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.