Talking to my 5 year old about his ADHD
Hi Em, my wonderful, brilliant, Pokemon obsessed, clumsy, distractable 5 year old son has just been diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type. It’s not a huge shock to me, I’d been suspecting it for a while and some adult members of my family have recently been diagnosed too. The school have been great, he’s already well supported there even pre diagnosis so I am confident he’s going to be well accommodated for. My main concern now is how to discuss this with him in the best way. He was (shockingly) distracted in the appointment! But he obviously knows something is going on as we had a long drive and an excruciatingly (for him) long appointment with a paediatrician. I feel the responsibility of having this huge piece of life changing information in my hands. But it’s obviously not life changing for him, because he’s 5, and nothing is gonna change for him day to day. I want to acknowledge that some things are harder for him at school, and give him the reason behind these struggles, without introducing shame about his brain and how it works. What would 5 year old Em liked to have heard? Any tips?
PMDD experience please?
Hi Em and Michael, big fan here! Em answered a burning question I had which was “would you release an album” this week and I literally yelled out “yes PLEASE!” So thanks Em, we’d all love that! Todays question I have for you though is, could you elaborate on your experience with PMDD if you’re comfortable please? I initially thought I was knocking on peri’s door at 35 but further reading has me thinking maybe it’s PMDD that I’m experiencing. Would love to hear your thoughts and experience if you’re comfortable sharing. Thanks so much, from a Perth breaky radio fan. Jen.
Leadership
Hello my favourites! Em, I cannot stop thinking about the way your team spoke about you during the Meet the Creatives episodes that Ben did. I am an autistic ADHDer who has gone from a casual minimum wage worker to a Manager, in 4 years. Two years in I said I would absolutely never want to be in a management position. However 4 years in I am, and I love it. But I also know that I have a really long way to go in my leadership skills and I’m trying to proactively work on this. So when I heard your team speak about your leadership, I was in awe. I’ve listened to the episodes twice because I was so inspired by it! Is this something that comes naturally to you, or something you actively work on? Have you made a conscious decision on what type of leader you want to be, or are you just doing what works for you and your team? I would appreciate any advice you have! Thank you.
How do I prove to my husband that I like him?
Hi Em and Michael, The other day my husband (undiagnosed AuDHD with RSD) joked that if we ever divorced it would likely be unpleasant as we wouldn’t stay friends and my laughing response was “we’re barely friends now!” - clearly a joke, as we spend almost all of our spare time together comfortably hanging out, and are still very much in love 10 years into our marriage despite the difficulties of raising 3 young kids and various health/mental health issues for us both. He was immediately offended by my response and has now challenged me to prove that I actually like him. This is harder than it sounds, because everything that I suggest he says “that’s love, but prove you LIKE me”. My question is, do you have any suggestions of a clever/funny/cheeky/silly way that I can meet his challenge?