⚡ Sticker charts, punishments, time-outs — most ADHD mums have tried them. And most of us have felt the gut-punch of guilt when they “don’t work.” But here’s the truth: what looks like “bad behaviour” is usually a dysregulated nervous system asking for help, not a child trying to make life harder .

In this episode, Jane speaks with psychologist Leanne Tran about why conventional behaviour strategies fail ADHD kids, how shame sneaks in, and what parents can do instead. Together, they reframe “naughtiness” as communication — and offer practical tools for scaffolding, connection, and regulation .

• Why ADHD behaviour challenges are about regulation, not defiance
• The limits of sticker charts and why they often backfire
• Punishment vs reinforcement: why one creates shame, the other builds skills
• How to support kids before chaos — scaffolding, structure, and skill-building
• Quick-win strategies for meltdowns: novelty, humour, and breaking stress loops
• Boundaries vs values: why flexibility matters when ADHD is in the mix
• Why behaviour isn’t a reflection of your parenting — and how to drop the shame

• You’ve spent money on sticker charts, pens, and rewards — only to feel like you failed when they didn’t work
• You’re sick of judgment from schools, family, or strangers about your child’s behaviour
• You want alternatives to punishment that don’t just pile on shame
• You struggle with consistency yourself and feel guilty for not “parenting perfectly”
• You need tools that actually work for ADHD kids — and for ADHD mums who can’t parent like robots

• Check out Leanne Tran’s website: https://www.leannetran.com.au/
• Follow her on IG: @leannetranpsychology
• Lean’s Upcoming Webinar: Next steps for parents of neurodivergent kids - 10th of every month at 7pm

JOIN THE COMMUNITY:

Have questions or want to connect with other ADHD mums? Join our supportive Facebook group here and dive into the conversation. No question is too small, and I love answering in a group format!

FOLLOW FOR MORE:

Get daily tips, insights, and relatable content for ADHD mums by following me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube

LEAVE A REVIEW:

Love this episode? Your review means everything! It helps other mums find this content and feel supported. Let’s spread the word and make a difference together.

COLLABS:

For collaborations or speaking engagements, email me at jane@adhdmums.com.au.

MORE RESOURCES:

Still unsure if ADHD or autism applies to you or your child? Take my recommended self-tests here.

Meal planning was built for neurotypicals. That’s why it breaks ADHD mums.

In this Quick Reset, Jane calls out the shame trap of “just get organised” and explains why meal planning feels impossible when it demands six executive functions at once. From frozen meat to kids refusing everything you bought, this episode offers ADHD-friendly hacks for surviving dinner when you’re already on the edge .

• Why meal planning is an executive function overload, not laziness
• The invisible cost: six domains firing at once — predict, remember, plan, shop, cook, clean
• Why “future you” can’t be trusted to follow perfect systems
• How to design a “burnout menu” for your worst days
• Theme nights, breakfast-for-dinner, and recurring online orders as ADHD-friendly tools
• Why bubble baths don’t fix brain fog — but survival food does

• You hate meal planning, cooking, or even thinking about food
• You keep forgetting key ingredients or end up with “nothing to cook” after shopping
• Your kids’ picky eating, ARFID, or sensory issues make one-meal-fits-all impossible
• You feel guilty for not sticking to meal plans
• You want hacks that actually work on burnout days, not Pinterest fantasy boards

Claim: “Meal planning reduces executive function load, supports emotional regulation, and creates predictability for ADHD households — especially when meals are visually structured, repetitive, and simplified.”

Executive Function and Planning Impairments in ADHD

• Barkley, R. A., & Murphy, K. R. (2006). Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Clinical Workbook (3rd ed.).
• Highlights impairments in planning, organisation, and future thinking in ADHD adults and families. Recommends routines and external structures for managing daily demands.

Decision Fatigue and ADHD

• Baumeister, R. F., et al. (2008). Ego Depletion: Is the Active Self a Limited Resource? Journal of Consumer Research, 36(4), 543–556.
• Explains how repeated decision-making (like “What’s for dinner?”) leads to emotional exhaustion and poor impulse control — especially in people with existing cognitive load issues.

Routine and Predictability Reduce Stress

• Pelham, W. E., Fabiano, G. A. (2008). Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatments for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37(1), 184–214.
• Shows that structured routines like planned meals and consistent eating times reduce behavioural stress in ADHD children.

Visual and Repetitive Meal Systems Help ADHD Households

• Tuckman, A. R. (2009). More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD.
• Recommends simplifying meals, using visual lists or repeating favourite foods to limit overwhelm and improve follow-through in ADHD adults.

Link Between Blood Sugar Stability, Nutrition, and Emotional Regulation

• Benton, D., & Donohoe, R. T. (1999). The Effects of Nutrients on Mood. Public Health...

Night sweats, meltdowns, migraines, brain fog — and still dismissed as “mum stress.” For ADHD women, perimenopause isn’t weakness — it’s biology colliding with a system that refuses to notice.

In this episode, Jane speaks with Dr Lara Briden, naturopathic doctor and author of Hormone Repair Manual, to unpack what perimenopause really looks like for ADHD women, why blood tests often come back “normal,” and how body-identical hormone therapy can help.

• Why blood tests often miss perimenopause — and why “normal” doesn’t mean well
• How ADHD and hormones collide to intensify brain fog, rage, and sleep problems
• The role of histamine, thyroid, and iron in brain fog and exhaustion
• What HRT actually is — body-identical vs synthetic hormones
• Why antidepressants are over-prescribed when perimenopause is misdiagnosed
• Practical survival tools: progesterone, circadian rhythm resets, and magnesium — because bubble baths don’t fix brain fog
• Why perimenopause is puberty 2.0 — a transition, not a failure

• You’re over 37 and struggling with new rage, brain fog, or sleep issues
• You’ve been told your blood tests are “normal,” but you feel broken
• You’ve been dismissed with antidepressants when your body was screaming hormones
• You’re curious about how HRT interacts with ADHD and stimulants
• You want validation that perimenopause isn’t hysteria — it’s biology in transition

• Dr Lara Briden website: https://www.larabriden.com/
• Hormone Repair Manual — Lara’s book on navigating perimenopause:
• Lara Briden’s guide to natural treatment ideas for premenstrual mood symptoms: larabriden.com/top-6-natural-treatments-for-premenstrual-mood-symptoms
• Insights from Dr Jerilynn Prior in the final bonus session of The Hormone Whisperers: tanyaborowski.com/shop/p/the-hormone-whisperers-may25-recordings

• The Perimenopause Crash — Progesterone, Stress, and the Rage Nobody Warned Us About
• Histamine + Hormones: Why You Feel Like You’re Falling Apart

🎧 Listen now: HORMONES: HRT, ADHD & Perimenopause — What No One’s Explaining to Women — on Spotify, Apple, or adhdmums.com.au

JOIN THE COMMUNITY:

Have questions or want to connect with other ADHD mums? Join our supportive Facebook group here and dive into the conversation. No question is too small, and I love answering in a group format!

FOLLOW FOR MORE:

Get daily tips, insights, and relatable content for ADHD mums by following me on

⚠️ Content Warning : This episode contains heavy confessions. These themes may be triggering for listeners with trauma histories or postnatal depression. Please listen with care and step away if you need to.

These confessions prove you’re not broken, you’re not failing — and you’re definitely not alone.

For the first time, Jane reads out anonymous confessions from ADHD mums — funny, dark, and painfully honest. These stories reveal the rage, exhaustion, shame, and survival that so many mums carry in silence. Instead of being dismissed as “bad parenting” or “not coping,” these confessions remind us: you’re not alone.

• Funny confessions that prove executive dysfunction runs the household (baby wipes on benches, noise-cancelling headphones at dinner)
• Heavier truths: rage in the chemist carpark, yelling at toddlers, dreams of driving away
• How shame grows in silence — and why saying it out loud breaks its grip
• Emotional dysregulation as central to ADHD, not a personal flaw (Dr Russell Barkley’s research)
• Why rage, dissociation, or shutdowns are survival responses — not weakness
• How sharing these confessions created relief, validation, and solidarity

This Episode Is For You If…

• You’ve screamed in the car or fantasised about running away
• You feel guilty for yelling, but can’t seem to stop
• You’ve wondered if you’re the only mum who feels this way
• You crave relief from the shame spiral of “I should be coping better”
• You want to hear the raw, unfiltered truths other ADHD mums finally said out loud

If you’ve carried shame in silence, this episode will feel like exhale.

References & Resources Mentioned

• Dr Gabor Maté — parenting doesn’t create dysfunction, it exposes where we’ve been unsupported
• Dr Russell Barkley — emotional dysregulation is central to ADHD, not secondary
• ADHD Mums Confession Box — share your truth anonymously and reduce the shame
• ADHD Mums Facebook Group — connect with mums who get it

Related ADHD Mums Episodes

• Quick Confession: 10 Things That Scare Me as an ADHD Mum
• Quick Confession: I Don’t Always Like Being a Parent
• Quick Confession: Can You Love Someone and Still Dread Sex?

🎧 Listen now: CONFESSION: Mums wrote in anonymously… and what they shared wrecked me — on Spotify, Apple, or adhdmums.com.au

Optional Support

If you’re struggling, you don’t have to go through it alone. In Australia, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or PANDA on 1300 726 306. If you’re outside Australia, please reach out to local crisis...

Perimenopause can feel like being blindsided by a hormonal crash no one prepared you for. Mood swings, rage, insomnia, and anxiety get dumped in the ‘mum stress’ basket — as if biology crashing is just bad attitude.

For ADHD mums, the mix of perimenopause and neurodivergence is like juggling knives while the floor gives way. This episode calls out the silence around perimenopause, explains the real biological shifts at play, and validates the lived experience of being dismissed when your body is in crisis.

What We Cover in This Episode

• How plummeting progesterone and rising stress hormones fuel rage and anxiety
• Why ADHD + perimenopause is a double hit to emotional regulation
• The invisible cost of being told ‘it’s just motherhood’
• Why the system ignores women’s health at this stage of life
• The importance of recognising biology, not blaming character

This Episode Is For You If…

• You’ve felt overwhelming rage or mood swings that don’t make sense
• Doctors, family, or friends have minimised your perimenopause symptoms
• You’re an ADHD mum exhausted by exhaustion, sleepless nights, and slammed doors
• You need language that validates your experience instead of pathologising it
• You’re ready to understand what’s really happening to your body

🎧 Listen now: The Perimenopause Crash — on Spotify, Apple, or adhdmums.com.au

📚 Related Resources:

• Kylie Smart (ADHD & women’s health naturopath) — DIY Your ADHD course with ADHD Consultation Package
• Dr Lara Bryden’s book on perimenopause — one of the few that actually explains what’s happening instead of gaslighting you
• ADHD Mums Shop — resources and free assessment tools for ADHD and autism

🎧 Other Episode with Kylie Smart:

• S1 E43 PMS and ADHD
• S1 E48 Supplements and ADHD

JOIN THE COMMUNITY:

Have questions or want to connect with other ADHD mums? Join our supportive Facebook group here and dive into the conversation. No question is too small, and I love answering in a group format!

FOLLOW FOR MORE:

Get daily tips, insights, and relatable content for ADHD mums by following me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube

LEAVE A REVIEW:

Love this episode? Your review means everything! It helps other mums find this content and feel supported. Let’s spread the word and make a difference together.

COLLABS:

For collaborations or speaking engagements, email me at jane@adhdmums.com.au.

MORE RESOURCES:

Still unsure if ADHD or autism applies to you or your child? Take my recommended self-tests

‘Not tonight’ isn’t rejection — it’s survival. You can be deeply in love, feel safe and connected, and still feel absolutely no desire for sex. For neurodivergent mums, it’s not about being broken. It’s about being depleted. Burnout, overstimulation, resentment, and chronic executive load all take a toll — and desire doesn’t grow in captivity.

This episode names the unspoken truth: you can love your partner and still dread intimacy when your nervous system is tapped out.

• Why love and desire aren’t the same thing
• How ADHD, burnout, and motherhood impact libido
• The difference between rejection and depletion
• Voices from ADHD mums on how sex feels in burnout
• Why desire needs space, safety, and energy to return
• Small ways to honour yourself without guilt or shame

• You’re in a healthy relationship but feel no desire for sex
• Even the thought of being touched feels like one more demand
• You’ve been told ‘sex is proof of love’ but feel otherwise
• You’re burnt out, touched out, or running on empty
• You want to know you’re not broken for feeling this way

• Esther Perel — Psychotherapist and author whose work on intimacy highlights that desire needs space and autonomy to thrive — two things ADHD mums are rarely afforded.
• ADHD Mums Facebook Group — A safe, supportive space where thousands of mums share the unfiltered truth about ADHD, burnout, intimacy, and the realities of daily life.
• 
  
• ADHD Mums Jotform Confession Box — An anonymous space where mums contributed raw, honest experiences about sex, exhaustion, and survival with ADHD.

• S1 E43 PMS and ADHD
• S1 E48 Supplements and ADHD

If you’ve ever felt alone in this, these episodes prove you’re not.

🎧 Listen now: Can You Love Someone and Still Dread Sex? — on Spotify, Apple, or adhdmums.com.au

JOIN THE COMMUNITY:

Have questions or want to connect with other ADHD mums? Join our supportive Facebook group here and dive into the conversation. No question is too small, and I love answering in a group format!

FOLLOW FOR MORE:

Get daily tips, insights, and relatable content for ADHD mums by following me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube

LEAVE A REVIEW:

Love this episode? Your review means everything! It helps other mums find this content and feel...

School mornings feel like hostage negotiations — not routine. Missing shoes, weird sock meltdowns, vanishing library bags… and still the world says ‘just get more organised’. But ADHD families don’t run on habits — we run on cues.

In this Quick Reset, Jane shares the one simple change that turned mornings from chaos into something survivable: the hallway hook. More than a place for bags, it’s an environmental accommodation that reduces the daily executive function tax every ADHD mum knows too well.

• Why ADHD mums pay an ‘executive function tax’ every morning
• How visual cues beat willpower when it comes to routines
• The difference between neurotypical habits vs ADHD-friendly environments
• Why a hallway hook (or any visual system) can save your sanity
• Practical tips for setting up ADHD-friendly launchpads at home

• You’ve aged 100 years by 9am thanks to school chaos
• Your kids’ bags, shoes, or library books disappear into another dimension daily
• You’ve been told you just need to ‘get organised’
• You know reminders and willpower aren’t enough — you need cues that work
• You want one ADHD-friendly change that makes mornings survivable

• S3 E31 The ADHD Mum’s Guide to Surviving School Mornings Without Tears (Theirs or Yours)
• S3 E10 QUICK RESET: Why am I bracing for impact when nothing is wrong?
• Check out School mini-series if you haven’t yet

If school mornings leave you burnt out before 9am, these episodes will hit close to home.

Claim: “Neurodivergent people often rely on visual memory and object permanence strategies — like hallway hooks — to reduce executive function demands.”

Object Permanence & ADHD

Barkley, R. A. (2014). Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment.

– Barkley discusses how deficits in working memory and internal visualisation affect how ADHD individuals manage time, tasks, and memory. Without visual cues (like hooks, labels, laid-out clothes), the brain can “forget” the task exists.

Visual Cues and Home Organisation

Tuckman, A. R. (2009). More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD.

– Emphasises that visual systems (clear bins, hooks, laid-out outfits) help compensate for weak prospective memory and object permanence.

Environmental Modifications for ADHD

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020). Parenting Children with ADHD.

– Recommends home modifications including visual schedules, labelled areas, and consistent placement for items (e.g. a hook for every bag or jacket) to support task follow-through and independence.

Executive Function Supports in Home Environments

Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2010). Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A...

Doctors said anxiety. It turns out, for many ADHD mums, it’s actually hormones colliding with histamine.

This episode kicks off our hormone mini-series with ADHD & women’s health naturopath Kylie Smart, exploring how histamine interacts with oestrogen, stress, and ADHD — and why so many mums are dismissed as “hysterical” or “anxious” when the truth is biochemical.

What We Cover in This Episode

• Why doctors often misdiagnose hormone-related issues as anxiety
• What histamine is — and why it matters for ADHD and autistic women
• How histamine interacts with oestrogen, dopamine, and serotonin
• Symptoms linked to histamine issues: migraines, insomnia, heavy bleeding, rage, gut problems
• The overlap between histamine intolerance, mast cell activation, and ADHD
• Simple things you can try — from symptom tracking to food tweaks — while pushing for proper medical support

This Episode Is For You If….

• You’ve been told your migraines, rage, or exhaustion are “just stress”
• You experience PMS/PMDD that feels like a breakdown week
• You notice mood swings, insomnia, or gut issues before your period
• You’re curious why “self-care” doesn’t touch hormone-related burnout
• You want to understand the real biology behind ADHD, hormones, and histamine

🎧 Listen now: HORMONES: Histamine + Hormones – Why You Feel Like You’re Falling Apart — on Spotify, Apple, or adhdmums.com.au

References & Resources Mentioned

• ADHD & women’s health naturopath who actually takes neurodivergent women seriously. Online clinic + courses: kyliesmart.com.au

🎧 Other Episode with Kylie Smart:

• S1 E43 PMS and ADHD
• S1 E48 Supplements and ADHD

JOIN THE COMMUNITY:

Have questions or want to connect with other ADHD mums? Join our supportive Facebook group here and dive into the conversation. No question is too small, and I love answering in a group format!

FOLLOW FOR MORE:

Get daily tips, insights, and relatable content for ADHD mums by following me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube

LEAVE A REVIEW:

Love this episode? Your review means everything! It helps other mums find this content and feel supported. Let’s spread the word and make a difference together.

COLLABS:

For collaborations or speaking engagements, email me at jane@adhdmums.com.au.

MORE RESOURCES:

Still unsure if ADHD or autism applies to you or your child? Take my recommended self-tests here.