AHHH! This can be such a tricky thing to do! Let's first discover WHY we have such a tendance to blurt out answers, thoughts, and feelings often at inappropriate times!?

• Struggle with impluse control
• We are afraid we are going to forget what we want to say!
• Struggle to prioritize time and place.
• The emotions hijack the thinking part of the brain and blurting is driven by emotion rather than intentional thought!

Knowing the why helps trusted adults respond to the struggle vs. treating it just as a problem to punish.

In this episode, you will hear from my buddy Isaac (9 years old) who shares his own struggle with blurting out in school and gives some tips and tools that have been working well for him to grow in this area! The three things he suggests are using "calm strips, squishy balls, and practice self-talk" as methods of keeping his hands busy while he waits for his turn to speak and the fidgeting allows for better concentration on the lesson as a whole!

I follow up Isaac sharing with three things to practice in preparation for those moments when you want to blurt out in class or in other social situations....

1. Anticipate: Become more self-aware of the times/patterns of blurting!
2. Prepare a plan: Once you can start anticipating when the blurting often occurs, you can then put a plan in place to practice leading up to those times!
3. Practice using the tools and techniques that work best for your brain! For Isaac, he found the calm strips, squishy balls, and self-talk helpful...BUT for you those tools may look different! Here are a few more to try...

• Doodle pad
• Different types of fidgets (ie: jewelry, gum, quiet and stretchy (may need to be a little more durable so they dont break so easily as you put all that tension on it!)
• Alternate seating (wabble chair, ball chair, standing during lesson, band on legs of chair, etc.
• Take movement breaks when possible

I would love for you to message me with what works well for you!! This is where you want to channel that creativity and ask yourself, "what does my ADHD brain need!?"

Would you or your child like to send in an audioclip to share on a future podcast episode!? We would love to hear from them!! Email me at [email protected] to learn more or just send me an authentic audioclip sharing about struggles, strengths or any other insights about living with and ADHD brain! Kids LOVE hearing from other kids and so do I!!!

Get on my email list at www.katelynmabry.com to get these episoded delivered directly to your inbox each Friday with added resources! You can also go to www.focusforwardadhd.com if you want to schedule a free consultation and learn more about what hiring an ADHD life coach would look like!

Can't wait to be with you again next week! Love you all! ~ Katelyn