ADHD Families Podcast

By Sharon Collon

ADHD Families Podcast helps parents raising children with ADHD create a calmer, more functional family life — without burnout or chaos.

Hosted by Sharon, a PCC credentialed ADHD Coach, Parenting Expe... more

FAQs about ADHD Families Podcast:

How many episodes does ADHD Families Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 90 episodes available.

Best of ADHD Families Podcast

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Episode 90: You've Read Everything About ADHD. Nothing's Sticking.
***Join the ADHD Family Quest*** How many tabs about ADHD do you have open right now? On your phone, on your laptop. The one about dopamine. The one about demand avoidance. The routine chart someone swore by at 11pm. You are not short on information about ADHD. You could probably explain executive function better than your GP can. And your Tuesday morning at 7:40am still falls apart. That gap between everything you know and what actually happens in your house is not a knowledge problem. In this episode, Sharon Collon breaks down the two traps almost every ADHD family gets stuck in: knowledge farming, where you collect information you cannot implement, and system farming, where you buy the visual schedule, the magnetic chore chart and the beautiful Etsy printable, and it dies within a fortnight anyway. She tells the story of two families who photographed the washing chart in her laundry, and why she already knew standing there that it would not work in their houses. Then she gives you the one shift that changes how you build anything at home from here: build the system for your worst day, not your best one. 👀 In This Episode, Sharon Covers: Why you can know everything about ADHD and still not be able to run a Tuesday morning Knowledge farming, and why information gives you the what but almost never the how System farming, and why the chart you set up on Sunday is dead by the second week What parents wrongly conclude about themselves when a routine falls over Why a bought or copied system arrives with no household attached to it The hidden 95% of decisions underneath any system that actually works Why every household has its own physics, and why that breaks borrowed routines The one shift: designing for a low capacity day instead of your most optimistic one Why getting started, stopping something enjoyable and holding a three step instruction are all skills How missing skills get mistaken for defiance, laziness and a child who does not care Kate’s story: how a Sunday that ran like a military operation became three steps done before lunch Why “get ready for the week” is a category, not a job, and why that causes paralysis Why one bad Sunday no longer takes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday down with it Why it is called The Functional Family, and what Sharon is actually building towards 🧭 The Three Questions to Run This Week Pick one thing you have been trying to make stick. Not all of them. One. Does this work if I am not in the room? If it never will, what you have is not a system. It is a performance that needs you as the lead actor, and your child has not learned anything, because the thing doing the work is you. Does this still work on a bad day? If it needs everyone calm, regulated and cooperative to function, it is not a system. It is a good mood. What skill is actually missing for my child here? Name the missing skill and two things change. You stop taking it personally, and you stop building systems that punish a child for something they cannot do yet. The biggest takeaway? The system is not there to make a child comply. It is there to do the job your child’s brain cannot do yet, so they can practise the rest without failing every single day while they learn. ⏱️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 — How many ADHD tabs do you have open right now 01:15 — The gap between what you know and what happens at 7:40am 02:10 — Trap one: knowledge farming 04:00 — Trap two: system farming, and what you conclude when the chart fails 05:45 — The question Sharon wants you to answer for yourself 06:30 — The washing chart story: two families, two phones 08:45 — Why every household has its own physics 11:00 — The shift: build for your worst day, not your best one 12:45 — Question one: does it work when you are not in the room? 14:00 — Question two: does it work on a bad day? 15:00 — Question three: what skill is actually missing? 16:45 — Why getting started and stopping are skills, not attitude 18:15 — Kate’s story: getting Sunday back 21:00 — Why it is called The Functional Family 22:45 — The bridge between knowledge you cannot use and systems that will not hold 24:15 — “I think I need one to one coaching”, answered honestly 25:45 — What to do this week 🚀 Ready to Map the Friction in Your Family? As you have heard in this episode, the problem was never that you did not know enough. It is that information cannot tell you which friction point to fix first in your particular house. That is exactly what we will do in my FREE ADHD Family System online workshop. In sixty minutes you will build your own one page Family Friction Map and see exactly where your house is losing time and energy. 100% free. No cost, no catch. 📅 1 September — 7pm AEST 📅 4 September — 1pm AEST 📅 8 September — 7pm AEST 🔗 Save Your Free Spot 💫 Ready to Go Further? If you are ready to turn what you have uncovered into practical change, The ADHD Family Quest is my four-week, coaching-led experience designed to help you build systems that work with your ADHD family, not against it. It is the unglamorous middle bit nobody sells you. The bridge between knowledge you cannot implement and systems that will not hold. Inside the Quest you get a private 30 minute one to one onboarding call with me so you start on the right friction point, five checkpoint playbooks with the templates already built, videos under five minutes with one action step each, three monthly group coaching sessions with me for the days it wobbles, and three months of access to the app and every resource. September Spotlight bonus: enrol by 10pm AEST on Monday 8 September and you also get the live Friction Map group coaching session with me on Thursday 10 September, where we map your household’s friction points together and decide what to do about them. The Quest is open all year. This bonus is not. Because you were never supposed to be the system holding everything together. 🔗 Secure Your Spot 🔔 Next Steps & ADHD Resources Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast Explore practical ADHD family support and resources from The Functional Family Share this episode with a parent who has read everything and is still stuck Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 💛 Work With Sharon Sharon Collon is a PCC-credentialed ADHD coach and parenting expert, podcaster, author and mum to three boys with ADHD. Through The Functional Family, Sharon has supported more than 40,000 families with practical strategies designed to work with the ADHD brain, not against it. Her work helps families move away from daily chaos, overwhelm and survival mode and towards more connection, function and fun. Build it for your worst day, not your best one. You are too important to stay in survival mode.
August 31, 202627min
Number 2: Episode 79: Managing Sibling Conflict & ADHD with Jacquie Ward
It's Sunday afternoon. Your kids can't walk past each other without it turning into something. Every interaction is a battle. And somewhere in the middle of it, you're thinking — when they grow up, are they ever going to be friends? If that's your house, stay with us. Sharon is joined by Jacquie Ward — Registered Psychologist and mum of three, including a child with ADHD — to talk about one of the most common and most misunderstood challenges in ADHD family life. Why sibling conflict is more intense in your home, and what to actually do about it. 👀 In This Episode: Why sibling conflict is more intense in ADHD families — and why you are not imagining it The six ADHD factors that create the perfect storm for sibling conflict Executive function age vs chronological age — and why it changes your expectations The family nervous system: why the whole house feels it when one child dysregulates Sharon's Blue Mountains story — and the moment that changed everything Why prevention beats reaction every time The Three Cs Framework: Cool Down, Communicate, Collaborate Why jumping in as referee is making things worse The one action to take this week that will change your next sibling fight Quote to Carry With You "You are not stuffing this up. Your family is not beyond support. This is a very predictable friction point in ADHD families — and it is not beyond help." — Sharon Collon ⏱️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – The Sunday afternoon scene — sibling conflict in ADHD homes 01:13 – Introducing Jacquie Ward 02:31 – The six ADHD factors that create the perfect storm 05:01 – Executive function age vs chronological age 06:43 – The family nervous system and emotional contagion 08:14 – Why conflict in public hits differently 11:06 – Sharon's Blue Mountains story 15:44 – The Three Cs Framework: Cool Down, Communicate, Collaborate 16:30 – Why prevention beats reaction 19:15 – Cool Down — the most important first step 21:06 – Communicate — giving kids the language 24:01 – Collaborate — building skills for long-term change 26:28 – The one action to take this week 28:45 – Workshop details — May 11–13 🥊 Want to Go Deeper? Stop the Fighting. Start Feeling Like a Family Again. Sharon and Jacquie are running a 3-part live workshop series — the full playbook with scripts, in-the-moment strategies, and prevention tools specifically for ADHD families. Live sessions: May 11, 12 and 13 at 7:30–8:30pm AEST Replay available for 6 months Payment plans via Afterpay and Klarna JOIN US HERE 🔔 Next Steps & Resources Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast Join the waitlist for the ADHD Family Quest Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com 💛 Work With Sharon Sharon Collon is a PCC credentialed ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family. She works with parents of children with ADHD who are exhausted by the daily battles — the mornings, the meltdowns, the school emails, the emotional dysregulation — and helps them build a family life that actually works. Sharon's approach is practical, ADHD-informed, and built around real family systems — not generic parenting advice that wasn't designed for your child's brain. With Sharon's support, families: Understand what's really driving their child's behaviour — and respond strategically instead of reactively Build the executive function skills their child needs, in a way that actually sticks Replace daily conflict and overwhelm with calm, connection, and confidence Create routines and systems that hold — even on the hard days Move from survival mode to a family life that feels genuinely functional and joyful Whether you're brand new to the ADHD diagnosis or years in and still feeling stuck — there is a way through. You don't have to keep pushing through alone. 👉 Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com
April 29, 202636min
Number 3: Episode 77: Should I Medicate My Child? What ADHD Parents Need to Know Before Deciding
Are you stuck in the impossible loop of should I or shouldn't I — and feeling judged no matter which way you lean? If you're a parent of a child with ADHD, the medication question is one of the most emotionally loaded decisions you'll face. And it doesn't get easier when everyone around you seems to have a very strong opinion — whether they know anything about ADHD or not. In this episode of the ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon, ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family, shares her own family's messy, exhausting, emotionally charged journey through this exact decision. Sharon unpacks what ADHD medication actually does in the brain, what the research really says (including what often gets left out), the truth about side effects, and five practical questions to ask before you decide. This episode won't tell you what to do — it will give you the clarity to figure out what's right for your child. Freebie: 🎁 Download your free guide: 5 Ways to Navigate Big Emotions Without Power Struggles 👀 In This Episode, Sharon Covers: ✅ Why the medication decision feels so chaotic — and why that's completely normal ✅ The fears every ADHD parent holds: "What if I'm numbing my child? What if I'm taking the easy way out?" ✅ Sharon's own family story — the diets, the therapies, the pressure, and the turning point ✅ What ADHD medication actually does in the brain (hint: it's not a sedative) ✅ The MTA Study — the most comprehensive ADHD treatment research ever done, and what gets left out of the headline ✅ Why medication alone isn't enough — and what the research actually shows works best ✅ What a 2025 longitudinal MRI study found about timing and brain development ✅ Long-term outcomes: what the research says about medication, substance use, and quality of life ✅ Side effects — the honest, evidence-based answer every parent deserves ✅ Five questions to ask before deciding whether medication is right for your child ✅ Why the medication decision isn't a knowledge problem — it's a systems problem ✅ The most important reframe: choosing medication isn't taking the easy road ⚠️ If you've been going back and forth on this decision while the pressure from school, family, and your own head keeps building — this episode will help you think more clearly. ⏱️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – The fear and chaos that comes with the medication question 01:00 – Sharon's disclaimer: not medical advice, but real family experience 01:37 – Sharon's family story: diagnosis, pressure, and trying everything first 03:08 – The exhaustion of pursuing every alternative 04:12 – Getting ADHD advice from the barista (and other unhelpful moments) 06:21 – The turning point: what Sharon's husband disclosed that changed everything 07:48 – The second realisation: medication alone isn't enough 08:24 – What ADHD medication actually does in the brain 09:06 – What the research says: the MTA Study and what gets left out 11:06 – Effectiveness rates, the 2025 MRI findings, and long-term outcomes 12:06 – Side effects — the real, evidence-based answer 14:54 – Five questions to ask before deciding on medication 20:39 – Closing: you are not a bad parent either way 🎁 5 Ways to Navigate Big Emotions Without Power Struggles — FREE DOWNLOAD You're already doing the hard work of understanding your child's ADHD. But in the heat of the moment — when emotions explode and everything escalates — it can feel impossible to know what to actually do. This free guide gives you five simple, ADHD-informed strategies to help you respond to big emotions with calm and confidence, without it turning into a power struggle every single time. Because when you know what to do in the moment, everything feels a little more manageable. 👉 Download your free guide HERE. 🗺️ The ADHD Family Quest — Join the Waitlist If you're trying to make clear decisions — like the medication question — while your family life still feels like organised chaos, that's not a knowledge problem. That's a systems problem. The ADHD Family Quest is a structured, practical pathway for families navigating ADHD. It gives you the roadmap, the routines, and the clarity to move from reactive to responsive — not with a list of tips, but with real systems built around how your family actually works. When your home has a foundation, every decision — including this one — becomes clearer. 📋 JOIN THE WAITLIST HERE 🔔 Next Steps & Resources Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast Share this episode with a parent who is navigating the medication decision right now Download the free guide: 5 Ways to Navigate Big Emotions Without Power Struggles Join the waitlist for the ADHD Family Quest 💻 Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com 💛 Work With Sharon Sharon Collon is a PCC credentialed ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family. She works with parents of children with ADHD who are exhausted by the daily battles — the mornings, the meltdowns, the school emails, the emotional dysregulation — and helps them build a family life that actually works. Sharon's approach is practical, ADHD-informed, and built around real family systems — not generic parenting advice that wasn't designed for your child's brain. With Sharon's support, families: Understand what's really driving their child's behaviour — and respond strategically instead of reactively Build the executive function skills their child needs, in a way that actually sticks Replace daily conflict and overwhelm with calm, connection, and confidence Create routines and systems that hold — even on the hard days Move from survival mode to a family life that feels genuinely functional and joyful Whether you're brand new to the ADHD diagnosis or years in and still feeling stuck — there is a way through. You don't have to keep pushing through alone. 👉 Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com
April 09, 202622min
Number 4: Episode 74: The ADHD Pressure Cooker: Why Car Rides Explode (and 3 Steps to Fix It)
Why do car rides explode faster than anywhere else? In this episode of the ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon, ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family, unpacks why car trips trigger meltdowns — even in families who’ve “figured out” everything else. Car rides combine confinement, sensory overload, transitions, and nervous system stress into one high-pressure environment. Sharon shares why logic fails when kids’ brains go offline, how parents get pulled into survival mode too, and the three simple steps that reduce car chaos without threats, yelling, or guilt. If your back seat feels like a battlefield — or even the 10-minute school run drains you — this episode will give you practical, regulation-first tools that actually work. 🎁 Join Sharon’s free ADHD Roadmap Coaching Week (2–6 March) and create your family’s tailored plan: thefunctionalfamily.com/roadmap 👀 In This Episode, Sharon Covers: ✅ Why cars act like a “pressure cooker” for ADHD nervous systems ✅ What really happens when your child’s brain goes offline ✅ Why logic and threats make car meltdowns worse ✅ The 3-step system to reduce car ride explosions ✅ The “crunch factor” and how jaw input supports regulation ✅ When screens are a safety tool (and why guilt isn’t helpful) ✅ The Parent Pivot: how to regulate yourself mid-chaos ✅ Why sometimes pulling over is the strategy ⚠️ If car trips are your predictable problem area, this episode will help you pre-plan instead of firefight. ⏱️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – When car rides become a pressure cooker 02:00 – Why confinement triggers ADHD nervous systems 04:30 – Monkey brain: when logic leaves the building 06:30 – Predictable problems vs surprise meltdowns 08:00 – Step 1: Acknowledge the storm 10:00 – Step 2: Environmental shifts (crunch factor, devices, audio) 14:30 – Step 3: The Parent Pivot (regulate yourself first) 17:00 – When pulling over is the strategy 18:30 – If it’s not just the car (whole-family pressure) 19:15 – ADHD Roadmap Coaching Week invitation + next steps 🎁 Freebie: Create Your Family’s Tailored ADHD Roadmap (FREE) ADHD Roadmap FREE Coaching Week 📅 2–6 March ⏰ 4 Quick Trainings + Daily Live Coaching 💰 $1,000 in Cash Prizes Across the Week If car rides — or daily family life — feel like constant conflict, this free 4-day experience will help you move from chaos to functional. This isn’t theory. This is practical, doable change. And yes… we’re giving away cash prizes every single day to celebrate families who show up and take action. 💬 Daily Live Sessions + Cash Prizes Join Sharon at 1:00pm inside the Facebook group for connection, clarity and celebration. Comment during the Live to enter the daily cash prize draw: 💵 Day 1 → $100 💵 Day 2 → $200 💵 Day 3 → $300 💵 Day 4 → $400 Show up. Engage. Take action. You could walk away with a personalised plan and a cash bonus. 👉 Join here: https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/roadmap 🚀 Next Steps & Resources 🔔 Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast 📩 Share this episode with a parent who needs to hear it 🎁 The ADHD Family Quest Waitlist is now available 💻 Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com 💛 Work With Sharon Sharon Collon supports ADHD families to move from overwhelm to functional using personalised systems that honour how ADHD nervous systems actually work. Through coaching, structured programs, and community support, families reduce pressure, strengthen executive function skills, and build sustainable routines — without trying to fix everything at once. If your car feels like a battlefield, it’s not a parenting failure. It’s a predictable pressure point. And with the right roadmap, pressure turns into progress.
February 22, 202621min
Number 5: Episode 73: How Do I Get My Child with ADHD Ready for School Without Meltdowns?
Do your mornings feel like you’ve already lived an entire day before 9am? If school mornings are full of rushing, resistance, yelling, or tears — and you’re left completely depleted before work even begins — this episode is for you. In this episode of the ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon, ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family, breaks down why mornings are uniquely hard for children with ADHD — and what actually helps. Sharon explains how boring tasks, constant transitions, time pressure, and nervous system overload combine to create morning chaos — even when everyone is trying their best. Instead of behaviour charts or stricter routines, Sharon shares small, practical shifts that support regulation first, reduce pressure, and work with the ADHD brain — not against it. 👀 In This Episode, Sharon Covers: ✅ Why ADHD mornings fall apart before the day even begins ✅ How boring tasks and transitions overload the ADHD brain ✅ Why time pressure triggers stress, not cooperation ✅ The “movie of the mind” gap that trips kids up ✅ Why behaviour issues are often regulation injuries ✅ How micro-connection changes everything ✅ Practical strategies that reduce pressure without adding work ✅ How to soften mornings without yelling, threats, or burn ⏱️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Why mornings feel harder than the rest of the day 01:30 – The emotional toll of school drop-offs and burnout 03:20 – Why ADHD brains struggle with boring tasks 05:10 – Transitions, sequencing, and time blindness explained 07:00 – Why pressure backfires in ADHD mornings 08:30 – Behaviour vs regulation: what’s really happening 10:00 – Start with regulation, not demands 12:00 – Micro-connection that supports cooperation 13:40 – Protein, positioning yourself as a teammate 15:30 – Reducing decisions before 9am 17:30 – Using music as a regulator and timer 19:30 – Screens, dopamine, and when to delay them 21:00 – Choosing one friction point to start with 23:00 – Free ADHD Roadmap Coaching Week invitation 🎁 Freebie: Create Your Family’s Tailored ADHD Roadmap (FREE) ADHD Roadmap Coaching Week 📅 Dates: 3-6 March 2026 ⏰ Live + on-demand support designed for real families If mornings are draining your energy and confidence, this free coaching week will help you move from chaos to clarity — without adding more to your plate. You’ll learn how to: ✔️ Identify the real barriers behind morning struggles ✔️ Support regulation before expectations ✔️ Reduce daily friction without power struggles ✔️ Build a personalised ADHD Family Roadmap 👉 Join here: https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/roadmap 🚀 Next Steps & Resources 🔔 Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast 📩 Share this episode with a parent who needs to hear it 🎁 The ADHD Family Quest Waitlist is now available 💻 Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com 💛 Work With Sharon Sharon Collon supports ADHD families to move from overwhelm to clarity using personalised systems that honour how ADHD nervous systems actually work. Through coaching, programs, and community support, families learn how to reduce pressure, build executive function skills, and create sustainable routines — without trying to fix everything at once. When mornings soften, everything else gets lighter. And that’s where real change begins.
February 06, 202625min