Here at WOAF we’re intimately familiar with the annual (interpretive) dance of ADHDers buying gifts for the holidays: we think about starting, tell ourselves we have plenty of time, then suddenly it’s somehow two days before Christmas and we’re frantically looking up mall closing times in a panic. “Next year I’ll definitely get on top of things and start super early, no way I’m making this mistake again,” we tell ourselves with a level of delusional optimism only ADHDers can achieve--we’re so quirky. 

This episode we’re hoping to help you (and ourselves) break free from this ADHD-fueled Groundhog Day holiday nightmare with some insights into why ADHDers have difficulty with gift-planning and overspending, how to work on impulsivity, and a few easy ways to shop responsibly. We also share our best ADHD gift ideas, though Kristin goes off the rails a bit when the subject of toe socks comes up. 

In Hobby Collectors, we go through a range of easy-to-pick-up hobbies that are great for cranking out homemade gifts if shopping isn’t your style and/or your stick drawings are shit. On top of all our great advice, we find plenty of time to giggle about faux-bleeding street children and classic toothpaste pranks. Whether you’re braving the stores, planning a poignant interpretive dance to a Shel Silverstein poem, or something in between, this is your sign to start NOW! But, like, after you listen to our episode preferably.

Resources

ADDitude magazine article: How to hit pause on ADHD impulsivity

Consumerism TikToks: @profsarahgrace; @tallpsychology

No need to riot, we’re back from our mini-break and gigglier than ever with our usual long-ass episode. This week we’re talking homemade holiday mom vests, Dungeons & Dragons at one point for some reason, and we read our first-ever I’m So Quirky listener write-in! Is there anything more bizarrely comforting than learning another ADHDer has the same extremely specific quirks as you? 

In Hobby Collectors Kristin puts on her (unofficial) sommelier bonnet and takes us on a grape-stomping journey through the delicious yet unnecessarily snobby world of wine. We get down to brass sacks and reveal some of our best inventions to date in our new favorite Alternative Segment: Businesses Someone Should Start, Just Not Us. Finally, we gently whisk you away to the foggy coastline with a couple of seafood-themed PIZZA SECRETS, heavy on the ‘chovi. Grab your finest clamming waders and dive on in! 

Resources

Dungeons & Dragons podcast: The Adventure Zone

Kristin’s wine Instagram: @theunculturedlush

Wine learning resource: Winefolly.com

This week we’re giving ourselves a little break (which is a lil’ accomplishment in itself) and bringing you a shorter episode with strictly segments. 

We start off with I’m So Quirky: Family Edition and share a couple of our family’s little quirks (after all, ADHD is highly genetic), then we trade some of our favorite racism interrupters and strategies for how to respond to cult members during this season of forced family gatherings. Wouldn’t it have been helpful if we had gotten this to you before Thanksgiving? No matter, because there are still plenty of holidays on the horizon, which means plenty more opportunities to tell off your racist uncle at the dinner table as the rest of your family shuffles mashed potatoes around their plates in awkward silence. 

Wrapping things up, let us bring you some comfort this holiday season with our stories of turkey holes and funeral meat platters in our final segment: TURKEY SECRETS. We may not be able to stop the sun from setting at 3 p.m. but we can at least give you some meat giggles to brighten your day. 

Resources

Learn about whose land you’re on this Thanksgiving: Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land

Read a lil’ history: 7 Things US History Class Should Have Taught Every American About Indigenous History - thebodyisnotanapology.com

Donate - LANDBACK

The WOAF women are hitting a lil’ milestone-we’re welcoming our first guest into the pod loft! And by pod loft we mean three felt curtains in Grace’s basement. 

Grace’s husband and Kristin’s pal Ian, aka Tall Rudd, sits down with us and shares his personal ADHD story, provides some helpful tips on getting into Fly Fishing in Hobby Collectors, and adds some wonderful baritone to our segment songs. 

Whether your ADHD type is ‘drawing in the dirt with a stick during a softball game’, ‘jamming to music in a Discovery Zone bathroom’, or ‘watching a gymnastics birthday party through the window’, we’re excited to have you join us for a giggle-riddled journey on our friendship tricycle. 

Resources

Instagram: @peak_builders

Learn how to fly fish: Tom Rosenbauer//Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing

Fly fishing kit: Echo Base Kit | Echo Fly Fishing

Your favorite rat queens are back! This week we’re starting off with a few facts about how racism impacts getting an ADHD diagnosis, followed by some ~*quirky*~ segments to balance it out a bit. 

Grace makes embroidery cool again and teaches you how to get started with cross stitch and needlepoint in Hobby Collectors, all while showing off her special talent of working rat kings into any conversation. In Alternative Segments Kristin shares her ADHD-friendly tips and tricks for living off the land--and by “land” she means kitchen--rounded out by some PIZZA SECRETS heavy on the cheese. Grab a slice of ‘za and join us for Episode 3! 

Resources: 

Race and ADHD: How People of Color Get Left Behind (additudemag.com)

Health Disparities: People of Color Untreated for ADHD (additudemag.com)

Racial Bias Impairs ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment for Black Children (additudemag.com)

Congratulations to us all for making it to Episode 2! This week we’ll start with an overview of some important ADHD traits, then get into our segments and of course, our songs (whether you want them or not). Kristin takes the lead on Hobby Collectors to teach us about the art of Bonsai and decides whether or not it’s a good hobby for ADHDers. Plus, hear our fashion-forward predictions/demands for the next important hairstyle trend #bringbackthebowlcut.

Please excuse any sound issues and forlorn dog cries in the distance, this is the episode where we all discover that Grace’s dog Lucy cannot stand to be left out of any fun ever. Also, learning sound editing is a never-ending slog that is slowly draining Grace’s energy, focus, and general will to live. We can only get better from here, right? right?

October has everything: it’s spooky, it’s cozy, and it’s ADHD awareness month, which makes it the best month of the year (this is a fact, don’t argue with us). For all these reasons we thought October would be the perfect month to release the podcast, and in true ADHD fashion, we made it just under the deadline. Some call it a personality flaw, we call it a skill. 

In Episode 1 we’re diving into who we are, what the podcast is about, and our personal ADHD journeys, followed by our first round of absurd segments. Come join our flock! We’re not for everyone but we just might be for you.

Resources:

Websites

ADDitude Magazine

CHADD - Children and Adults with ADHD

Podcasts

ADHD ReWired

ADHD Experts

ADHD for Smart Ass Women 

Books

ADHD 2.0 by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D. 

Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.

Two ADHDers and childhood friends, Grace and Kristin, chat about the ridiculous, frustrating, and hilarious aspects of life with ADHD. Through ever-changing segments, raw musical expression, and interpretive dance that you can't see, we'll take you on a journey into the beautiful, chaotic experience of having ADHD. 

New episodes every Thursday, subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts!