Chaos & Caffeine - ADHD Parenting Podcast

If you’re raising a child with ADHD, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve accidentally become their executive function.

You’re checking the homework. Remembering the deadlines. Finding the missing assignments. Packing the backpack. Watching the grades. Reminding them about the thing you already reminded them about twelve times.

But how do we help ADHD kids succeed in school without managing every single thing for them?

This week on Chaos & Caffeine, Danielle Kelly talks with Diane Dempster, co-founder of ImpactParents and professional coach, about helping neurodivergent kids build executive functioning skills, independence, and confidence at school and at home.

We’re getting into the messy stuff: when helping becomes rescuing, how to shift from managing to coaching, when to let kids experience natural consequences, how to hand responsibilities back without setting them up to fail, and why ADHD parents so often end up completely burned out during the school year.

Because the goal isn’t to raise a kid who never forgets an assignment, loses something, or struggles.

It’s to raise a kid who eventually knows what to do when they do.

Connect with Diane 👉 Impact Parents

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 bina school

A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

🔬 Kodo Kids

Open-ended, sensory-rich play materials that let neurodivergent kids explore, experiment, and learn in the ways that work for their brains.

🧱 Cubles

Recyclable building sets that transform flat pieces into 3D creations—keeping busy hands building and brilliant brains creating.

 🩵 Parker & Talia

Sensory-friendly clothing and socks made for kids who can’t just “ignore” the tag, seam, texture, or waistband. 

🎓 Inclusive Expectations

 Special education advocacy and personalized support helping parents navigate IEPs, school meetings, and accommodations with more confidence.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Your kid can understand something ridiculously complicated… but can't remember their homework, find their shoes, start a five-minute assignment, or handle a tiny change in plans without completely falling apart.

How the hell can both things be true?

This week on Chaos & Caffeine: ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with Mark Talaga, M.A., LPC, director and owner of the Center for Identity Potential and host of the Hopelessly Gifted Podcast, to talk about the complicated reality of raising gifted, ADHD, neurodivergent, and twice-exceptional (2e) kids.

We're digging into the gap between intelligence and executive functioning—and why being incredibly capable in one area doesn't mean a child should automatically be capable everywhere else.

Mark breaks down asynchronous development, executive dysfunction, emotional regulation, giftedness, ADHD, anxiety, perfectionism, identity, and why some incredibly bright kids struggle with things adults assume should be “easy.”

We also talk about what happens when adults mistake executive-function struggles for laziness, defiance, lack of motivation, or wasted potential—and how constantly hearing “You're so smart, why can't you just…” can affect a neurodivergent child's identity and confidence.

Connect with Mark 👉 Center for Identity Potential

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 bina school

A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

🔬 Kodo Kids

Open-ended, sensory-rich play materials that let neurodivergent kids explore, experiment, and learn in the ways that work for their brains.

🧱 Cubles

Recyclable building sets that transform flat pieces into 3D creations—keeping busy hands building and brilliant brains creating.

 🩵 Parker & Talia

Sensory-friendly clothing and socks made for kids who can’t just “ignore” the tag, seam, texture, or waistband. 

🎓 Inclusive Expectations

 Special education advocacy and personalized support helping parents navigate IEPs, school meetings, and accommodations with more confidence.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Why can an incredibly smart child with ADHD know EXACTLY what they're supposed to do at school…and still forget the assignment, lose the worksheet, miss the directions, struggle to get started, or completely fall apart when expectations increase?

If your ADHD child is struggling in school, this episode is for you.

This week on Chaos & Caffeine: ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with Dr. Stephen Faraone, one of the world's leading ADHD researchers, to talk about what decades of research actually tell us about ADHD kids, executive functioning, academic performance, and the ADHD brain at school.

Dr. Faraone is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He has authored more than 1,000 journal articles, editorials, chapters, and books, and has spent decades studying ADHD, genetics, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.

And we're taking that science straight into the classroom.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why ADHD can make school so difficult—even for very bright kids
• ADHD and executive function struggles at school
• Why knowing what to do isn't the same as being able to consistently DO it
• Attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and self-regulation in the classroom
• ADHD and academic performance
• Why grades don't always tell the whole story
• What parents and teachers may misunderstand about ADHD
• How increasing independence and school demands can expose ADHD struggles
• ADHD diagnosis and what parents should understand about symptoms and impairment
• ADHD medication, treatment, and what the evidence actually shows
• Separating evidence-based ADHD information from myths and misinformation
• What decades of ADHD research can teach us about helping our kids succeed

Research involving Dr. Faraone has found that children with ADHD who also have executive-function deficits can be at particularly high risk for academic difficulties—including lower academic achievement and grade retention.

So when your child knows the material but can't find the homework…

When the teacher says, “But they CAN focus when they want to…”

When your kid is capable as hell but their school performance doesn't seem to reflect what you KNOW they're capable of…

There may be a whole lot more happening underneath the behavior.

Because our goal isn't to make ADHD kids better at pretending they don't have ADHD.

It's to understand their brains well enough to give them a real shot at succeeding with the one they have.

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 bina school

A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo

Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

 🩵 Parker & Talia

Sensory-friendly clothing and socks made for kids who can’t just “ignore” the tag, seam, texture, or waistband. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games

Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🎓 Inclusive Expectations

 Special education advocacy and personalized support helping parents navigate IEPs, school meetings, and accommodations with more confidence.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Getting your ADHD kid into college is one thing.

But are they actually ready to manage college without you?

In this episode of Chaos & Caffeine: ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with Gerene Keesler, founder of Admissions Untangled and a college admissions expert with more than 30 years of experience, to talk about what parents of ADHD and neurodivergent teens need to know BEFORE college move-in day.

Because college readiness isn't just GPA, SAT scores, applications and acceptance letters.

For an ADHD student, it can also mean managing executive functioning, deadlines, organization, medication, accommodations, professors, laundry, sleep, money, appointments—and knowing when and how to ask for help.

Gerene brings both professional and personal experience to this conversation. After spending decades working in college admissions and higher education, she now specializes in helping neurodivergent students navigate the college admissions process, identify schools that fit their actual needs, develop self-advocacy skills, and prepare for greater independence.

We're talking about:

• How to know if your ADHD teen is actually ready for college
• Executive functioning skills students need before leaving home
• How ADHD accommodations change from high school to college
• What happens to an IEP or 504 Plan after high school
• Teaching ADHD teens to advocate for themselves
• How parents can gradually step back without removing support completely
• What to look for when choosing a college for an ADHD or neurodivergent student
• Why the "best" college isn't necessarily the most prestigious one
• College admissions and application strategies for neurodivergent students
• When a traditional four-year college may NOT be the best next step
• Preparing ADHD teens for deadlines, organization and independence
• How parents can stop being their teenager's external frontal lobe before move-in day 😂

Gerene's message is one every ADHD parent needs to hear:

The goal isn't simply finding a college that will accept your child. It's finding a place where your child can actually thrive.

And preparing them doesn't mean making sure they never struggle.

It means helping them build the skills to recognize when they're struggling, advocate for what they need, access support—and recover when things inevitably go sideways.

If you're raising an ADHD middle schooler or high schooler and college feels simultaneously exciting and absolutely freaking terrifying, start here.

Connect with Gerene 👉 Admissions Untangled

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 bina school

A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo

Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

 🩵 Parker & Talia

Sensory-friendly clothing and socks made for kids who can’t just “ignore” the tag, seam, texture, or waistband. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games

Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🎓 Inclusive Expectations

 Special education advocacy and personalized support helping parents navigate IEPs, school meetings, and accommodations with more confidence.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Is your child bright but still struggling to read?

Do they guess at words, avoid reading altogether, melt down during homework, or insist they're "bad at reading"? If you're raising a child with ADHD, it can be incredibly difficult to know whether these challenges are caused by attention, dyslexia, or something else entirely.

This week on Chaos & Caffeine: An ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with reading specialist, Certified Academic Language Therapist, and Home Reading Coach founder Faye Bankler Casell to break down what every ADHD parent needs to know about reading difficulties.

Together, they discuss:

• The difference between ADHD and dyslexia
• Why so many bright kids struggle with reading
• Early warning signs parents shouldn't ignore
• What the Science of Reading actually means (without the educational jargon)
• Why traditional reading practice often isn't enough
• Practical, research-backed strategies parents can use at home
• How to protect your child's confidence while building stronger reading skills

Whether your child has ADHD, dyslexia, learning differences, or simply isn't making the reading progress you'd expect, this episode will help you understand what's really happening—and what you can do next.

Because struggling to read doesn't mean a child isn't smart. It means they deserve instruction that works for the way their brain learns.

🎧 Subscribe to Chaos & Caffeine for weekly conversations with leading ADHD experts, psychologists, educators, researchers, physicians, and parents who are changing the way we support neurodivergent kids.

Connect with Faye 👉 Home Reading Coach

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 bina school

A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo

Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

 🩵 Parker & Talia

 Sensory-friendly clothing and socks made for kids who can’t just “ignore” the tag, seam, texture, or waistband. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games

Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🎓 Inclusive Expectations

 Special education advocacy and personalized support helping parents navigate IEPs, school meetings, and accommodations with more confidence.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

If your child has ever completely lost it because their socks feel wrong, a tag is driving them CRAZY, the waistband is uncomfortable, or the shirt they wore perfectly happily yesterday is suddenly absolutely unacceptable… this episode is for you. 😂

For ADHD, autistic, and sensory-sensitive kids, getting dressed isn't always a simple part of the morning routine. Seams, tags, fabrics, waistbands, textures, fit, and even tiny changes in how clothing feels can become genuinely overwhelming—and what looks like stubbornness or defiance from the outside may actually be a child trying to communicate that something feels WRONG.

This week on Chaos & Caffeine: ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with Valerie Bernal, founder of Parker & Talia, to talk about sensory sensitivities, clothing struggles, and why getting dressed can become such a huge source of stress for neurodivergent kids and their parents.

We talk about:

• Why some ADHD and autistic kids are extremely sensitive to clothing
• Tags, seams, waistbands, fabrics, textures, and other common sensory triggers
• Why a child may tolerate an outfit one day and refuse it the next
• Sensory discomfort vs. behavior or defiance
• How clothing battles can affect regulation and the entire morning routine
• Supporting bodily autonomy and listening when kids tell us something doesn't feel right
• Helping sensory-sensitive children build confidence and independence
• Valerie's journey to creating Parker & Talia
• How sensory-friendly clothing can remove one unnecessary struggle from a neurodivergent child's day

Because when our kids are already navigating a world that asks their nervous systems to adapt ALL DAY LONG, maybe getting dressed doesn't need to be another freaking battle.

Connect with Valerie 👉 Parker & Talia 

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 Bina School

A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo

Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games

Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🎓 Inclusive Expectations

 Special education advocacy and personalized support helping parents navigate IEPs, school meetings, and accommodations with more confidence.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Does your ADHD child actually have the school support they need—or have you been told they’re “doing fine” because their grades look okay?

For parents of neurodivergent kids, navigating IEPs, 504 Plans, school accommodations, evaluations, and special education services can feel like learning an entirely new language while simultaneously trying to advocate for the person you love most.

This week on Chaos & Caffeine: ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with Kelly from Inclusive Expectations to help parents understand how to advocate for their ADHD and neurodivergent children at school.

We’re talking about:

• Signs your child may need additional school support—even with good grades
• IEP vs. 504 Plans and navigating the accommodation process
• What to do when the school says your child is “doing fine”
• What school data parents should actually be asking for
• Turning ADHD and executive-function challenges into meaningful accommodations
• How to prepare for an IEP or 504 meeting
• Advocating confidently without creating a parent-versus-school battle
• Making sure accommodations actually work in your child’s real school day

If you've ever walked into a school meeting surrounded by acronyms and wondered, “How the hell am I supposed to know what my kid needs?”—start here.

You don't have to become a special education expert overnight. But you CAN learn how to ask better questions, understand the information in front of you, and become a powerful member of your child's educational team.

Connect with Kelly 👉 Inclusive Expectations

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 Bina School
A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo
Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games
Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🌙 Moonbuddy

Helping kids calm their nervous systems without another screen in sight. Use code: CHAOSANDCAFFEINE10 to save 10%.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Is your ADHD child constantly forgetting homework, struggling to focus, melting down after school, or being labeled as "smart but not applying themselves?"

You're not alone—and your child isn't lazy.

In this episode of Chaos & Caffeine: An ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with renowned child mental health expert, therapist, and school psychologist Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge to unpack what is really happening inside the ADHD brain during the school day.

Together, they explore why emotional regulation is the foundation for learning, how executive functioning impacts everything from homework to organization, and practical, science-backed strategies parents can use to help their children succeed in school without constant power struggles.

Whether your child has an ADHD diagnosis, struggles with executive functioning, has a 504 Plan or IEP, or you're simply trying to make this school year smoother, this episode is packed with actionable advice you can start using today.

In this episode, you'll learn:
• Why ADHD kids often struggle despite being incredibly intelligent
• The connection between emotional regulation and academic success
• Executive functioning skills every parent should understand
• How to reduce homework battles and after-school meltdowns
• Classroom accommodations that actually help ADHD learners
• How to prepare your child for elementary school, middle school, or high school
• What teachers often misunderstand about ADHD
• Practical strategies to build confidence, independence, and resilience

If you've ever wondered why your child can ace a conversation but forget every assignment... why they can focus for hours on Minecraft but not twenty minutes of homework... or why school feels harder than it should, this conversation will leave you feeling informed, empowered, and far less alone.

🎧 Subscribe to Chaos & Caffeine so you never miss an episode featuring leading ADHD researchers, psychologists, educators, and experts helping families navigate ADHD with more confidence and less chaos.

Connect with Dr. Roseann 👉Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 Bina School
A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo
Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games
Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🌙 Moonbuddy

Helping kids calm their nervous systems without another screen in sight. Use code: CHAOSANDCAFFEINE10 to save 10%.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

Why do ADHD kids struggle to sit still, follow directions, tune out distractions, and focus in the classroom—and what does neuroscience say we can actually do about it?

Today on Chaos & Caffeine, ADHD Parenting Podcast, Danielle Kelly sits down with leading neuroscientist and ADHD researcher Dr. John Foxe, Director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester, to go all the way back to the brain.

Because here's the question: Were our kids ever meant to sit quietly at a desk for hours, ignore everything happening around them, hold multiple instructions in working memory, resist the urge to move, switch tasks on command, and somehow stay focused through an entire school day?

And if the ADHD brain struggles inside that environment, does that mean something is wrong with the child—or do we need to better understand what their brain needs to learn?

We're digging into the neuroscience behind ADHD, attention, sensory processing, movement, distraction, learning, and the classroom—and, most importantly, turning that science into practical strategies parents can actually use this school year.

We talk about why ADHD kids may miss directions even when they appear to be listening, why noisy classrooms and busy school environments can make learning harder, why movement matters, what happens when the brain has to constantly filter competing information, and how understanding your child's brain can change the way you approach school struggles.

And because most of us cannot redesign the education system before Monday morning, we also talk about reality: How do we help ADHD kids succeed in the classrooms they have right now?

If you're raising a child with ADHD who struggles with focus, school behavior, executive functioning, sensory overload, classroom expectations, following directions, or learning, this conversation may completely change the way you see their school day.

Especially if you're a new ADHD parent wondering, "Why is this so much harder for my kid?"

This isn't about teaching ADHD kids to become better at pretending they don't have ADHD.

It's about understanding how their brains work—and using that knowledge to help them learn, advocate for what they need, and walk into school knowing their brain belongs there too.

Connect with Dr. Foxe 👉NeURoscience Perspectives

This Month's Sponsors:

🌎 Bina School
A small, global online school built for kids who need learning to be more flexible, personalized, and human.

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo
Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games
Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🌙 Moonbuddy

Helping kids calm their nervous systems without another screen in sight. Use code: CHAOSANDCAFFEINE10 to save 10%.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

Join Our Patreon and Find All of Our Faves! 

📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.

IEP meetings. 504 plans. School accommodations. Special education services. If you're raising a child with ADHD, figuring out what support they're actually entitled to at school can feel like learning an entirely new language—and then being expected to confidently advocate in a room full of professionals.

That's why we're kicking off our ADHD Kids & School series with one of our favorite conversations with special education advocate Karen Mayer Cunningham.

Karen is funny, bold, incredibly knowledgeable, and exactly the person you want in your corner before walking into an IEP or 504 meeting. In this episode, we're breaking down how parents can become stronger advocates for their neurodivergent kids, understand the special education process, ask better questions, and push for the accommodations and services their children need to succeed.

We talk about navigating IEP and 504 meetings, communicating with schools, understanding your role as a parent, advocating when your child is struggling, and getting past the fear that you're being "difficult" simply because you're asking for support.

Because here's the thing: advocating for your ADHD child isn't about demanding special treatment. It's about making sure they have meaningful access to an education that works for the way their brain learns.

Whether your child already has an IEP or 504 Plan, you're preparing for your first school accommodation meeting, or you're wondering whether your struggling ADHD child needs more support, this episode is your confidence boost before walking through those doors.

☕ Chaos & Caffeine: ADHD Parenting Podcast is your no-BS guide to raising neurodivergent kids, featuring ADHD experts, researchers, therapists, educators, advocates, and parents who actually get it.

Subscribe and follow our ADHD Kids & School series for practical strategies to help your child navigate school, executive functioning, accommodations, behavior, emotional regulation, learning challenges, homework, and more.

Connect with Karen 👉Special Education Academy

This Month's Sponsors:

 🦘 Ted Kangaroo
Sensory tools that help kids wiggle, focus, and regulate—without another battle. Use code: CHAOS20 to save 20%. 

📚 Reading.com

Helping struggling readers build confidence and parents keep their sanity one lesson at a time.

🎲 DSS Games
Helping families put down the screens, laugh together, and actually enjoy spending time with each other again.

🌙 Moonbuddy

Helping kids calm their nervous systems without another screen in sight. Use code: CHAOSANDCAFFEINE10 to save 10%.

🌱 MaryRuth Organics

If you’ve got a kid who treats vegetables like a personal enemy, MaryRuth Organics might become your new best friend. 

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📧 Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected].

Support the show

Danielle is the host of Chaos & Caffeine, a fast-growing ADHD parenting podcast where she interviews leading psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and neurodivergent advocates about what actually helps ADHD kids thrive in the real world. Through science-backed conversations and very real mom-in-the-trenches storytelling, the show helps parents navigate executive function challenges, emotional regulation struggles, learning differences, and the everyday chaos of raising neurodivergent kids.

Each week, Danielle translates complex ADHD research into practical tools parents can actually use — from building routines that support developing brains to helping kids strengthen focus, flexibility, and self-regulation skills.

Listen to the podcast and explore expert interviews at:
https://linktr.ee/chaosandcaffeinepodcast

Danielle frequently speaks and writes about ADHD parenting strategies, executive function development, emotional regulation, screen use and attention, learning challenges like dyslexia, and building resilient neurodivergent families.