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Executive functioning is the backbone of daily life, yet for ADHD moms, it can feel like rocket science. In this episode, we’re joined by two experts who not only study ADHD but live it—Dr. Diana Barrett and Dr. Lynne Baldwin.

This is the first in a series of conversations with Dr. Barrett and Dr. Baldwin, Stanford educated psychologists and consultants at Lingokids, the #1 learning app for kids. Together, we’re diving deep into the real struggles—and solutions—of ADHD motherhood.

Key Topics Covered:

• What is Executive Functioning?
  • How it affects everything from getting out the door to long-term planning
  • The role of working memory, emotional regulation, and task management
  • Why ADHD moms feel like they’re constantly behind
• Why ADHD Moms Struggle with Executive Functioning
  • The emotional toll of masking and compensating for ADHD
  • How motherhood raises the stakes and makes ADHD challenges more obvious
  • The role of emotional dysregulation in executive dysfunction
• Practical Strategies for ADHD Moms
  • "Everything Has a Home" Approach – organizing items in predictable places
  • "Make Time & Tasks Visible" – using visual timers, whiteboards, and schedules
  • Breaking Big Tasks into Small Steps – how to make routines actually work
  • Time-Blocking & Planning Ahead – setting up success through daily check-ins
• Managing Emotional Dysregulation
  • Why emotions are a key part of executive function
  • The science behind ADHD and emotional overwhelm
  • Simple self-regulation strategies like biofeedback, mindfulness, and movement
• Getting the Whole Family Involved
  • The power of family meetings and shared responsibility
  • Teaching kids executive functioning skills through daily habits
  • Strategies for parenting with ADHD when your kids have it too

Resources Mentioned:

📌 Time Timers (great for kids & adults!)
📌 Label makers & visual schedules
📌 Biofeedback devices like HeartMath
📌 ADHD-friendly planning tools

Dr. Lynne Baldwin, Ph.D. is a learning specialist consultant who has provided coaching and advocacy services for children with ADHD and their parents. While with the Abbey Neuropsychology clinic, she developed a program for executive functioning coaching for children and teenagers. Lynne earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at Stanford University.

Diana Barrett, PhD, is a licensed psychologist with 16 years of dedicated service at the Abbey Clinic, where she currently serves as the Director of Assessment. She also is a member of the consultation team, bringing her knowledge and experience to collaborate efforts that enhance client care. Her expertise encompasses the learning disabilities, developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and traumatic brain injury.

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If you need to tackle the chaos in your home (with some accountability), join us for Decluttering with Body Doubling HERE.

ADHD Cliff's Notes:

1. We speak with Emily King, Founder and CEO of Faye, a company that matches busy families with advisors to help manage the mental load. Emily created Faye after becoming a mother and realizing how difficult it was to keep up with her family's personal to-do's, and how little support there was for parents.
2. Faye fills a much-needed void: providing affordable help for busy families who do not have the means to hire full-time personal assistants but benefit from fractional help—it also creates part-time gig opportunities for women to monetize a skill set they typically don't get paid for.
3. Emily breaks down the type of work a Faye assistant can do—imagine someone who can "think like you" and act on your behalf as project manager. Here's what's on the table: Staying on top of appointments, scheduling, booking travel, coordinating activities, organizing school emails, finding and coordinating professionals like housecleaners and handymen, saving money by cancelling subscriptions you don't use, shopping around for insurance, activities, providers, etc.
4. While Faye can help with practical solutions, the mental health component is profound: the relief of knowing someone else is carrying the burden with you can be extremely emotional.
5. "We have been set up to fail." Modern motherhood feels like an impossible math equation. We talk about the trap of moms being expected to work full-time and juggle full schedules while also being expected to manage the mental load.
6. We discuss the added struggles of having ADHD in addition to being a parent in this busy, digital era, including decision fatigue and executive functioning challenges.
7. The belief that we should be able to do all of this ourselves, despite the impossible standards, is what keeps so many moms from asking for help.
8. Emily sees a shift that is a reason for hope: more and more women are willing to say that they deserve it, they don't question it, and they are willing to outsource this type of work.
9. Make sure you are using your energy the right way—it matters!

About Emily King:
Emily King is the CEO and co-founder of Faye, a service designed to help parents get more done with the help of trusted family advisors. These advisors handle everyday tasks—like scheduling appointments and organizing family travel—so moms can breathe.

As a working mother herself, Emily knows firsthand how impossible the juggle can feel. Her journey to launching Faye was fueled by her own experience navigating parenthood while excelling in demanding leadership roles—like serving as VP of Growth & Digital at Blue Bottle Coffee and more than a decade across consumer tech brands like Nextdoor, Good Eggs, and LivingSocial. She lives in Ogden, Utah, with her husband, Patten, and their daughter, Vivian.

Find Faye HERE

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In this monumental episode, we sit down with Jessica Buchanan—kidnapping survivor, New York Times bestselling author, and advocate for women’s empowerment—to delve into her extraordinary journey of navigating motherhood in the wake of unimaginable trauma.

Jessica shares her motherhood journey as chronicled in the 3rd book of her anthology series, Deserts to Mountaintops. Despite surviving 93 days as a hostage in Somalia before being rescued by a U.S. Navy SEAL team ordered by President Obama, Jessica reveals that motherhood was the experience that truly shook her to her core.

Jessica’s vulnerability in addressing the complexities of motherhood resonates deeply. She sheds light on the shame many women feel about their struggles in motherhood and how society conditions us to “shame ourselves into gratitude." Through her story, Jessica gives permission to mothers everywhere to acknowledge their hardships without guilt.

We also explore:

• The Consequences of Ignoring Intuition: Jessica reveals how ignoring her intuition led to life-altering consequences and explains why trusting our inner voice is vital for reclaiming our power.
• Distinguishing Intuition from Anxiety: Together, we unpack the fragile line between intuition and intrusive thoughts, offering strategies to discern one from the other.
• Reclaiming Our Voices: Jessica explains why solitude and stillness are essential to reconnecting with our inner wisdom and building a life aligned with our true selves.
• Motherhood Without Self-Abandonment: Jessica introduces us to the revolutionary concept of the “good enough mother,” inspired by Winnicott, and emphasizes the importance of living a life that’s yours too.

About Jessica:
Jessica has been named one of the ‘150 Women Who will Shake the World’ by Newsweek, and her story was the most highly viewed 60 Minutes episode to air, to date. Jessica is a highly sought after inspirational speaker and her TEDx Pearl Street talk, ‘Change is Your Proof of Life’ has been the foundation for which she travels the world, inspiring audiences to access their resilience by identifying their own autonomy and chance in the middle of their own life-changing event

As the founder of Soul Speak Press, she empowers women to reclaim their narratives through writing. Her upcoming anthology, Deserts to Mountaintops: The Pilgrimage of Motherhood, launching January 25th, 2025, is a testament to the strength of women’s voices and the healing power of shared stories.

If you’re in Colorado, don’t miss the chance to join Stace and Steph live for Reclamation: The Fempi

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