Why do ADHD strategies always seem to work for a week and then collapse? DrB answers this question with a concept almost no one in the mainstream ADHD space is teaching: pre-skills.

Before executive function can be built and integrated, there are foundational skills that must come first — self-awareness, nervous system regulation, understanding your own brain, and a relationship with yourself not built on shame. This episode explains what pre-skills are, why they matter, and how they work together with executive function to create lasting change.

Key Points Covered

• Why strategies fail: building without a foundation

• The 4 core pre-skills every adult with ADHD needs

• Self-awareness as the bedrock of all change

• Why nervous system regulation is not optional

• The soil-and-seeds model: how pre-skills and executive function work together

Links Mentioned

• drbarbaracohen.com — All episodes + show resources

• Get Sh*t Done (GSD) 9-Month Program — drbarbaracohen.com