Focus Forward: An Executive Function Podcast

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a topic that’s so important for families navigating the ups and downs of childhood and parenting: behavioral and Executive Function challenges in kids.

I had the pleasure of inviting back to Focus Forward the wonderful Dr. Nerissa Bauer, a developmental pediatrician with a wealth of knowledge and compassion for helping families thrive. Nerissa has been a great partner with us at Beyond BookSmart and I’m so happy to be able to share her wisdom with you all again. Listen today to hear us explore the messages behind children’s behaviors, the connection between emotional regulation and executive function, and how parents and caregivers can approach challenges with curiosity, collaboration, and love. Dr. Bauer shared invaluable insights, from understanding the “why” behind behaviors to the power of the pause and how we can model self-regulation for ourselves and for our kids. Be sure to check the show notes after you listen to learn more about Nerissa’s work.

Learn More About Dr. Nerissa Bauer

YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@NerissaBauerMD

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nerissa-bauer-md-mph-faap-4b692967/

Let’s Talk Kids’ Health

https://www.letstalkkidshealth.org/

Teach Me ADHD Virtual Courses for Parents and Kids

https://www.letstalkkidshealth.org/virtual-courses

Ep 39: Speaking Up: How to Empower Our Kids to Advocate for Themselves (ft. Dr. Nerissa Bauer)

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=j5rz3vnbkp

Emotional Regulation Resources

Emotional Regulation as a Kid Can Be Challenging: These 7 Activities May Help

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/7-activities-to-help-your-child-with-emotional-regulation

How Beyond BookSmart Supports Students with Emotional Regulation Challenges

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/how-we-help/stress-management

Emotional Regulation and Executive Function Skills: A Powerful Link

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/emotional-regulation-and-executive-function-skills-a-powerful-link

How Can We Help Kids With Self-Regulation? - The Child Mind Institute

https://childmind.org/article/can-help-kids-self-regulation/

Co-regulation: Helping children and teens navigate big emotions - Harvard Health Publishing

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/co-regulation-helping-children-and-teens-navigate-big-emotions-202404033030

Ah, I’m so excited about this one! In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the one and only Kendra Adachi - popular author, podcast host, and creator of “The Lazy Genius” approach. Kendra offers a refreshing perspective on using and trusting our executive function strengths and supporting ourselves where we face challenges. Her method encourages us to be "geniuses" about what matters while allowing ourselves to let go of what doesn’t.

Throughout our conversation, we dive into Kendra's new book, "The Plan," which brings a compassionate twist to time management. We also explore the impact of small, intentional changes, trusting ourselves, and how to push back against pressure to “always do more.” Kendra also breaks down her five-step Lazy Genius Method for tackling big projects: prioritizing, essentializing, organizing, personalizing, and systemizing. Kendra’s insights remind us that we can find real contentment by honoring what truly serves us, trusting our instincts, and embracing the season we’re in. I hope you enjoy listening and walk away feeling as inspired as I did!

Show notes:

Learn More About Kendra Adachi and The Lazy Genius: https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/

The Plan - a book all about compassionate time management: https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/theplan

Kendra on Instagram: @thelazygenius

Learn more about Beyond BookSmart: https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/

It’s no secret that parenting a child with ADHD can be overwhelming at times. However, with the right mindset and support, it can also be fulfilling and inspiring. In this week’s episode of Focus Forward, I sat down with Archie Chimanayi, an ADHD professional who offers assessment, treatment, and management of ADHD, Autism, Depression and Anxiety for children and adults. Beyond his expertise, Archie also has a son who has ADHD and autism, which means he has a unique perspective of a professional and a parent of a child with a diagnosis that impacts Executive Functioning. I was lucky enough to be a guest on Archie’s “ADHD Care” podcast back in May of 2024 and left the conversation knowing that he would be a perfect guest for the Focus Forward audience.

The format of this episode is a little different than our usual interview format. I'll be playing three short clips from our original chat. After each clip, I’ll share some of our recent conversation where we went beyond what we covered initially, bringing in fresh insights and more detailed discussion to help you as a parent, caretaker, or professional. From knowing what to look for, navigating the feelings that can come up after a diagnosis, and understanding the importance of self-care for men—this episode is about taking a closer look at the challenges and opportunities that come with raising a child with ADHD. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Here are the show notes from the episode:

Learn More About Archie Chimanayi

ADHD Care, Ltd.

https://www.adhdcare.co.uk/?p=about

Archie’s Video Tour of Exhibit Hall: ADHD Conference in Baltimore (2023)

https://youtu.be/cHahKPTxf8A?feature=shared

Episode 61 - Navigating ADHD: Parenting, Podcasting, and Personal Insights with Hannah Choi

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-61-navigating-adhd-parenting-podcasting-and-personal-insights-with-hannah-choi--60147752

Episode 69 - Focus Forward Podcast Feature with Hannah Choi

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-69-focus-forward-podcast-feature-with-hannah-choi--62388901

Other resources mentioned

Men with ADHD Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mensadhdsupportgroup/

ADDitude Adults with ADHD Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/additudemag/

Hi everyone! We're right in the middle of ADHD Awareness Month, and to celebrate, we're bringing back one of our all-time favorite episodes with a twist. Today, we look at what makes ADHD brains tick, explore both medication and non-medication strategies, and talk about how pairing these with executive function tools can build confidence in people with ADHD. We also give tips for those of you who are exploring a potential ADHD diagnosis for yourself or your child. This episode also includes voices from a number of people with ADHD who graciously recorded their thoughts to share with us. Trust me, you’ll want to stick around until the end, because we have the most adorable voice you’ve ever heard, sharing their experience with ADHD—I can’t wait for you to hear it!

Show notes:

Episode 51 - Re-release of ADHD episode

ADHD Fundamentals

ADHD Success Kit by Beyond BookSmart

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/adhd-success-kit-2022

Fact Sheet: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Topics

http://www.russellbarkley.org/factsheets/adhd-facts.pdf

Beyond BookSmart’s ADHD Webinar

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/on-demand-webinar-registration-adhd-fundamentals

ADHD Brains

How Does ADHD Affect The Brain?

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/the-brains-structure-and-function

ADHD & the Brain

https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/ADHD_and_the_Brain-121.aspx

2-Minute Neuroscience: ADHD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8JnDhp83gA

The Default Mode Network, Motivation, and Attention

https://www.labschool.org/news/stories/default-mode-network-motivation-and-attention

ADHD Neuroscience 101

https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-neuroscience-101

ADHD and Gender

ADHD in girls and boys – gender differences in co-existing symptoms and executive function measures

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3827008/

The Intersection of ADHD and Gender Diversity - Mental Health Therapy, Psychotherapy, Counseling, Coaching, Psychiatry Blog Post By Holly Miles

https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/blog/the-intersection-of-adhd-and-gender-diversity

A Review of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Women and Girls: Uncovering This Hidden Diagnosis - PMC

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4195638/

ADHD and Gender Identity: How They're Linked and Tips for Parents

https://psychcentral.com/adhd/people-with-adhd-more-likely-to-question-gender-identity

ADHD Diagnosis Support

How to Get an ADHD Diagnosis - Child Mind Institute

https://childmind.org/article/how-to-get-an-adhd-diagnosis/

Diagnosis of ADHD | CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/adhd/diagnosis/

ADHD Symptom Management

The Exercise Prescription for ADHD

https://chadd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ATTN_06_12_Exercise.pdf

What Should You Treat First: ADHD or Mental Health Challenges?

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/what-should-you-treat-first-adhd-or-mental-health-challenges

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy - CHADD

https://chadd.org/for-adults/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for ADHD: Techniques and Options

https://psychcentral.com/adhd/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-adhd

Non-drug treatments for adult ADHD - Harvard Health

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/non-drug-treatments-for-adult-adhd

Long time no see! Welcome back to season 4 of Focus Forward AND our 50th episode of the podcast. We’re so happy you’re here with us as we begin the best season yet. Today’s episode topic was chosen based on research we’ve gathered about people interested in coaching. According to our questionnaire, planning & prioritizing is the #1 Executive Function skill that students and adults alike are currently struggling with. In this episode, I’ll be sharing some of our favorite tools and strategies to help you or someone you love buiild this critical skill.

Show notes:

Executive Functioning and Positive Outcomes for Children

Executive Function & Self-Regulation

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/

Executive Function Skills Predict Children's Success in Life and in School

https://www.mindinthemaking.org/stories/executive-function-skills-predict-childrens-success-in-life-and-in-school

Ellen Galinsky’s books on EF and children and adolescents

The Breakthrough Years

https://ellengalinsky.com/the-breakthrough-years/

Mind in the Making

https://www.mindinthemaking.org/

Focus Forward Episodes Mentioned

Ep. 40: The Breakthrough Years: Raising Thriving Teens Through Executive Function (ft. Ellen Galinsky)

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=fhebx5zqfl

Ep. 14: 4 Steps to Build Time Management Strategies You'll Use for Life

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=2hd9mmw2wi

Ep. 25: Laziness vs. Executive Dysfunction: Expert Tips to Help Motivate Your Kids

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=e5k6nv0wte

Executive Function for Teachers and Classrooms

www.braintracks.com

7 Classroom Management Strategies That Teach Students Executive Function Skills

https://www.braintracks.com/blog-posts/7-classroom-management-strategies-that-teach-students-executive-function-skills

Today’s episode is just for us parents during this back to school time. As you already know, supporting the people we love comes more easily when we feel good about ourselves. However, when things get busy and our energy drains, it’s easy to forget about taking care of ourselves. With the return to school providing plenty of chaos for us parents, now is the perfect time to prepare and make sure you’re ready to not only support your kids, but also yourself. So today, we’re exploring five key Executive Function areas that will really support you during this time and give you some tips and strategies in each area. Even if you can’t realistically do all of the things I cover, pick one - just one - that you’re going to commit to doing. Make observations over the next few weeks - what was hard? What was easy? Did it make a difference? Is there something else you can add? (This reflection is an Executive Function exercise in and of itself!)

Show Notes:

Register for our Back-to-School Webinar on August 14

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/back-to-school-relief-2024

Watch Our Past Webinars

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/workshops-and-events

Focus Forward Episodes Mentioned

Ep 44: Ask the Coaches: Answering Your Top Questions about Summer, Motivation, Transitions, and more!

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=z1tfw9hl2a

Ep 11: Procrastination: Why We Wait & What to Do About It

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=n2bmc91r6d

Ep 42: Insomnia, ADHD, and Sleep Hygiene: How to Transform Your Life Through Better Sleep (ft. Marlee Boyle)

https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/podcast?wchannelid=y1lzulxlcs&wmediaid=rpuckdh0f5

Other Resources

Covey Quadrants/Eisenhower Matrix (Hannah’s version)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bzg9nObT0HbK5EjK2s7bBW3deSRzstAVA_v_VEX71zY/edit?usp=sharing

ClutterBug

www.clutterbug.me

Today’s episode is a conversation I had with Dr. Deborah Korn, a licensed clinical psychologist with over 30 years of experience treating trauma with EMDR therapy. If you haven’t heard of EMDR before, you’re in for a treat because this therapy technique is pretty mind-blowing. From our conversation, you’ll learn what EMDR therapy is, how it works, and who might be a good candidate for this innovative intervention for coping with trauma (spoiler alert: you don’t need to have had a big traumatic experience to benefit from EMDR!) Best of all, Dr. Korn shared some inspiring and heartwarming stories about people whose lives have been changed for the better (or maybe even saved) by EMDR therapy. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Show notes

Learn more about Dr. Korn

https://www.everymemorydeservesrespect.com/about-deborah-korn-psyd

Every Memory Deserves Respect Book

https://www.everymemorydeservesrespect.com/book

Learn More About EMDR

EMDR International Association

https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/

EMDR Institute

https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/

Today’s episode is all about obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. I met up with Dr. Anthony Bram, a clinical psychologist in Lexington, Massachusetts to learn more about this fascinating brain-based condition. Dr. Bram works with adults and kids, providing support for a wide range of mental health challenges, including OCD, anxiety, depression, and learning differences. He explained to me that he became interested in helping people with OCD during his predoctoral internship. He realized that the traditional kinds of psychotherapy that he had been learning were not so effective in alleviating the distressing symptoms of his patients with OCD. This led him to discover a specialized form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called exposure with response prevention (ERP). Dr. Bram continued to learn more during his postdoctoral work at the Menninger Clinic, which was in Topeka, KS at the time. There, while primarily pursuing advanced training in traditional modalities of treatment and assessment, he also sought the supervision of a cognitive behavioral therapist who specialized in OCD so he could begin learning and applying ERP and other CBT techniques. This experience taught him the importance of being flexible and expanding his therapeutic skills to better meet the diverse needs of his clients. I’m so happy to bring Dr. Bram on so we can all learn about OCD, its connection to executive functioning, and how to support people in our lives who may be struggling with it and its related challenges. Enjoy!

Show notes:

Learn more about Dr. Bram

http://www.dranthonybram.com/

Learn more about OCD

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd

https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/

OCD activity in the prefrontal cortex (image)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x6W41yZhcbsnf4ZJ9qCY1R8J4-_jv0sl/view?usp=sharing

Find a Provider

https://iocdf.org/find-help/?_provider_proximity=42.3600825%2C-71.0588801%2C50%2CBoston%252C%2520MA%252C%2520USA

Okay, so this week is a tasty episode! I invited Becca King, a registered dietitian and social media influencer with nearly 200k followers, to join me on Focus Forward to talk about food, ADHD, and Executive Function as the three are more interconnected than you might think. We talk about many aspects of food and cooking - how to lower or get rid of barriers that may prevent us from cooking or eating nourishing food, meal planning and how to make it work for you and how it may change as your life situation changes. We also talked about the importance of crunch (haha!), finding satisfaction in the food we eat, and how to remove the guilt or shame we might feel when we don’t cook or eat how we feel like we “should”. Becca follows an “all foods fit” approach to nutrition and really helps people get to a place where they can nourish themselves with nutrient-dense foods and eat the fun stuff, too. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out Becca’s instagram and resources in the show notes below!

Show Notes

Learn more about Becca King

Instagram: www.instagram.com/adhd.nutritionist

Becca’s Tips for Remembering to Eat: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Os3jH51Y-7BwNQdn7zSntTzj1b2FBswP/view?usp=drive_link

Becca’s Sensory Descriptors to help understand your sensory preferences with food: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gjbDnVhwDIvYbodCGtu7tGB0vbWS60aU/view?usp=drive_link

ADHD and Food

Executive Dysfunction 101: How to Treat ADHD's Most Difficult Symptom: https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/executive-dysfunction-101-how-to-treat-adhds-most-difficult-symptom#howtotreatED

ADHD Diet For Adults: Foods To Eat And Avoid:

https://add.org/adhd-diet/

Nutrition in the Management of ADHD: A Review of Recent Research:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10444659/

Nutrition and ADHD: https://chadd.org/about-adhd/nutrition-and-adhd/

As Executive Function coaches, we often talk about how working on Executive Function skills is really an act of building self-confidence. Learning to be confident in yourself and believing you can get through the hard stuff is the key to trying new things, reaching your goals, and truly making a lasting difference in all areas of life. We work hard to build this confidence in our clients, just as my guest today does with his college students. James Sanders the third is a professor of public speaking and interpersonal communication at Fayetteville Technical Community College in North Carolina. He joined me to share how teaching public speaking has shown him how students can truly blossom when they step outside of their comfort zone. I’ll let him tell you more about the work he does, but this man is making positive change happen wherever he goes. We talked about the importance of community, of trusting yourself, and saying yes to the scary things that are a stepping stone towards reaching your goals. In addition to being interesting to talk to and an inspiring ray of sunshine,