All Aboard ADHD

How can parents and caregivers better understand and support the biological sleep needs of children and teens who have ADHD, without panic, shame, or setting impossible “perfect sleep” standards?
In this episode of All Aboard ADHD, Claire is joined by UKCP-accredited psychotherapist Heather Darwall-Smith, an ADHD sleep specialist and author of The ADHD Sleep Book, to unpack why sleep is so hard for ADHD brains, what’s really going on with circadian rhythms, the role of melatonin, and how families can work with biology instead of fighting it. Together they discuss:
🧬 Why ADHD sleep is different: biological vs behavioural, the impact of delayed body clocks, and why up to 75% of people with ADHD struggle when it comes to sleep.
⏰ Circadian clocks, chronotypes and teens: understanding delayed sleep phase, why we're more likely to be night owls, how adolescence shifts sleep even later, and why it's so hard to get up
🌞 Starting the day with light: the power of consistent wake-ups and morning light helps reset ADHD body clocks and becomes “free medicine” for ADHD sleep
🥱 Understanding melatonin: our natural hormone production, what it really does, and why prescriptions matter for safe use when supplemented
🧠 Why switching off is so hard: transitions, the fear of going to bed, racing brains at bedtime, and the value of externalised support
💊 Stimulant medication and sleep: the importance of using timing, hydration, and food to benefit from symptom management ADHD medication brings without ruining your sleep
😮‍💨 The impact on parents: chronic exhaustion, the power of family “summits”, plus why understanding ADHD sleep can help take the blame or shame out of bedtime and getting up in the morning
If bedtime is a battleground, mornings often bring meltdowns, and you’re wondering what’s as a result of having ADHD, versus a genuine sleep problem, this episode offers science-based reassurance, practical tools, and a deeply compassionate reframe to help the whole family.
Further resources & links
The ADHD Sleep Book by Heather Darwall-Smith: https://amzn.eu/d/09MQ6NFM

Heather’s website and clinical resources: https://heatherdarwallsmith.com/ 

ADHD coaching and resources from Claire: https://allaboardadhd.com

Follow Claire on Instagram & TikTok: @allaboardADHD

Follow Heather Darwall-Smith on Instagram @thesleeppsychotherapist

The views shared in this episode are those of the guest, based on their professional expertise and personal experience. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, educational, or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personalised support relevant to your individual circumstances.

How does perfectionism show up across ADHD, from childhood to adulthood, and what impact can it have on self-worth, motivation and mental health?
In this episode of All Aboard ADHD, Claire is joined by Dr. J. Russell Ramsay - a clinical psychologist, author of Once I Get Started, and co-founder of the Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Drawing on decades of clinical work and research, he explains why perfectionism is the dominant thinking pattern he sees in ADHD,  how it drives challenges such as procrastination, avoidance, and emotional overwhelm - and crucially, what parents of ADHD kids can do to support them. They discuss:
🔍 What Perfectionism Really Is: the different ways it shows up in ADHD such as having “unrelenting standards” and "all‑or‑nothing thinking"
🧠 The Difference Between Front-End vs Back-End Perfectionism: needing to be “in the right mood” to start something vs not submitting work that’s “good enough”
⏳ Procrastination, Emotions & Comparison: exploring the impact of the “Frankenstein” comparison where we build a fictional impossible standard from what we see of others
👦How Perfectionism Develops in Children the impact of negative messaging, subtle criticisms like “see, you can do it!" on a “good day”, and the compounding effect of giving up quickly when things get hard
🤝 Body Doubling & Practical Workarounds: the power of using another person’s presence to get started on a task and stay on track
💪 Self-Worth, Self-Trust & Parenting Differently: the impact on children of separating their worth from performance or grades, plus the importance of noticing their effort, not just the outcomes
This episode is a must-listen for parents of ADHD children with perfectionist traits. You’ll walk away with a new lens on your child’s challenges, plus concrete scripts, mindsets, and strategies to reduce shame, ease homework battles, and help your child trust themselves again.
Further resources & links
Find out more about Dr J Russell Ramsay: https://www.cbt4adhd.com/about/

Other Books by Dr. J Russell Ramsay: https://www.cbt4adhd.com/work/ 

Once I Get Started book by Dr. J. Russell Ramsay: https://amzn.eu/d/0eKNiXCi

Research by Dr. Russell Barkley on ADHD and Self-Regulation: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9276836/ 

Mindset Work by Dr. Carol Dweck: https://fs.blog/carol-dweck-mindset/ 

ADHD Coaching and Resources from Claire: https://allaboardadhd.com

Follow Claire on Instagram & TikTok: @allaboardADHD

The views shared in this episode are those of the guest, based on their professional expertise and personal experience. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, educational, or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personalised support relevant to your individual circumstances.

How can understanding ADHD through a female lens, especially as a late‑diagnosed mum, change how we see ourselves and support our daughters?
In this episode of the All Aboard ADHD podcast, Claire is joined by Kate Moryoussef, host of the ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast, author of The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Toolkit, and a Women’s ADHD Wellbeing Coach. 
Kate shares the story of her late diagnosis at 40 (alongside her then 9-year-old daughter), how ADHD showed up across her life, plus why sport, self-compassion, and the right environment can make all the difference for girls and women with ADHD. They discuss:
💡 Kate’s lockdown diagnosis: spotting ADHD traits in her daughter whilst homeschooling, being dismissed with “anxiety” by her GP, and the huge relief of receiving a “very strong combined ADHD” diagnosis.
📚 Viewing childhood through an ADHD lens: the school reports that “had it all written there”, being the “good, quiet” girl between two diagnosed ADHD brothers, the impact of masking, and how undiagnosed ADHD in girls is still missed today.
🚺 Gender and the emotional cost for women: people‑pleasing, RSD, anxiety, hormones, PMDD/PMS, postnatal struggles, and perimenopause.
🏃‍♀️ Sport, movement, and "energy in motion": why physical activity provides crucial regulation for ADHD brains, the important value for girls, plus the surprising link between ADHD and elite sport.
🏡 The neurodivergent home: trying to support ND kids while managing your own ADHD, capacity, and boundaries; plus letting go of the “perfect mum” myth.
🫶 Self‑compassion and small sustainable steps: how an ADHD diagnosis becomes an identity shift, how using this understanding can help us redesign life and model regulation for our children, plus the value of taking “little small steps each day”
🎙️ Diagnosis, curiosity, and learning: how understanding herself led Kate to create a platform that supports thousands of other late-diagnosed, mid-life women
If you're learning about your child's ADHD, while quietly wondering about your own, this conversation is for you. You'll come away with language to better understand yourself, practical ideas around movement, sport and regulation, and a little more compassion for yourself as a parent. Most importantly, you'll know you're not alone.
Further resources & links
Listen to Kate’s podcast: ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast: https://www.adhdwomenswellbeing.co.uk/adhd-podcast 

Buy Kate’s book: The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Toolkit: https://www.adhdwomenswellbeing.co.uk/adhd-womens-wellbeing-toolkit 

Join Kate’s ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Membership: https://adhd-womens-wellbeing.mykajabi.com/more-yourself-membership 

Follow Kate on Instagram @kate_moryoussef and @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod

Listen to Dr. Josephine Perry’s All Aboard ADHD episode on “ADHD in Sport”: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PqFulsF5M10Ue9bhwZtNv?si=BKzHYMz_RdivtLuugEb0vg&utm_source=copy-link

ADHD Coaching and Resources from Claire: https://allaboardadhd.com

Follow Claire on Instagram & TikTok: @allaboardADHD

The views shared in this episode are those of the guest, based on their professional expertise and personal experience. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, educational, or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personalised support relevant to your individual circumstances.

How do you fight for the SEND support your child is legally entitled to, within a system that’s underfunded, obstructive, and about to be reformed?
In this episode of the All Aboard ADHD podcast, Claire is joined by Douglas Hamer, a specialist SEND solicitor with expertise in special educational needs and disability law, alongside his owb lived experience of ADHD and autism. Douglas specialises in EHCPs, SEND tribunals, specialist placements, EOTAS, and judicial review. 
They explore the ITV SEND Whistleblower Investigation, the upcoming SEND White Paper reforms, and what all this actually means for families struggling to access the support their children so desperately need. Together they discuss:
🎬 ITV Whistleblower: What Really Happened? Unpacking the allegations of Local Authority staff obstructing the EHCP process, avoiding paper trails, and “playing games” with families.
🚫 The Reality of Systemic Failure: how squeezed budgets, high staff turnover, and a “dehumanising culture” create delays, frustration and complete denial of support for so many families.
⚖️ Overwhelmed or Just Unlawful? When Local Authority behaviour crosses the legal line, and why accountability for their inaction is so weak.
🧱 The “Brick Through the Window” Moment: the importance of fighting for minority rights, and why we need more supportive MPs raising SEND issues in Parliament.
📜 Upcoming Reform: what the proposed White Paper could change in practice including EHCPs, ISPs, and Specialist Provision Packages; plus the potential impact on appeal rights and school choice.
🧭 What Parents Can Do Right Now: strategies such as maintaining a paper trail, staying calm in written communications, and why independent EP reports are so powerful.
🌱 Holding On to Hope: Douglas’s message to exhausted parents about persistence, pragmatism, and empowerment through knowledge.
If you’re battling for an EHCP or school placement and feel like you’re meeting resistance getting the right support for your child, this episode will validate your experience, explain what is allegedly going on behind the scenes, and provide concrete practical steps you can use today to move the process forward for your child.
Please note Douglas was in his office when this episode was recorded, so you will hear typing noises in the background.
Glossary:
ABAS-3  https://www.pearsonclinical.co.uk/en-gb/adaptive-behavior/Adaptive-Behaviour-Assessment-System-%7C-Third-Edition/p/P100009113 

BAS3: https://www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/bas3/ 

Further resources & links
Douglas Hamer’s contact details: https://www.geldards.com/our-people/douglas-hamer/

Geldard’s SEN Talks Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aP6IMlKMWiaCce6bF2Uj5

Listen to Douglas' previous All Aboard ADHD episode: EHCPs & SEND Law https://open.spotify.com/episode/7BrANDPqbNTgoskMjOhloo?si=8a9d803fb8d740eb 

ADHD Coaching and Resources from Claire: https://allaboardadhd.com

Follow Claire on Instagram & TikTok: @allaboardADHD

The views shared in this episode are those of the guest, based on their professional expertise and personal experience. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, educational, or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personalised support relevant to your individual circumstances.

How do sensory processing differences show up in children with ADHD, and how can parents offer better support?
In this episode of the All Aboard ADHD podcast, Claire is joined by Professor Samuele Cortese, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Southampton, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and one of the world’s leading ADHD researchers, to understand sensory processing and ADHD. 
Drawing on a major meta-analysis of 30 studies with over 5000 participants, Professor Samuele explains why sensory processing is highly relevant in ADHD, how it links to emotions, behaviour, and learning, what this means for ADHD assessment, plus how understanding our children's sensory needs can help us better support them at home and at school.
They discuss:
❓What sensory processing is: how our senses shape thinking, emotions, behaviour, and learning
🧩 ADHD and Sensory Processing: why sensory differences are not unique to autism, why it’s highly relevant for children with ADHD, and how they can also appear in neurotypical children
⚖️ Hypo vs Hyper: understanding sensory avoidance and seeking, plus how differences show up across tactile, visual, and auditory domains - not just touch or noise
📋 Why clinicians must start asking about sensory issues: the gap between evidence and diagnostic guidelines mean that sensory processing is often missed 
🧠 What’s happening in the brain: the structural differences in white matter, changes in dopamine signalling, and how these may affect the way ADHD brains process sensory information.
💊 The effect of stimulant medications: why they might influence sensory processing, and why we need more research to understand the relationship in more detail
🌋 Sensory overload and emotional dysregulation: how sensory load can drive meltdowns and why clinicians must look for underlying causes to behaviours
🏫 Classrooms and school support: how the classroom environment can affect learning and regulation, plus the important role occupational therapists play
🫶 What parents can do: encouraging careful observation, recording concrete examples to share with clinicians and schools, as well as involving children in conversations about their own lived experience
If you’ve ever felt that professionals are missing something about your child’s overwhelm, meltdowns, or struggles, this episode gives you the language, the science, and practical next steps to join the dots between ADHD and Sensory Processing, to your child's emotions and behaviours, in order to advocate more effectively for the support your child needs.
Please note Professor Samuele was in his office when this episode was recorded, so you will hear notifications buzzing in the background.
Further resources and links
Professor Samuele Cortese – University of Southampton profile: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5xf5yj/professor-samuele-cortese 

Read the Sensory Processing in ADHD Meta-Analysis in full: https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(25)00209-6/fulltext

Listen to Professor Samuele Cortese’s previous All Aboard ADHD episode: ADHD Medication 101: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4D24IDKpNUJXPrdnK0o7ux?si=1b7708600d2844bc&nd=1&dlsi=e13c3972df164781 

ADHD coaching and resources from Claire: https://allaboardadhd.com

Follow Claire on Instagram & TikTok: @allaboardADHD

The views shared in this episode are those of the guest, based on their professional expertise and personal experience. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, educational, or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personalised support relevant to your individual circumstances.