Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!

Life gets busy.

Between school, homework, work schedules, activities, appointments, transportation, social media, and everything else competing for our attention, families can spend a lot of time together without actually having many opportunities to connect.

And during the preteen and teen years, parents may feel that connection changing even more as friends and independence become increasingly important.

In this episode, Jenny explores one simple but powerful way families can strengthen connection: family rituals.

Family rituals are predictable activities or traditions your family returns to regularly. They can happen daily, weekly, seasonally, or around important milestones.

They don’t have to be elaborate.

They might look like:

For ADHD and neurodivergent children especially, predictability and routine can provide an important sense of stability.

When children know what to expect and have consistent opportunities to connect with the people they trust, those routines can help create emotional security and belonging.

Jenny also discusses how everyday family rituals can naturally support communication, listening, language development, problem-solving, independence, and emotional regulation.

Most importantly, family rituals give children something dependable to return to.

Your child may not remember every homework assignment, practice, appointment, or perfectly planned family outing—but they may remember Saturday mornings watching cartoons together, Friday-night ice cream, bedtime stories, family card games, or the conversations that happened around the dinner table.

Those small moments often become the experiences that help children feel deeply connected to their families.

Looking for more support for your ADHD or neurodivergent learner?

WeThrive Learning provides virtual 1:1 educational therapy and ADHD/executive-function coaching designed around each student’s individual learning needs.

Visit WeThriveLearning.com to explore our services and free parent resources.

Want to talk about whether individualized support could help your child? Schedule a free consultation with our team at WeThriveLearning.com.

And join our Facebook community, Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, for practical strategies, encouragement, and conversations with other parents navigating ADHD and executive-function challenges.

As parents, we have a powerful influence on how our children experience school and learning—even as they get older and become more independent.

In this episode of Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, Jenny talks about why parent involvement still matters for children with ADHD and other neurodivergent learners, and how to stay connected without taking over.

Parent involvement isn’t about monitoring every grade or managing every assignment. It’s about showing genuine interest in your child’s learning, communicating with teachers, creating supportive routines at home, and helping your child gradually build the confidence and self-advocacy skills they need to become more independent.

Jenny also shares practical ways parents can stay involved throughout the elementary, middle, and high school years—even when volunteering in the classroom is no longer an option.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The goal isn’t to do school for your child. It’s to create a supportive foundation that helps them build confidence, independence, and a healthier relationship with learning.

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Navigating an IEP can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re not sure whether your child is actually getting the support they need.

When should you bring in a special education advocate?

When might you need an attorney?

And does bringing outside support into an IEP meeting automatically make things adversarial?

In this episode of Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, Jenny talks with Richard Isaacs, owner of California Special Needs Law Group, about how families can advocate more confidently within the special education system.

Richard breaks down the difference between an advocate and an attorney, explains what happens when families need to move beyond the standard IEP process, and shares why parents should not necessarily wait until their child is in crisis before asking for help.

You’ll learn:

Richard also shares powerful stories of students whose educational paths changed dramatically once their needs were properly understood and supported.

The biggest takeaway?

You do not have to navigate the IEP process by yourself.

Asking questions early can help you better understand your child’s rights, needs, and options.

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This episode is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Special education laws and procedures vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.

Does your teen with ADHD seem like they simply don’t care about school?

Maybe they’re missing assignments, settling for lower grades than they’re capable of, procrastinating until the last minute, or shrugging and saying, “Whatever.”

It’s easy to interpret that behavior as laziness or a lack of motivation.

But there may be much more happening underneath.

In this episode of Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, Jenny explains why motivation works differently for many teens with ADHD—and why “I don’t care” may actually mean:

You’ll learn why interest, urgency, and positive emotion can influence ADHD engagement, as well as three important ingredients for self-driven motivation: autonomy, competence, and purpose.

Jenny also explains why bribes, rewards, and punishments often produce only short-term results and shares practical coaching questions parents can use instead.

You’ll walk away with strategies for creating conversations that sound less like:

“Why haven’t you done this yet?”

and more like:

“What’s getting in the way, and what would make this feel doable?”

Because the goal isn’t simply getting your teen through tonight’s homework.

It’s helping them learn how to understand themselves, ask for help, make a plan, and eventually manage these challenges independently.

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Does your child seem years ahead in one area and years behind in another?

Maybe they can explain incredibly advanced ideas but forget assignments. Perhaps they can talk endlessly about history, coding, science, or another passion—but struggle socially, emotionally, or academically in ways that don't seem to match their intelligence.

Your child may have what is known as a twice-exceptional, or 2e, profile.

In today's episode, Jenny talks with Sam Young, founder and Head of School at Young Scholars Academy, about what it really means to be twice-exceptional and why these children are so frequently misunderstood.

You'll learn why giftedness and learning differences can coexist, the three ways twice-exceptionality can become masked, and how asynchronous development affects children's academic experiences, friendships, emotional regulation, and confidence.

Sam also explains why constantly focusing on deficits can leave children believing something is wrong with them—and what parents can do instead.

You'll hear practical ideas for:

The goal isn't to ignore areas where children need support.

It's to make sure their struggles don't become the only story they hear about themselves.

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School pressure. Social pressure. Activities. Friendships. College planning. Family expectations.

For many kids and teens, it can feel like there's always something they should be doing—and for students with ADHD, managing all of those demands can become especially overwhelming.

In this episode, Jenny Drennan breaks down what stress can actually look like in children and teens and shares four practical ways parents can help their child decompress and regulate during busy seasons.

We discuss:

Remember: the goal isn't to remove every stressful experience from your child's life. It's to help them recognize stress, respond to it, and gradually build strategies they can carry into adulthood.

Need additional support?

WeThrive Learning provides virtual one-on-one educational therapy and ADHD/executive-function coaching for students.

Visit WeThriveLearning.com to learn more or schedule a free consultation.

And join our Facebook community, Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, for more parent education, resources, and support.

You may hear “parent involvement” and immediately picture volunteering in an elementary classroom or attending every school event.

But involvement can look very different—especially as your child gets older.

In this episode, Jenny talks about the powerful role parents play in shaping their child’s relationship with school and learning. Your child may not always show it, particularly during the teen years, but your interest, attitude, and involvement still matter.

For children with ADHD and other learning differences, staying connected to school can be especially important. Parents may sometimes pull away because communication with teachers has become stressful, their child frequently gets in trouble, or every interaction with school seems to focus on what is going wrong.

Instead, Jenny encourages parents to think of themselves, their child, and their teachers as a team.

You’ll learn how parent involvement can help support:

Jenny also shares practical strategies you can begin using at home, including creating a dedicated learning space, establishing routines, attending school activities when possible, communicating what you’re noticing at home, and gradually helping older children take greater ownership of communication with their teachers.

The goal isn’t to become more involved in every detail of your child’s education.

It’s to stay connected enough that your child knows: their learning matters, their experience matters, and you’re there to support them while they learn how to advocate for themselves.

If your child is avoiding school, becoming overwhelmed by homework, struggling with organization or learning, or experiencing declining confidence, WeThrive Learning may be able to help.

Visit WeThriveLearning.com to learn more about Educational Therapy and ADHD Student Coaching or to schedule a free consultation.

You can also join our Facebook community, Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, for more strategies and support.

Sometimes the things we do because we love our children—checking, reminding, rescuing, fixing, planning, and protecting—can unintentionally make it harder for them to develop confidence and independence.

For parents who already experience anxiety, raising a child with ADHD can amplify those instincts even more.

In this episode, Jenny discusses how parental anxiety can influence the emotional climate of the home and the way we respond to our children. She shares her own experience seeking support for anxiety and learning to loosen perfectionism, tolerate uncertainty, and become more flexible as a parent.

You'll hear about:

The goal isn't to become a perfectly calm parent. It's to become more aware of when anxiety is driving your parenting decisions and learn healthier ways to respond.

When we work on our own ability to tolerate uncertainty, regulate emotions, and let go of some control, we give our children more opportunities to practice doing the same.

If school, executive-function challenges, ADHD, or learning difficulties are creating significant stress for your child, they may need more than reminders and encouragement.

At WeThrive Learning, our educational therapists and ADHD/executive-function coaches work one-on-one with students to help them develop the skills they need to approach learning with greater independence and confidence.

Visit WeThriveLearning.com to learn more or schedule a free consultation call so we can talk about what's happening with your child and what type of support may be most helpful.

You can also join our Facebook community, Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, for practical strategies and conversations with other parents navigating ADHD.

Why can a child with ADHD make friends but have a much harder time keeping them?

Friendships require far more executive function than we sometimes realize. Reading social cues, taking turns in conversations, remembering to respond to texts, making plans, handling changes, managing disappointment, and understanding someone else’s perspective can all be challenging for children and teens with ADHD.

In this episode of Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, Jenny breaks down some of the reasons social situations can feel difficult for kids with ADHD and shares practical ways parents can help build these skills without making every interaction feel like a correction.

You’ll learn how to use modeling, perspective-taking, role-playing, teacher collaboration, and everyday social opportunities to help your child better understand themselves and others.

We also discuss an important reminder for parents: your child doesn’t need 20 friends to be socially successful. One or two meaningful, supportive friendships may be exactly what fills their cup.

If your child is struggling with ADHD, executive functioning, motivation, organization, learning, or becoming more independent at school and at home, WeThrive Learning provides individualized support for neurodivergent students.

Visit WeThriveLearning.com to learn more or schedule a free consultation.

And join our Facebook community, Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence!, for ongoing strategies and support for raising a child with ADHD.

Does your child become defensive, angry, tearful, or overwhelmed whenever you offer feedback even when you are trying to be gentle?

Children with ADHD often experience more correction, redirection, and reminders than their peers. Over time, they may begin expecting criticism, which can make even small comments feel like rejection or personal failure.

In this episode, Jenny explains why criticism can feel so intense for children and teens with ADHD. She discusses rejection sensitivity, emotional flooding, extreme self-talk, and the difficulty some children have separating their behavior from their identity.

You will also hear practical ways to reduce conflict and help your child receive feedback without feeling ashamed or attacked.

In this episode, you will learn:

When children feel connected, supported, and emotionally safe, they are better able to reflect, learn, and build the skills they need.

Learn more about WeThrive Learning and schedule a free consultation at WeThriveLearning.com.

You can also join our Facebook group, Parent Your ADHD Child with Confidence, for additional strategies, encouragement, and support.