What If You‘re Not the Main Character? Empathy and Compassion Tool with Brendan Mahan Your Compassionate Captian

In this episode, I resume the tradition of dragging a bunch of people into my room to reflect on the day's events of the ADHD Conference.  This is the second day of the general conference - Saturday, November 15, 2025.   My guests include: The ADHD MD, Dr. Carolyn Letzsch-Parcells Author Caroline Maguire ADHD Coach Kate Barrett from Coaching Cville Dr. Zach Gershon, facilitator of ADDA's Young Adult Support Group Liz Lewis writer at https://www.healthyadhd.com/  Brittany Smith from Devise and Conquer Coaching Will Curb, host of the Hacking Your ADHD podcast Keith Griffin, living This ADHD Life Myself, host of the ADHD Essentials podcast

In this episode, I resume the tradition of dragging a bunch of people into my room to reflect on the day's events of the ADHD Conference.  This is the first day of the general conference - Friday, November 14, 2025.   My guests include: Jessica McCabe of How to ADHD Braden Young of Empower ADHD Solutions Shane Thrapp of Creating Order from Chaos  Inger Shay of the ADHD Black Professionals Alliance Lucia Miri Echavarria of EspacioTDAH Chris Hendrickson of being an awesome person with ADHD Myself of ADHD Essentials

In today’s episode, I talk to a genuine trailblazer - Dr. Larry Jones. Dr. Jones is a retired pediatrician who won CHADD’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. He is the founder of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Enable Tables, and the co-author of “Falling Through the Ceiling: Our ADHD Family Memoir", both with his wife Audrey.   Dr. Jones shares his road to becoming a doctor as a black man in the 1970s.  With the support of his family and community, he graduated both undergrad and medical school at Johns Hopkins, and became a pediatrician all while navigating the challenges of undiagnosed ADHD and the institutionalized racism of the 1970s.  He shares insights into the importance of community and lessons he’s learned as both a father and a pediatrician, and discusses his company Enable Tables, which teaches parents and educators how to support, motivate, and instruct ADHD children to perform in well in school and live stable, productive, resilient lives.   Guest Links: Learn more about Dr. Jones and his work here:  Enable Tables  https://enabletables.com/ Enable Tables on YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@enabletablesmedia3133 Get Dr. Jones’s Book Here   Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected]   Men’s ADHD Support Group Links: Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community 

In today’s episode, I talk to my friend Dr. Ari Tuckman about ADHD and Productivity.  Ari has been working in the field of ADHD for over 25 years. He’s part of the leadership team for the International Conference on ADHD, speaks all over the world, and is the author of five books on ADHD, including his latest, The ADHD Productivity Manual. Ari and I talk about the essential challenges of ADHD and productivity.  We discuss the importance of managing your environment (including screens), the benefit of doing things in ways that work better for ADHD brains even if they’re atypical, why getting clear on why we’re doing the thing can help us get it done, and how our relationship to productivity affects the way we present ourselves to the world.       Guest Links: Learn more about Dr. Tuckman and his work here:  https://adultadhdbook.com/   Order "The ADHD Productivity Manual" here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F4M3PM4W?ref_=pe_93986420_775043100   Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected] Men’s ADHD Support Group Links: Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community 

What’s Up Team?! It’s your humble host, Brendan Mahan, back at it again.  The podcast has been on hiatus for a while, but I am finally in a position to resume posting.  So please tell your friends that I have returned.   The plan is to continue with the interview format that established ADHD Essentials as one of the top ADHD podcasts in the field, and to add in the occasional episode of me exploring useful topics as appropriate.  That said, I am expanding the scope to ADHD in general, as well as other neurodiverse topics such as anxiety and autism.  The parenting information will still be there, but I’m no longer covering parenting exclusively.  And odds are that I will be playing with my Wall of Awful model more frequently, because one of the reasons for the extended hiatus was that I a have signed a book deal with Hachette Book Group’s Balance Imprint, and Overcoming The Wall of Awful: Why It’s Hard to Get Things Done When You Have ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety, (and how to do them anyway) will be in a bookstore near you in the Fall of next year.  Turns out writing a book is REALLY time consuming. That said, ADHD Essentials will resume with some long-overdue episodes, including interviews with ADHD luminaries Ari Tuckman, Archie Chimayani, Larry Jones, and Farah Jamil.  And I’ll also share my thoughts on subjects ranging from afterschool restraint collapse to emotional regulation and connection. I plan to post several episodes in the next week or so to get the ball rolling, and then settle in to a once-a-week pattern after that. I’m glad to be back at it, I hope you enjoy what I have in store for you. Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected]

In today’s episode, I talk to my friend Tamara Rosier.  Tamara runs the ADHD Center of West Michigan, she is also the author of two books - “Your Brain’s Not Broken”, and her new book, “You, Me, and Our ADHD Family”, as well as the workbooks that accompany both.  Tarama and I discuss her new book, and explore how ADHD affects family communication patterns, over-functioning and under-functioning, triangles, and ways to mend relationships.   Guest Links: Learn more about Tamara and her work here:  https://www.tamararosier.com/ https://adhdcenterofwestmichigan.com/   Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected] Find Dr. Carolyn at: http://drcarolynparcells.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the.adhd.md/   Men’s ADHD Support Group Links: Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community     

It’s the end of 2024, so Dr. Carolyn and I are talking about goal-setting and how we view New Year’s Resolutions.  Along the way, we dabble in the importance of working with our brains rather than against them, the power of feeling seen, and why staying true to our values is important.   Register for the ADHD Essentials Parenting Groups Here   Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected] Find Dr. Carolyn at: http://drcarolynparcells.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the.adhd.md/   Men’s ADHD Support Group Links: Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community

Today, we’re joined by executive function and leadership coach Frankie Berkoben.  She shares why our executive function capacity can be so variable and the importance of being able to accept that variance, as well as the seven types of bandwidth, and why executive function coaching is helpful for leaders. Guest Links: Learn more about Frankie and her work here: https://www.franklyquiteadhd.com/ Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected]   Men’s ADHD Support Group Links:   Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community

Today, we’re joined by Dr. Patrick LaCount, the research officer for the “How to ADHD” YouTube channel. Patrick talks to us about ADHD in young adulthood. We discuss the importance of taking a long view for both parents and young adults, tips for making friends, and the value of mindfulness.     Guest Links: Learn more about Dr. LaCount and his work here: https://practicalpsychservices.com/   Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected]   Men’s ADHD Support Group Links: Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community 

Our friend Dr. Caroyn, the ADHD MD is back! We talk about the importance of community to ADHD, how those communities allow us to embrace different parts of ourselves, and why the ADHD Conference is so meaningful to so many.     Register for the ADHD Essentials Parenting Groups Here   Learn More about Brendan and his work at:   Learn about & Register for the The ADHD Essentials Online Parent Coaching Groups  Join The ADHD Essentials Facebook Community Check out the ADHD Essentials Website Contact Brendan at [email protected] Find Dr. Carolyn Lentzsch-Parcells at: http://drcarolynparcells.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the.adhd.md/   Men’s ADHD Support Group Links: Learn more about the Men’s ADHD Support Group Join the Men’s ADHD Support Group’s Facebook Community