Stefanie Thordarson

When you’re parenting a child with ADHD, consistency is key—and also incredibly elusive. The ADHD brain doesn’t always respond well to traditional systems. One day something works beautifully, and the next day it doesn’t. Behaviors and moods fluctuate. So how do we create predictability for our kids when so much of the situation feels unpredictable? We lay the groundwork. We can’t make an inconsistent brain consistent, but we can make the world around it more predictable. Start with...

Both my husband and I, like the boys, can experience intense frustration. Nonetheless, we genuinely strive to refrain from yelling or losing our tempers whenever possible. So we established something we call Tapping Out. It works like this: when one of us recognizes that we’re at our breaking point, we let the kids know we’re having big feelings and need to step away. Then, we find the other parent who immediately takes over and calmly handles whatever is happening. Once the situation is over...

Frustration tolerance is a notable challenge for people with ADHD and neurodivergent brains. Our capacity for handling frustration is often limited due to emotional dysregulation and impulsivity, among other factors. Frustration serves as a trigger for an emotional response, sometimes leading to reactions that are disproportionate to the situation. We tend to become frustrated swiftly, entering an intense emotional state. Here’s how it typically unfolds in our home: Finn is working on his...