anticipate the impending changes about to occur. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam shift from advocating one’s value at work to discussing how to deliver one’s value. This brings in the universal question from one of our earliest episodes (ep 10 and 11) - Why do I not do what I know I ought to do? Ash and Cam spend considerable time talking about what value work is and typical barriers to delivering value work. Value work is often the work that is not necessarily in a job description and that no one is expecting to see today. Here in lies an ADHD dilemma - How do you deliver consistent value work when it keeps slipping off your To-Do list to the next day? The hosts share a series of obstacles from the tyranny of the urgent, to the challenge of perfection. They share a few client examples and invite clients to locate advocates to discuss and develop space for getting touches on the high value work. They dig deep into the meaning of completion and how an iterative process of experimentation can help develop best practices here. Common themes like journey thinking and pause, disrupt, pivot are visited. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam have discussed advocacy in past episodes but not in the context of the current theme of being misunderstood. The hosts share lots of client examples of advocating for one’s needs and how each situation is dependent on several factors. Is the environment a safe place to share and advocate? Is it more ADHD or more about challenges beyond our control? They discuss how we tend to not communicate our value assuming it is known and how advocating is nearly impossible when you don’t see yourself in the picture. The hosts emphasize that it takes time in the coaching process to discover challenges clients are facing and they encourage listeners to do the same when considering support at work. They share the BEANS acronym from previous episodes - Boundaries, Expectations, Agreements, Needs and Safety focusing mostly on the latter two. They share what needs to be present in an environment to advocate (respect, clear mission and roles and safety) and red flags to be wary of (politics, unwritten rules, ego and intense emotionality). Cam shares an example of one client’s journey from a challenging environment to one that is supportive and engaging. Both discuss how confidence is something that is a product of effective advocacy, signals of reassurance and feeling like a contributing member of an organization. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam stay with the being misunderstood with ADHD theme and take a big step back to look at the larger context of trying to seek understanding and support in a world quick to judge everything ADHD. Cam shares how a recent BCC investigative news story on private ADHD clinics in the UK unleashed a torrent of follow up stories - common fear-based themes that ADHD is overdiagnosed, that the medicines are not beneficial and stories that call into question the very existence of ADHD. Seeking support personally and professionally is an ever changing obstacle course when people and organizations have such strong opinions about something they know very little about. Everything we’ve known about ADHD has been reinforced by research and advances in neuroimaging - that ADHD is cognitive in nature, that it is a neuro-developmental condition and that it is hereditary, that it impacts the executive function center of the brain and that it can have a dramatic effect on our ability to have agency and fulfillment in our lives. Asher makes a key distinction between advocating for oneself and advocacy, where the latter is about general education to create greater systemic change and the former is about identifying specific areas of support for a specific situation. Ash also discusses the meaning of a label, and how ADHD is a starting place to create change. He also discusses the misunderstanding gap and compares the ADHD lived experience with his trans lived experience - that as a trans ally he made assumptions about what it is to be trans. No one can know your lived experience like you, so don’t let their strong feelings define your reality. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam continue in the vein of being misunderstood with ADHD, and how we can create our own misunderstanding in the form of red herrings that distract us from the real challenges and real opportunities at work. When we let fear inform our behavior, we can manage by avoidance. Managing by avoidance is to avoid looking bad or to avoid not having the answer. We will avoid rocking the boat or avoid the spotlight. When we embrace journey thinking and look for the learning opportunity in every situation, we can start to get a clearer picture of the real dilemmas we are facing at work and the real opportunities at hand. Ash and Cam share numerous client stories to illustrate this dilemma and how listeners can start down this all-important path to change. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam shift their focus to the workplace with regard to the current story arc on being misunderstood with ADHD. Leading with Yours-Mine-Ours, Asher and Cam talk about ADHD challenges in the context of larger potential workplace challenges that can plant the seeds for misunderstanding. There are some environments and some managers where no amount of ADHD management will make the situation tenable. Those of us with ADHD, when in a One-Down state, can feel like we are the instigators of all of the misunderstanding in a workplace. The hosts go on to share scenarios where the seeds of misunderstanding can be planted when ADHD is in the mix: When we lean on one role to the detriment of another, when we don’t deliver on a promise, when we don’t communicate or inquire about expectations. Ash and Cam share a number of examples from clients to working with teams. A refreshing approach to what is often a difficult topic to address. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam dig deeper into the being misunderstood theme by looking at the very unique ADHD phenomenon of trying to explain our ADHD when our ADHD is acting as a roadblock to new awareness and learning. Cam uses an example shared by a Patreon/Discord member on how she struggles with this challenge. The member illustrated the difference between “front” emotions and “underlying” emotions and how it is hard for her to get to the underlying emotion or need. She shares several examples - one of which where she thinks she is bored with company (front) but in actuality she is physically tired (underlying). Understanding this distinction allows her to better understand her ADHD so she can then articulate her needs to others. Getting to the emotional nuance and awareness is an ADHD challenge just like emotional regulation. So often we feel compelled to explain ourselves without fully knowing what is going on “under the hood.” Ash continues the thread by sharing a humorous at times story about his partner wanting to install cat shelves late at night. What ensues is how the drama plays out in a series of misunderstandings for two individuals with ADHD. Ash finishes with sharing how clear communication leads to understanding, new agreements and appreciation and trust. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Cam and Asher continue to explore the topic of being misunderstood with ADHD. Nowhere does this play out more dramatically than in our primary relationships. It’s nearly impossible to articulate thoughts and feelings and advocate for oneself if you are not clear on what is actually going on. The first barrier of ADHD is awareness, and we can feel the frustration and emotion from a particular situation. But ADHD makes it really hard to get to the root cause. ADHD and executive function challenges are a part of the root! Ash shares a fantastic example of a client who feels like his spouse is ‘tossing a basketball in his face’ every time she asks him to do something, eliciting a response of frustration. As Ash and his client look ‘under the hood’, the client starts to appreciate and understand how his ADHD was coming into the situation with his spouse. With the understanding that it is a challenge with effective transitioning, he can articulate his needs to his spouse. She in turn can develop some empathy for his situation. Cam brings in the concept of context switching and how it can be difficult to shift from work mode to home mode and back. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam begin a new series on a ubiquitous ADHD experience - being misunderstood. ADHD operates out of sight and in the background, yet its impact can have enormous consequences. Additionally, ADHD and related executive function challenges make it very difficult to bring the ADHD out into the open to generate new understanding and awareness for the individual and for others. The hosts kick off the series by looking at how childhood experiences of living with ADHD create misunderstanding for all parties and lead to a sense of One Down later in life. A focal point for being misunderstood is the challenge around the universal question from episodes 10 and 11 Why do I not do what I ought to do? and the subsequent fallout from failure here. This ADHD behavior does not make sense to the observing brain, especially lack of follow-through. When children don’t do as asked, others will assume the worst. They rarely think that the behavior is due to cognitive challenges with executive functioning. Ash shares a client’s story and his own story where the common theme was about being misunderstood. He then shares how to use the coaching skill of distinguishing to tease apart the ADHD from the experience and to differentiate yours, mine and ours. The hosts leave listeners with some ideas of how to start to shift thinking around One Down and seeing oneself in the picture. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam often speak of the Understand, Own, Translate model that is so ubiquitous to the mission of the Translating ADHD podcast - that to live fully and to have success one must understand, own and translate their ADHD experience. Today, Ash and Cam explore this model in depth through a single coaching session with one of Ash’s clients. Describing this single session checks many of the boxes the hosts have been speaking of recently like journey thinking, revealing the Meaning Maker, shifting to causation and moving away from ARC. They also share essential elements of the coaching process and how coach and client shift from dilemma to opportunity through the discovery, action, insight model of coaching. Ash’s client comes with a specific dilemma, and coach and client quickly identify a limiting belief and a realization of the high cost of seeking rewarding behaviors in a particular way, or as the client states with colorful language, the hot, dirty coal way. Coach and client then shift into using rich metaphor work to further understand and own the behavior and start to see openings for opportunity and change. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Cam takes Ash and listeners on a field trip to the land of ADHD causation, introducing listeners to Cam’s own Meaning Maker (MM). Veteran listeners will recall the challenge for ADHDers to get to causation from the Mt. Rainier Model introduced in episode 10. They will also recall Cam speaking about his Big Idea Generator (BIG). The Meaning Maker is first cousin to the BIG and is a part of everyone’s belief system - the neural system that makes sense of the world and that rationalizes choices and actions. Confirmation bias is a result of selectively picking data to reinforce a position. ADHD can super-charge the MM by plugging into our contextual processor. Informed by urgency and ARC activity, we can infuse our belief systems with “what if!” scenarios that generate doubt and worry. This gives the MM a spotlight on the stage - and an undeniable big signal. Cam shares his own experience as a teacher more than 20 years ago when his Meaning Maker was very active, reinforcing a story that entrenched him in a perspective of one down. Ash explores this experience with Cam, extracting valuable understanding and perspective. When Cam understood the presence of the MM and what gave it its power, he was able to short circuit the system. The hosts leave listeners with steps to discover and observe their own Meaning Makers. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Following up on last week’s episode of emotional autopilot, Ash and Cam explore some of the motivations for this behavior. We do what we need to to get through our days, and emotional autopilot is a coping mechanism for managing strong emotions and the limiting stories that can accompany them. Cam shares three specific examples of limiting stories and how we can uncover the ADHD that is operating in the background. When we explore causation, we can start to poke holes in our stories that don't serve us. Cam specifically points to 'One Down' or 'I am not enough.' The conflict avoider and the misunderstood rebel. Ash points out distinctions where awareness, agency and choice can completely change the dynamic for the better. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Episode 10 - Cause, Effect, and the Universal ADHD Question (pt. 1) Episode 60 - Revisiting our ADHD Cause and Effect Metaphor: The Valleys For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam continue to pull the thread on getting distance from the Adrenaline Response Cycle as they explore common emotional responses when faced with uncertainty and challenge. Today they share the concept of emotional autopilot. We can approach our days and plans in an autopilot fashion expecting our day to go off without a hitch. We can also set our emotions on autopilot or conveniently set them aside - partitioning them from our day. We all know how this plays out. When things don't go according to plan, our emotions come out in anger or disappointment and often at a higher intensity due to emotional dysregulation. Cam and Ash tack against common suggestions regarding emotional regulation, addressing the challenge more at causation than at manifestation. According to findings in neuroscience, the more aware we are of our emotions the more we can utilize them as a resource. Like Kelly McGonigal’s work on stress, if we shift the way we view emotions, we can turn them into the resources they are. Emotions drive our desires, our attention and our motivation for change. They can also be difficult to manage because they are stronger than positive emotions. Often the big signal is negative in nature and when we do explore emotions, the first thing we hear is our own internal negative self-talk. The hosts share different ways we can resource emotions and ‘crack the lid on the mason jar’ to let emotions inform, and not drive, behavior or responses. Ash distinguishes emotions and the story associated with the emotions. He also shares an example where a client uses her own body awareness to better understand how her migraines are an indication of surpassing a threshold and entering the crash phase of ARC. Cam shares an example where a client uses time to process emotions in an interaction with a coworker. The hosts emphasize well known podcast concepts like curiosity and pause, disrupt, pivot to shift away from the autopilot mode. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Emotional Health Ladder Episode 78 Navigating the Fight, Flight, or Freeze Stress Response with ADHD – Translating ADHD Podcast Kelly McGonigal Ted Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend/c Susan David - https://www.susandavid.com/ Positive Intelligence - https://www.positiveintelligence.com/ For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

To be untethered can mean a lot of things in mental health circles. Often it is referred to as one not being grounded or tethered to reality. With respect to ADHD, it can take on a whole different meaning. Ash and Cam discuss how as coaching clients unravel themselves from the react and respond mode of the Adrenaline Response Cycle, they can find themselves in a rather uncomfortable in-between place straight out of a Dr Seuss book. This is the place of lots of awareness and little change, and a place where many turn back from. The hosts share how tethers serve to anchor ADHD individuals to strengths, values and purpose. Anchoring to a journey thinking mindset can assist people as they move to their more authentic version of themselves motivated by inspiration and opportunity. Ash shares numerous examples from his Purpose class on how students are developing knowledge without the destination of a clear purpose. Cam shares two specific examples of how this in-between place can feel disorienting for the Big Brainer (freefalling) and the Fast Brainer (infinite acceleration). The hosts share several examples of what listeners can do while they inhabit the in-between place. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

This week we are delighted to present another special episode dedicated to exploring the lived experiences of people of color with ADHD by presenting an interview with ADHD advocate and influencer Rach Idowu. When Rach’s own diagnosis was disrupted due to the Covid pandemic, she took it upon herself to educate herself about ADHD. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, she started to share her own experience on social media as a black professional woman living in London. Rach discusses the challenges she faced as a young girl of immigrant parents trying to succeed without knowing she had ADHD. She talks about how she met resistance in the diagnosis process but used her curiosity and tenacity to keep asking questions and not being satisfied with the status quo. She shares with Cam her passion for advocacy and love of gaming and how gaming serves as a model and metaphor for approaching difficult dilemmas. Finally, Rach shares how her love of helping others and spreading the word about ADHD has fueled her enthusiasm and efforts in a very popular newsletter and her own line of ADHD flashcards. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Rach’s Twitter Rach’s Linktree For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam bring the conversation down to earth from last week’s big picture view on journey thinking and detaching from outcome. Chasing big signal items like drama, shiny objects or avoiding conflict has us beholden to the Adrenaline Response Cycle of delay, hyper-focus, crash, recovery. This is often fueled by destination thinking and attaching to outcomes. Both Ash and Cam bring in examples of where clients design their own practices or experiments to limit ARC-fueled behaviors. Cam talks about how in coaching we look at behaviors that are not working prior to building new behaviors. He shares an example where a client wants to have less of an emotional experience, specifically FOMO or fear of missing out, while he day-trades stocks. Key to the experience are guidelines or rules of engagement and identifying the learning opportunity. The learning opportunity in this experiment is to bring the Keen Observer to his own emotional experience and see what big signal he is attached to. ADHD executive function challenges make it very difficult to let go or release a thought or belief or some picture of an outcome. The client over a period of experiments was able to generate new awareness and pull the learning forward into how he shows up at work, addressing two of the three barriers of ADHD (See below for link). Ash illustrates how a liability like emotional lability can be turned into a strength like empathy or intuition - that they can be two sides of the same coin. The hosts leave listeners with some places to start looking at building experiments of their own. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com Navigating the Three Barriers of ADHD Book: Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective

Ash and Cam continue to discuss the Adrenaline Response Cycle and ways to create some distance from ARC. The hosts revisit the concept of Journey Thinking - a cornerstone of coaching principles and a common theme on the podcast. Those of us with ADHD are prone to Destination Thinking or a propensity for attaching to specific outcomes. Both Cam and Ash share their own examples of Journey Thinking and what they did to address it. Ash brings back a popular metaphor of rocks in a foggy pond to illustrate the challenge of next steps and Cam shares how ADHD can exacerbate Destination Thinking. Part of the attaching to outcome dilemma is that it is often connected to a big signal either positive or negative. Along with that big signal is a limiting story and often intense emotions. The hosts share the practice of catch and release - a way to hold thoughts and feelings less tightly. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Episode 9 - Embracing Journey Thinking More on ARC from Cam’s Blog Adrenaline Response Cycle (image below) For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam shift from exploring the phases of the Adrenaline Response Cycle to discussing how to become less beholden to the cycle. The hosts share that this work is central to any ADHD coaching relationship - locating motivators other than urgency and hyperfocus to get things done. Ash and Cam focus on three main discussion points in today’s episode. Building awareness around how we can rationalize our avoidant behaviors prolonging the Delay phase. Building awareness of how we can hunt for meaning in everything we do and everything we don’t do. And starting to shift away from our binary (now/not now) approach to time and urgency. The hosts also look at how awareness of big signals can help to create important new learning about the ARC process. Cam and Ash share numerous examples of how each individual’s approach to this dilemma is unique to that individual and the significance of owning one's own process here. Ash shares a different take on the “Just do it!” approach, and both hosts discuss the importance of popping the ‘fantasy bubble’ and share the limitations of popular phrases like time blindness. Finally, the hosts talk about how they use concepts like emotion, space and social connections to make time more discernible for both Cam and Ash. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher More on ARC from Cam’s Blog Adrenaline Response Cycle (image below) For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam dive deeper into the Adrenaline Response Cycle, exploring the Delay phase that preceeds the Intense Activity phase. Last week they explored the Crash-Recovery phases, so the hosts thought it wise to look at the phase that so many of us with ADHD spend lots of time grappling with. In common circles this is referred to as procrastination, but hosts Cam and Ash prefer to not use this language because it doesn't get to the root of the dilemma. They share several examples of how Delay can play out from doing everything but the urgent task to doing much more than the specific challenge. Ash reiterates the distinction between constructive and productive work. Cam shares how our contextual wiring can wreak havoc when fueled by fear and urgency, playing out catastrophic scenarios or taking us to valley moments. Both hosts talk about how pause, disrupt and pivot can be useful during the delay phase and the power of acceptance. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher More on ARC from Cam’s Blog Adrenaline Response Cycle (image below) For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam continue to look at the dynamic nature of boundary creation and management by revisiting the very popular Adrenaline Response Cycle from Episode 4. The hosts share how our boundaries naturally adjust as a result of our current mode of activity. For so many of us with ADHD our daily mode is governed by the ARC Model – when we are beholden to the urgency of the current big signal. This urgency elicits an adrenaline and dopamine response that allows us to access our task management network and engage with our work. Ash and Cam actually focus more on the periods of the cycle other than the intense activity period, when we are enjoying a state of hyper-focus. Asher shares how he has learned to develop healthy boundaries around his own recovery periods, distinguishing healthy recovery time from post-crash recovery time. We often put so much focus on production and hyper-focus , we don’t realize the cost of a prolonged crash/recovery sequence. Ash reshares his Hoth rebel base metaphor for recovery periods he had little agency over. Finally, Ash shares a personal example of how he actively managed boundaries around a big signal that in the past would have had him jettison all other obligations and commitments and would result in a big crash and long recovery. He discusses effectively communicating needs, clarifying ‘the ask’ and managing expectations, all the while seeing himself ‘in the picture’. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Rebel Base Hoth Metaphor Episode More on ARC from Cam’s Blog Adrenaline Response Cycle (image below) For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam revisit boundaries after their initial boundary discussion way back in episode 25 almost three years ago. The hosts discuss why it is so hard for those of us with ADHD to establish and maintain boundaries, and they share ways to create boundaries that can work for a brain wired for context. Ash and Cam bring an inside/out approach to boundary development by asking the listener to think more about what they are defending than what they are defending against. The podcast concept of seeing oneself in the picture can be subjective and difficult to quantify. They introduce the concept of the ‘performative judge’, an inner critic character that focuses on everything related to doing and nothing to do with being. This performance judge along with one down can set us up for difficult boundary management. Ash shares an example where a client uses metaphor concepts of saving money to illustrate effective time and boundary management. Both hosts discuss the power of perspective, and that pausing to create space can be helpful. Cam talks about creating space between ourselves and that performative judge, and Ash shares another example where the client creates space between the ask and the reply. Lastly the hosts discuss the vulnerable spot we can find ourselves between new awareness and new actions to change and how we can protect ourselves through boundaries. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Ash and Cam continue to explore the roles and other factors that contribute to the dynamic that can create dysfunction and associated drama in our relationships. Cam distinguishes dysfunctional moments from the more serious dysfunctional people and relationships. If we can pause, disrupt and pivot around these moments, we can lessen the dramatic outcome. Asher introduces the idea of the executive function tax when confronted with new environmental factors. Cam brings Positive Intelligence, a new tool to the podcast, to explore more roles that can contribute to dysfunction. When we are more aware and more curious of these patterns, we can have agency to alter our outcomes. Cam and Ash explore several examples to illustrate how these saboteurs can play off each other. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/ https://www.susandavid.com/ For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Co-Hosts Ash and Cam continue to explore relationships and the drama related to them, looking at specific ADHD situations and distinctions. They dig deeper into the Karpman model introduced last week and look at the internal factors that can contribute to external dysfunction and drama. Those of us with ADHD can focus on getting a need met to the detriment of a larger dysfunction, focused on the immediacy of the need and missing the subtle yet damaging effects of a prolonged dynamic that doesn’t work. Ash and Cam look at the dynamic between victim, prosecutor and rescuer to illustrate this phenomenon. When we start to bring curiosity and nuance, though, to how we show up in our relationships, we can start to create change. The hosts focus on internal roles and stories we can attach to recognizing that change can only occur when we address our own stuff first. Ash shares different examples of how each Karpman role can show up, including how we can conveniently put the “Neurotypical“ in a prosecutor role. The hosts share specific strategies to start to create awareness, including looking at the energy consumption of playing specific roles and exploring ‘next level emotional work’. Remember to seek professional therapeutic help from an ADHD specific counselor if exploring this topic is too difficult on your own. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Karpman Drama Triangle For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam launch a new episode arc on relationships and ADHD. Relationships have already been covered in episodes 83-86 but the cohosts revisit relationships to explore specific ADHD challenges when we interact with the people around us. Today’s episode centers on drama. The hosts orient listeners to different factors that contribute to drama - that drama is a big signal (episodes 109-110) that can elicit a strong emotional response and challenges with emotional dysregualtion. When we explore those emotions and look at the stories associated with those emotions, we can start to find traction to change dramatic outcomes. The hosts share a number of tools from the emotional pool (episode 92) to the Karpman Drama Triangle. With ADHD we can assume all roles of the triangle moving quickly from victim to prosecutor to rescuer or easily jump into someone else’s emotional pool. Both Ash and Cam share stories of how roles, environments and internal one-down stories can trigger an over-sized emotional response. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Karpman Drama Triangle For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam make an easy transition from last week’s episode on needs and self-actualization to a focus on ADHD and purpose. The hosts share how purpose is a product of the work that happens in the action/learning model of coaching. As clients identify and operate out of strengths and start to see themselves in the picture, they begin to get insight into their Who. A client’s Who is their sense of identity and, as Asher shares in the episode, those of us with ADHD can struggle to connect to this concept for a number of reasons. The hosts continue to discuss how learning about one’s self opens the door to their bigger purpose or their sense of Why. Asher shares a client story of how a client’s purpose was revealed through the coaching process. Cam shares from his own experience the obstacles we can face getting insight into our purpose. The hosts discuss how insight into purpose can lead to prioritization and motivation and leave the listeners with an exercise to start to get more clarity into their purpose. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Asher and Cam finish their exploration of important ADHD distinctions around basic needs as they delve into self-actualization needs from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow argued that people have a need for fulfillment at this highest level. ADHD disrupts this desire in a number of ways. Never short in the creativity department, ADHD people are prone to a scattershot approach when it comes to creative expression. Distractibility, activation and sustaining effort all conspire to thwart creative expression to meaningful completion points. We can also be hampered by our contextual wiring, cherry picking data to reinforce a limiting belief. Cam shares his own example of how he used to use contextual Why Me? questions to avoid taking action in areas that really mattered to him. Yet self-actualization is possible with ADHD. Asher shares how exploration of a client’s Big Agenda is a part of the coaching process and is key to a sense of fulfillment. The hosts use the metaphor of a house foundation to illustrate how strong foundational elements - discovering one’s Who, operating from strengths and building one’s ADHD knowledge - contribute to self-actualization and a life that fits. Asher and Cam share numerous client examples of the path to creative expression and having a bigger positive impact. They discuss the significance of choice, priority and journey thinking as one becomes more clear in their purpose. Finally, they discuss how having a bigger impact can become a big signal to the detriment of other important needs and priorities. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Cam's Hierarchy of ADHD Needs For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Cam and Asher continue to explore important ADHD distinctions around basic needs as they delve into esteem needs on Maslow’s Hierarchy. Maslow argued that people have a need for appreciation and a recognition of their efforts. The specific ADHD distinction of self-compassion addresses the efforting aspect here and the universal question those of us with ADHD ask - Why do I not do what I know I ought to do? To live with ADHD is to live with this disconnect between a desired intention and the efforts and actions that support that intention. Bringing empathy and self-compassion to our efforts can mitigate the intense emotions (and emotional dysregulation) of the judgment of our inner critic and judgment from others. Doing so opens the door to curious exploration and creative solutions - key to the strength-based coaching model. Ash shares an excellent client example around keeping a guest room clean enough to be ready for house guests. When the client brought self compassion to herself and the situation, it opened the door for Ash and his client to develop creative solutions and helped his client connect to a positive motivator for addressing this dilemma. The hosts leave listeners with some practical exercises to bring more self-compassion to their efforts and actions. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Cam Gott’s Hierarchy of ADHD Needs For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Cam and Ash continue to explore important ADHD distinctions around basic needs as they dig into belongingness and love needs. Humans will often seek out connection more so than other basic needs, especially those in the self care arena. The need for acceptance and validation can be a giant big signal for those of us with ADHD. It feels good to be at the service of others but in overextending or seeking external validation, we can lose sight of ourselves - our own authentic Who. The hosts talk about the importance of self acceptance and how uncovering strengths and operating out of a strength mindset can lead to self acceptance. Asher shares how in our One Down perspective we can feel a need to make up for… - to make up for our perceived challenges and weaknesses. He shares an example of a client who thinks they need to be more like The Politician - someone in the client’s workspace who exudes confidence and competence in the moment. Leading with strength-based coaching, Ash and his client discover how his own strengths can support his goals and show up as a capable and confident leader, but true to his own authentic self. The hosts talk about how the blame sponge (episode 107) can make it difficult to distinguish supportive people and communities from those who are not. They discuss how boundary management begins with self acceptance. Cam shares about his own need for validation years ago and how he was able to come to a place of acceptance, see himself in the picture and operate from a place of strength and resilience. The hosts leave the listeners with a few practices to explore this all important need of belongingness and love. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Cam Gott’s Hierarchy of ADHD Needs The Six Cs Episode For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

The hosts continue to explore distinguishing ADHD needs using Maslow’s Needs model as the inspiration. Cam and Ash jump right into how daily stressors can directly impact needs regarding safety and security. The challenge here is that those of us with ADHD use stressors like an urgent crisis to create enough stimulation to take action and get things done. When we react and respond our way through our day it can take a collective toll. Asher observes how different needs levels are linked together, especially how the bottom two of physiological and safety are connected. Interestingly, clients often come to coaching when stressors become too much, and they realize a need for change. In coaching, we address self-care needs while identifying stressors to mitigate so we can start to help our clients move up the pyramid. Cam identifies the concept of ‘drama chasers’ - those who actively address others’ needs before addressing their own. Finally, Ash shares a great metaphor to illustrate how one can shift their perspective on reacting to a need (bracing for the storm) to moving to a place of choice (watching the storm while eating popcorn). The hosts leave listeners with a few exercises to identify stressors in their lives. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Cam Gott’s Hierarchy of ADHD Needs For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Most models, tools and processes, especially those focused on productivity, are not designed with the neurodivergent brain in mind. Often those of us with ADHD have to improvise to successfully implement a concept or a principle - think GTD or Omnifocus. Malsow’s Hierarchy of Needs model is no different in its highly rigid and linear qualities. Yet, it still is an excellent source to prompt thought and exploration around the concept of basic needs. With ADHD, needs often go unnoticed (because of a lack of ‘big signal’) until they become undeniable stressors. Ash and Cam turn their attention to distinguishing ADHD needs for each of the levels identified in the dated model. This week they start with the base level of physiological ADHD needs. To address physiological needs many automatically think about’ effective brain management’ through self care and medication. Ash and Cam argue that good management begins with good brain awareness. When we bring curiosity to our ADHD experience, we can build new awareness and learning. Awareness is so key to understanding one’s own basic physiological needs. Ash brings his Ice Planet Hoth metaphor, describing his own valley experience and being in a state of frozen overwhelm at the beginning of coaching with Cam. The hosts discuss how the coaching process of ‘holding the space’ for someone else can address connection and belongingness needs and open a door to better self care practices. The hosts also discuss how ADHD can impact other comorbidities like anxiety and depression. Ash and Cam reference the emotional pool model from episode 92. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Cam Gott’s Hierarchy of ADHD Needs The Emotional Pool Episode - Resilience and Building a Reflective Practice with ADHD For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

This week we turn our attention to the role of needs with respect to our own unique lived experience. Needs often are overlooked when it comes to ADHD primarily because of the very nature of needs. They operate often quietly in the background, and when they do make their presence known they show up as stressors. Needs are those things that make functioning sustainable. When needs go unattended they turn into stressors. Those of us with ADHD use stressors to get things done, and we often walk a fine line between stimulation and stress. Cam brings his Hierarchy of ADHD Needs model to illustrate what they are and how needs depend on one’s own unique lived experience. Based on Maslow’s work, the hosts discuss how the model is more of a prompt than something to be taken literally. Ash and Cam use multiple examples to discuss how needs intertwine with values and how recognizing and honoring needs is at the root of living authentically. Cam shares a client story of how the client can only generate hope when he addresses three specific needs. And with ADHD, the dilemma is remembering our own recipe of specific needs. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher Cam Gott’s Hierarchy of ADHD Needs The model and specific ADHD distinctions: Physiological ADHD Needs - brain awareness leads to better brain management Safety ADHD Needs - identifying relief from daily stressors Belongingness and Love ADHD Needs - positive environments that honor your authentic self Esteem ADHD Needs - the need for self compassion and creative action and completion Self-Actualization ADHD Needs - creative expression and connecting to something bigger than yourself. For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Today Shelly shares very personal news. Shelly, living as a woman for 38 years, has come out as a transgender man. Meet Asher, listeners. Asher shares with Cam his journey to a more authentic life that fits. He discusses when one’s context changes almost overnight, sharing the dysphoria he felt living as a woman and reaching a pivotal galaxy-brain moment when disparate thoughts and feelings gelled into a new truth. Coincidentally, this is Transgender Awareness Week. Asher reveals the challenges but also the moments of clarity, support from friends and resolve as he moves through the process of stepping into becoming a man. The hosts assure listeners that nothing changes about the Translating ADHD Podcast. We will continue to deliver the same nuanced coaching perspectives and insights on the ADHD lived experience as we always have. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Asher For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

We continue our theme on race and ADHD as we welcome men's mental health advocate John Hazelwood to Translating ADHD. A nuclear engineer by day, in his spare time John advocates for men’s mental health and runs a 13,000 member support group for men with fellow advocate and ADHD coach Marc Almodovar (a PoC Voices guest in episode 136). In this episode, John speaks about his own challenges growing up as a Black man with ADHD in a community wary of mental health issues. John shares how he was rejected inside and outside his community and how he turned his own experience of relentless bullying and struggle into his own mission - to address the need for representation, advocacy, education and support for men of color. John relays the specific challenges facing Black men who struggle with ADHD - the lack of representation in mental health services, the stigma of sharing emotions and the weight of generational oppression. John shares how the education system punishes rather than supports young Black men. Through the conversation, though, John conveys a message of resilience and hope and that real change is possible. The goal to ‘sit and listen with an open mind’ is realistic and attainable. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly John’s Twitter feed ADHD Men’s Support Group For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

We continue our theme on race and ADHD as we welcome fellow ADHD coach and psychotherapist Inger Shaye Colzie back to Translating ADHD. Inger Shaye helped Shelly and Cam kick off the PoC Voices series back in the summer of 2020. Inger Shaye shares how a lack of representation at the 2019 Annual ADHD Conference inspired her to become a coach herself and also inspired her to start The ADHD Black Professionals Alliance - an organization committed to addressing ADHD and mental health issues in the Black community. Inger Shaye also discusses how years ago her advocating for her ADHD son in a school system, a system wanting to label her child as a discipline problem, revealed the disparities in support services available to communities of color. She shares the unique burdens placed upon black women - the expectation to care for everyone in the community, often putting their own needs at the bottom of their list. She shares how executive function challenges, gender and race create a triple challenge to fostering real and positive change for her clients. Finally, she shares examples of her own clients, professional black women, and how coaching can address their unique challenges in the workplace and the homefront. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly Links to the resources Inger Shaye shares on the episode: https://ingershaye.com/ https://ingershaye.com/tiabac/ Inger Shaye’s Facebook group for professional Black women: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackwomenwithadhd For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

The show pivots this week to explore race and culture and how they both inform one’s own lived experience. Shelly and Cam welcome fellow ADHD coach and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) advocate Sudhita Kasturi to the show. Similar to the show’s PoC Voices series, the hosts delve into the South Asian-ADHD experience with Sudhita as their guide. Sudhita shares her own story of growing up in India with undiagnosed ADHD - the challenges she faced and the surprising sources of support and understanding. The conversation moves from Sudhita’s own story and eventual ADHD diagnosis to supporting her own children and finally to a discussion about the broader South Asian ADHD lived experience. Sudhita relays how her community is often viewed as a ‘model minority’ and the challenges those with ADHD are presented with. She also addresses the challenges of being a woman of color living in the United States. Eventually the discussion moves to resources and resilience as Sudhita discusses next steps for the South Asian ADHD population. Fast moving, informative and entertaining from start to finish, all listeners will enjoy this conversation into ‘your context matters’. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly The links to the resources Sudhita shares in this episode: ADDA Virtual South Asian Peer Support Group. https://add.org/south-asians-adhd-peer-support-group/ Sudhita’s website.https://www.leverageyouradhd.com/ Sudhita’s email [email protected] For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Have you ever noticed being sensitive to too much noise or visual stimuli? Last week the hosts shared the concept of processing modalities as both strengths and challenges. This week they continue to look at modalities but introduce the concept of a sensitivity scale in addition to the strength scale. Modalities are the modes in which we prefer to process information and build knowledge. For years organizer coach Denslow Brown observed that her clients demonstrated modal preferences when it came to developing and sustaining organizing systems. From this experience she developed her Processing Modalities workbook. Denslow ingeniously measured strengths and sensitivities on two separate and independent scales. Cam and Shelly share multiple examples from their own clients to their own experiences to illustrate this sensitivity aspect - an aspect that ADHD people can be extra vulnerable to. Shelly distinguishes hyposensitivity from hypersensitivity when she shares the story of two organizing clients with a very different experience with physical stuff. Listeners will approach how sensitivities to modalities shape our lived experience. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly Processing Modalities - Denslow Brown MCC https://coachapproach.square.site/product/processing-modalities-guide-with-shipping-/1 Translating ADHD and the hosts do not benefit financially from sharing third party links. For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Shelly and Cam continue to explore the ‘your context matters’ theme by looking at how modalities can inform an individual’s lived experience. Processing modalities, sometimes referred to as learning styles, are preferences we exhibit, often associated with physical senses like visual, auditory and verbal or additional areas like intuition and emotion. Much has been written about modalities including Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Recently, advances in brain imaging have called into question many of the claims of these ideas, but it is still thought that people have preferences in how they build knowledge and process information. The hosts have witnessed countless examples where clients demonstrate a preference for processing information, be it verbal processing or through some kinesthetic process (movement). Shelly and Cam introduce listeners to processing modalities through a client example regarding time management and how we can miss a preference strength area because of the ease of access. The hosts invite listeners to be curious about modalities at work. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly There are a number of modality resources available. For coaches and organizers we recommend a workbook by organizer coach Denslow Brown MCC, Processing Modalities: https://coachapproach.square.site/product/processing-modalities-guide-with-shipping-/1 For the general public we suggest the free Kairos Cognition Survey: https://www.kairoscognition.com/ Translating ADHD and the hosts do not benefit financially from sharing these links. For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Hi, everyone! We had some important stuff come up, and in the name of self-care we chose to take a mulligan. We look forward to returning October 10. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Shelly and Cam continue to explore the lived experience theme for the new season with a deep dive into personal narratives. Our personal narrative is the narrative we tell ourselves to explain a situation or rationalize a behavior - ours or someone else’s. ADHD can make it really hard to distinguish our inner dialogue from our experiences in the world. The brain works hard to ‘tell a story’ to make sense of our experiences. Sometimes it gets it right, but often it omits or adds pieces to make the information more palatable, to fit a certain story. Shelly and Cam share numerous client examples of how one’s own lived experience or context informs their narrative. They go on to share how coaching and therapy can help with seeing these statements for what they are - a perspective - and if this thinking is serving the client and who they are and what they are trying to achieve. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Cam and Shelly kick off the third season of the Translating ADHD podcast entertaining an often-asked question in ADHD circles - Is ADHD a Superpower? It turns out that one’s own experience or context informs how people will answer this question. Many are emphatic one way or the other - that it is totally a superpower! or that it is not at all a superpower! Shelly and Cam, in usual form, explore the nuanced middle ground and discuss superpowers in the form of strengths and how ADHD can get in the way of distinguishing, owning and stepping into one’s strengths. Shelly and Cam point to research that proves that one’s context such as race, gender and marital and economic status influence one’s outlook on their ADHD (links below). The hosts share a number of client examples and examples from their own lives to look at framing one’s ADHD experience by exploring concepts like personal preferences and identities. Most significant, the hosts introduce the theme for the start of Season 3 - Your own context matters. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly Flourishing Despite ADHD Article Positive Aspects of ADHD Article For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

As season two comes to an end, Cam and Shelly reflect on their learning over the last year in hosting the podcast together. Cam appreciates the focus on practice in the episodes and reflects how he is using this approach to develop a lighter touch on moving his own initiatives forward. Shelly shares how she let go of pursuing or achieving “at the speed of capitalism” and regaining an important perspective on what matters most for her - to have more balance in her life. Both hosts share about what they are looking forward to in the next season starting September 19th - more in-depth exploration of lived experiences, especially the interplay of ADHD and other conditions like anxiety and depression. Cam is also considering tinkering with the Mt Rainier Model. Cam has picked seven archived episodes for the break. Shelly and Cam invite listeners to listen and catch up or to also take a break and rejoin them in September. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Individual context matters and no more when we start to look at the interplay of ADHD and other areas of challenge like trauma or depression. A recent Canadian study that reveals factors and obstacles to succeeding with ADHD is the prompt for this week’s episode. Cam and Shelly talk about how listeners can read between the lines of a study and look for information that is actionable. At first glance the study reveals fixed qualities like gender and marital status that contribute to happiness and satisfaction with ADHD. Looking deeper we see the impact of comorbid conditions, trauma, history of abuse and chronic pain, and the importance of support in these areas. Cam uses his recent back injury to highlight the interplay of ADHD and pain. ADHD is often an X-factor when it comes to managing other challenges, exacerbating something like depression or deepening a depressive event. Cam and Shelly talk about the significance of effective supports and what happens when those supports are taken away. Those of us with ADHD tend to downplay the challenge or whether we deserve to address the core issues. This is just the start of exploring the interplay of ADHD and individual context. Episode links + resources: Summary of Canadian Study - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41042-022-00062-6 ADDA Event - https://homecoming.add.org/ Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

This week we are delighted to present another special episode dedicated to exploring the lived experiences of people of color with ADHD by presenting an interview with ADHD coach Marc Almodovar. Along with being a coach, Marc is an advocate for men’s mental health and runs a support group for men with fellow mental health advocate John Hazelwood. In this episode, Marc speaks about his own challenges growing up with ADHD and depression in a Hispanic community wary of mental health issues. Marc shares how his own diagnosis at 16 changed everything for him, answering so many questions, and how he found support and encouragement from his similarly wired father. Marc discusses with Cam how his desire to change the narrative on men’s mental health inspired him to share his own story of struggle and resilience and how the power of a supportive community is essential to real change. Join us in this fascinating, inspiring and far-ranging discussion with Marc Almodovar. Marc’s attitude and enthusiasm will carry you through the rest of your day! Episode links + resources: Marc’s Twitter feed ADHD Men’s Support Group Advocate Kofi Obeng Interview ADHD Parent Advocate Rhashidah Perry Jones Interview ADHD Coach Inger Shaye Colzie Interview Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Hosts Shelly and Cam explore green light planning this week. This is a very specific example where expectations can go awry. Green light planning is a fascinating phenomenon and is the result of several ADHD challenges. It is when we predict the most favored outcome for some future event like catching a plane with time to spare. Most people will point to challenges with time estimation. Look closer and you can see more going on here. Cam shares the example of a client trying to get to the airport and more often than not missing the departure. The client struggled with time estimation but also perpetuated a belief that he could better his best time. Furthermore, he failed to anticipate any potential delays or obstacles. Those of us with ADHD struggle to sense and anticipate variations of an outcome we create in our brain, especially the periods between events - the time between the shower, packing and eating breakfast. Specifically, this is a challenge with planning for transitions - both planned and unplanned. Emotionally we can engage in a mini ‘Zig Ziglar’ positive thinking exercise with the belief that our positive energy will somehow open an express lane to our destination. This is actually more of an emotional auto-pilot move to lock out unsavory thoughts if we are not successful in our plan. Shelly counters with her own example of ‘Red Light Planning’ and the idea of a time optimist or time pessimist. The hosts leave listeners with an exercise to have a different experience with green light planning. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

The hosts continue exploring expectations, shifting to personal relationships this week. Cam takes the lead sharing dynamics that he sees from his Melissa Orlov coaching classes. The same habitual responses are in play in personal relationships as they were in last week’s episode on expectation and work. Add the dynamics of emotional investment and less defined roles, and the result is more contentious engagements with more emotional flooding by all parties. Cam and Shelly believe that many of the conflicts that come to a head in any romantic relationship often start with ill-defined expectations – that the partners at some point divert on their own picture of success. Shelly and Cam share multiple client examples to illustrate this point. They point to the opportunity to see expectation as a conversation starter, for partners to develop a shared language around feelings and expectations. It’s not about compliance or getting on the same page as much as appreciating the other’s perspective. Often ADHD is viewed as a convenient nemesis of a healthy relationship. ADHD is in play, but it never acts alone. All parties have their own work to do, and once everyone agrees to this principle then real change can occur. Cam and Shelly leave listeners with some steps to address expectations proactively. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Shelly and Cam do an abrupt right turn with expectations, from camping in the woods on Phish Tour with Shelly to the environment and demands of work. Wherever there are people there are expectations, and wherever there are expectations there are different interpretations of those expectations. Burnout is actually an indicator of mismanaged expectations. ADHD makes it really tough to distinguish the priority of competing demands, and we often falter when we sense conflicting expectations. Shelly and Cam explore a few client examples of habitual responses (from last week) and what the clients did to have a different experience with expectations. Using a colorful metaphor from a previous episode of ‘too many tennis balls coming over the net’, Shelly’s client resources her new manager to take a look at all of the end-of-school-year incoming demands and to prioritize and make an action plan for a ‘successful return volley’. The common theme is noticing the expectation and your own response to it. Shifting expectations from an ‘immutable truth’ to actually what it is - a point of engagement for dialogue. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com

Shelly and Cam continue on the theme of habitual responses by looking at expectations. An expectation is basically a belief that something will happen at some future date. You can appreciate how expectations may be problematic for those of us with ADHD - the delivery of something at some future point in time. Time estimation and struggles with activation go hand in hand here. So it makes sense we can develop some not-so-helpful responses to expectation. Cam shares three examples - ‘running the flag up the flagpole’, where we elevate our own expectations and ‘do whatever it takes’; ‘bristle and defy’ where we reject any expectation outright; and an emotional shame response where we go to our one-down position. There are more responses, and Shelly and Cam invite listeners to think about their own responses to expectation. Shelly, fresh from a Phish tour weekend, adds the colorful examples for each scenario from setting up the campsite to challenges approaching our Discord server. Through discussion, the hosts reveal a useful process of getting awareness and perspective on the expectation, identifying our own relationship and response to the expectation, stepping back and releasing any attachment to the expectation, and then using the experience as a point of discussion to clarify and reflect on the experience to build a better relationship going forward. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us on Twitter: @TranslatingADHD Visit the Website: TranslatingADHD.com