***Blakey's new film - In pieces together***

What happens when a world-record surfing challenge becomes a mission to save lives?

In this inspiring episode of the ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon sits down with world-record endurance surfer, surf coach, and mental health advocate Blakey Johnston to explore the powerful connection between mental health, ADHD, anxiety, movement, and purpose.

Blakey shares the deeply personal story behind his 40-hour world-record surf attempt and how losing his father to suicide became the catalyst for helping men speak openly about mental health. Sharon and Blakey unpack the science behind surfing, cold water, community, movement, and emotional resilience — especially for people navigating ADHD, anxiety, and overwhelm.

If you’re looking for practical mental health strategies, inspiring resilience stories, and powerful conversations around ADHD and emotional wellbeing, this episode delivers both heart and hope.

✅ Blake Johnston’s 40-hour world-record surfing challenge
✅ The mental health crisis impacting men and families
✅ How movement and surfing support ADHD and anxiety regulation
✅ The emotional impact of losing a parent to suicide
✅ Why community and connection are critical for mental wellbeing
✅ The science behind cold water, nature, and emotional regulation
✅ Burnout, stress, and high-performance mindset traps
✅ Parenting, vulnerability, and emotional resilience
✅ Practical mental health strategies for everyday life
✅ How purpose-driven challenges can create real impact

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode discusses suicide, mental health struggles, anxiety, and emotional distress.

00:00 – Welcome to the ADHD Families Podcast
01:30 – Meet Blake Johnston
03:10 – The story behind the 40-hour surf challenge
07:20 – Losing his father to suicide
12:45 – Anxiety, burnout, and emotional overwhelm
18:15 – Why surfing helps mental health
23:50 – ADHD, movement, and nervous system regulation
29:40 – The physical and mental realities of endurance surfing
36:10 – Community, connection, and vulnerability
42:20 – Parenting, resilience, and emotional awareness
48:00 – Practical mental health strategies anyone can use
53:45 – Blake’s message for struggling men
57:10 – Final thoughts and key takeaways

“Real change requires more than conversation — it requires action.”

“Connection and community are some of the most powerful tools we have for mental health.”

“You don’t have to struggle alone.”

While screens leak your child's attention, subscriptions and forgotten auto-renewals are quietly leaking money from your household every month. The Money Hunt is a five-day live event for mums of ADHD families who want that money back.

No budgeting. No spreadsheets. No willpower. Just one 45-minute session a day, one bingo square to tick off, and a running tally of every dollar you find. Most Hunters cover the cost of the event by Day 2.

Already in The ADHD Family Quest? It's included in your membership

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:

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

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. 

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 

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.

JOIN US HERE 

Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast

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:

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

Every week in my support group, parents share the same quiet ache — they wish they had people in their lives who actually got them. They feel lonely. And they're often so busy supporting their child's social struggles that their own go unspoken.

This episode is for you. The parent. The adult.

I am joined by Caroline Maguire (M.Ed, ACCG, PCC)— ADHD coach, social emotional learning expert, and author of Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults — for one of the most honest and relieving conversations the ADHD Families Podcast has had.

Caroline Maguire (M.Ed, ACCG, PCC) is an ADHD coach, social emotional learning expert, author, and speaker who has spent over a decade researching how neurodivergent adults experience friendship and belonging. Her book Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults is the first written by a neurodivergent person, for a neurodivergent audience — practical, research-backed, and deeply human. She is also the host of the new podcast Your ADHD Social Playbook and has a TEDx Talk available on YouTube.

Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults iis the first book of its kind — written by a neurodivergent person, for a neurodivergent audience. If this episode resonated, this book is your next step.

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Hachette, Audible, and wherever you love to buy books. Also available in audiobook.

This episode talks about the adult experience of friendship and ADHD. But what about our kids?

My son Xavier — who has ADHD — wrote a blog that has stopped parents in their tracks since the day it was published. It is called A Note from a Kid with ADHD: How to Be My Friend.

In Xavier's own words, he shares what he needs from friends — the patience, the inclusion, the kindness, and the grace. It is the resource I wished she could hand to other families when Xavier was young.

Share it with another parent, a teacher, or a child who could use the reminder.

Read it here → https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/blog/anotefromanadhdkidhowtobemyfriend
  

A 3-part live workshop series for parents of children with ADHD — co-facilitated by me (ADHD Coach) and Jacquie Ward (Psychologist).

If sibling conflict in your home feels more intense and harder to recover from than it should — you are not imagining it. ADHD changes the equation. This series gives you the why and the what now.

In just 3 nights, you'll learn how to:

The Details: 

Live sessions: May 11, 12 and 13 at 7:30–8:30pm AEST

Replay available for 6 months

Payment plans via Afterpay and Klarna

Early bird: $197 AUD (save $100) — use code EARLY at checkout

JOIN US HERE →  https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/offers/LCALkojv/checkout?coupon_code=EARLY 

Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast

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:

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

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

✅ 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.

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

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.

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

Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast

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:

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

Does your child go from 0 to 100 in seconds and you're left wondering what just happened?

If you're parenting a child with ADHD, you already know that big emotions don't just happen, they explode. And no matter how calm you try to stay, it pulls you in every single time.

In this episode of the  ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon, ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family, unpacks why emotional meltdowns in children with ADHD aren't behaviour problems — they're nervous system responses. Sharon explains why emotional regulation is an executive function skill that develops later in ADHD brains, what's really sitting underneath those explosive reactions, and why discipline and reasoning make dysregulation worse. If you've ever felt like you're walking on eggshells around your child's emotions, Sharon shares a simple 3-step strategy — Name, Validate, Regulate — that you can use in the moment, even when you're exhausted.

🎁 Download your free guide:
5 Ways to Navigate Big Emotions Without Power Struggles

✅ Why big emotions in ADHD children build beneath the surface — often all day
✅ Why one small question can trigger a massive explosion
✅ The truth: "Big emotions are small worries that didn't have the words to come out earlier"
✅ Why children with ADHD feel everything more intensely — joy, rejection, shame
✅ Why emotional regulation is an executive function skill — not a behaviour choice
✅ Why discipline, logic and reasoning don't work during ADHD meltdowns
✅ The "closed gate" brain — why your child's thinking brain goes offline when dysregulated
✅ The 3-step strategy: Name, Validate, Regulate
✅ Why validation is the most skipped step — and the most powerful
✅ How connection calms an ADHD child's nervous system faster than correction
✅ Practical, in-the-moment regulation tools that work even when you're depleted
✅ Why go-to scripts are a game changer for parents of kids with ADHD

⚠️ If your child can go from completely fine to explosive in seconds — and leave you wondering what just happened — this episode will completely reframe those moments.

00:00 – When ADHD meltdowns seem to come out of nowhere
02:24 – Why emotional regulation is an executive function skill
04:41 – Introducing the strategy: Name, Validate, Regulate
05:00 – Step 1: Name — helping your child put words to the feeling
07:00 – Step 2: Validate — the step most parents skip
08:00 – Step 3: Regulate — helping the nervous system come back online
09:23 – Mindset shift: having a hard time vs giving a hard time
10:00 – Conclusion + free guide: 5 Ways to Navigate Big Emotions Without Power Struggles 

A simple guide for parents of children with ADHD.

Big emotions are part of life with ADHD.

But when those emotions turn into meltdowns, it can feel overwhelming for the whole family.

Many parents tell me the same thing:

"I want to help my child… but I don't know what to do in the moment."

This guide will give you five simple strategies you can use to support your child through big emotions — without turning the moment into a power struggle.

👉 Download your free guide HERE. 

Your home is supposed to be your soft place to land. But for a lot of ADHD families — it's just another source of overwhelm.

If that's you, I have something coming that I think you're going to love.

Declutter Along With Me — 5 days. 45 minutes a day.

Side by side, together. No pressure. No perfect plan. Just focused, supported action that finally sticks.

📅  6–10 April 2026
👉 [GRAB YOUR SPOT HERE]

🔔 Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast

Sharon Collon supports ADHD families to move from reactive, overwhelming days to calm, connected and functional family life — using ADHD-friendly strategies that actually work for sensitive nervous systems.

Through her coaching and resources, families:

Parenting ADHD does get easier.

But not by pushing through.

It gets easier when you understand what's really happening — and respond strategically.

You are too important to stay in survival mode.

Why does parenting a child with ADHD feel relentlessly overwhelming — even when you’re doing everything “right”?

ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon, ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family, unpacks why ADHD parenting overwhelm isn’t a time problem,  it’s an energy and nervous system problem.

Sharon explains why traditional parenting advice fails ADHD families, how the invisible mental load builds quietly in the background, and why your body may still be in hypervigilance years after the baby stage. If you’re stuck in survival mode, Sharon shares three practical tools to reduce overwhelm immediately — without adding more to your plate.

🎁 Join The ADHD Family Quest and create your family’s tailored plan:
https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/quest

✅ Why ADHD nervous systems create chronic overwhelm
✅ The hidden hypervigilance mums carry (and why it’s exhausting)
✅ Why traditional parenting advice doesn’t work for ADHD
✅ The invisible load of school notes, meltdowns and mental juggling
✅ Why overwhelm is an energy problem — not a time problem
✅ The Rainbow Wall tool to rebalance negativity bias
✅ Why rest is critical (and not something you “earn”)
✅ How tracking sleep and your cycle builds strategic self-compassion

⚠️ If you’ve ever stood in the kitchen thinking “I can’t keep doing this”, this episode is for you.

00:00 – Remembering “busy” before kids
02:20 – Why ADHD parenting feels heavier
04:30 – Hypervigilance starts in the baby years
07:00 – The nervous system toll of constant dysregulation
08:45 – Why traditional parenting advice fails ADHD families
09:20 – The invisible load mums carry
12:30 – The “slab of the house” foundation: sleep, cycle, energy
13:50 – It’s not a time problem — it’s an energy problem
18:30 – Tool #1: Protecting your energy
19:45 – Tool #2: The Rainbow Wall
23:15 – Tool #3: Rest is not a reward
25:30 – Tracking sleep, cycle and capacity
27:45 – Recap: 3 practical tools
29:00 – Why ADHD support must be strategic
30:00 – ADHD Family Quest invitation

If you’re standing in the kitchen thinking, “I can’t keep doing this”… this is for you.

If your body is on high alert.
If the school calls, the meltdowns and the mental load never seem to stop.
If you’re exhausted from carrying the invisible backpack.

You don’t need to try harder.
You need more capacity.

The ADHD Family Quest is a 12-month, coaching-led experience designed to help families move from overwhelm to calmer, more functional daily life.

And you don’t get there alone.
Your whole family moves forward together — because it was never meant to sit on mum’s shoulders.

This isn’t therapy.
It isn’t a course.
And it’s definitely not a quick fix.

It’s structured, supported, ADHD-specific coaching that creates real, lasting change.

You don’t have to keep carrying this by yourself.
You just have to say yes to support.

📅 Starts 11 March
🔗 https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/quest

🔔 Subscribe to the ADHD Families Podcast
📩 Share this episode with a parent who needs to hear it
🎁 The ADHD Family Quest is open till 11 March 2026
💻 Learn more at thefunctionalfamily.com

Sharon Collon supports ADHD families to move from survival mode to functional, calm and connected — using ADHD-friendly systems that honour how sensitive nervous systems actually work.

Inside The ADHD Family Quest, families:

• Build environmental systems first (Base Camp)
• Learn behavioural strategies that work for ADHD brains
• Develop executive function skills for life
• Strengthen the whole family as a team
• Receive layered coaching support across 12 months

Parenting ADHD does get easier.

But not by accident.
It gets easier when you’re strategic.

You are too important to stay in survival mode.

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 

✅ 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.

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

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.

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

🔔 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

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.

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.

✅ 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

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

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

🔔 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

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.

Have you just received an ADHD diagnosis for your child and found yourself thinking,

“Okay… now what?”

If your next instinct is to book all the appointments, consume all the information, and "fix" everything immediately, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the ADHD Families Podcast, Sharon Collon, ADHD family coach and founder of The Functional Family - slows down the moment after diagnosis so parents don’t burn themselves (or their child) out before they’ve even had a chance to understand what their child truly needs.

Sharon shares her own experience of receiving her son’s ADHD diagnosis, the overwhelm that followed, and why urgency is often mistaken for importance. She explains why ADHD is not an emergency, why doing more isn’t always better, and how burnout often begins with good intentions but no clear roadmap.

This conversation will help you move from panic to clarity, from reactive decision-making to confident, intentional next steps - without pressure or perfection.

✅ Why the post-diagnosis phase is where burnout often begins
✅ The pressure parents feel to “do everything” straight away
✅ Why ADHD is not an emergency — and doesn’t need fixing
✅ The difference between urgency and importance
✅ Why parenting support should come before everything else
✅ How to identify your child’s real needs beyond the label
✅ The power of choosing one focus instead of carrying it all
✅ How to build a steady, sustainable ADHD roadmap for your family

00:00 – You’ve received the ADHD diagnosis… now what?
01:10 – Relief, panic, and the pressure to fix everything
02:30 – Sharon’s own diagnosis story and the overwhelm that followed
04:10 – Why booking everything leads to burnout
05:40 – ADHD is not an emergency (and doesn’t need fixing)
07:10 – Urgency vs importance: where parents get stuck
08:40 – Why parenting support should come first
10:30 – Coming back to the child you already know
12:00 – Identifying your child’s real needs and strengths
13:40 – Choosing one focus instead of doing it all
15:00 – Free ADHD Roadmap coaching week + next steps

Four days. Four core shifts. One clear plan for your family.

If you’re parenting a primary-school-aged child with ADHD and feeling overwhelmed, this free coaching week will help you move from confusion to calm — without pressure or perfection.

You’ll learn how to:
✔️ Understand what really drives your child’s behaviour
✔️ Decide what to focus on first (and what can wait)
✔️ Reduce daily friction and emotional load
✔️ Create your personalised ADHD Family Roadmap

🕖 Daily videos: 7:00 am
🕐 Live sessions: 1:00 pm (Sydney time)

👉 Join here:
https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/roadmap 

A clear, practical session to help ADHD families set school up early — without stress or burnout.

✔️ ADHD Learning Support Plan
✔️ Clear teacher communication
✔️ Confident advocacy

🎥 Now $147 AUD (was $197) until 31 Jan
Code BACKTOSCHOOL2026

👉 Access here : https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/offers/SZ2euSGj?coupon_code=BACKTOSCHOOL2026

🔔 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

Sharon Collon supports ADHD families to move from overwhelm to clarity using personalised systems that honour how ADHD brains actually work.

Through coaching, programs, and community support, families learn what to focus on first — without trying to do everything at once.

When you stop carrying everything alone, parenting gets lighter.
And that’s where real change begins.

Have you ever looked at your child’s behaviour and thought, “Is this ADHD… or are they just being rude, defiant, or pushing boundaries?”

If that question leaves you stuck between guilt and frustration, 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 this question is so loaded - and why it keeps parents second-guessing themselves. Sharon explains how ADHD behaviour often looks like “won’t” on the outside, when underneath it’s actually a “can’t yet”.

Through a powerful real-life parenting moment, Sharon shows how fear, exhaustion, and missing information sit beneath behaviour confusion and how understanding executive function changes the way we respond.

This conversation will help you move from judgement to clarity, and from reacting in the moment to responding with confidence.

✅ Why ADHD behaviour is often mistaken for defiance
✅ The hidden fear behind parenting self-doubt
✅ How executive function challenges show up as rudeness or escalation
✅ Why discipline doesn’t work when skills are lagging
✅ How to tell the difference between boundary-testing and skill-based behaviour
✅ What parents actually need to move forward (hint: it’s not more opinions)

00:00 – ADHD or bad behaviour? The question that creates so much confusion
02:00 – Why parents constantly second-guess themselves
04:00 – When “won’t” is actually “can’t yet”
06:30 – Where behaviour confusion really comes from
08:30 – A real-life parenting moment that changed everything
12:00 – Why punishment doesn’t fix lagging skills
15:00 – Responding with clarity instead of fear or guilt
18:00 – What parents actually need (and it’s not more opinions)
20:00 – Creating a clear ADHD roadmap for your family
22:00 – Free coaching week invitation + next steps

Missed the Back to School Workshop? You can still access the full replay.

This practical workshop helps ADHD families set their child up for the year.  In this practical session, Sharon guides you to create an ADHD specific learning support plan (your school will thank you!), an all about me form (so that your teacher understands your child from day 1), email templates to your child's school to set up positive communication and gives you a strategy bank to support you and your child's teacher when things get messy.

3–6 March 2026 · Sydney Time

Four days. Four core shifts. One clear plan for your family.

If you’re parenting a primary-school-aged child with ADHD and feeling overwhelmed, this free coaching week will help you move from confusion to calm — without pressure or perfection.

You’ll learn how to:
✔️ Make sense of behaviour
✔️ Support skills that need development
✔️ Reduce daily friction at home
✔️ Create your personalised ADHD Family Roadmap

🕖 Daily videos: 7:00 am
🕐 Live sessions: 1:00 pm
(Sydney time)

👉 Join here:
https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/roadmap 

🔔 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

Sharon Collon supports ADHD families to move from overwhelm to clarity using personalised systems that honour how ADHD brains actually work. Through coaching, programs, and community support, families learn what to focus on first — without trying to do everything at once.

When behaviour starts to make sense, parenting gets lighter.
And that’s where real change begins.