TPP 440: Dr. Tamara Rosier on the Complexities and Dynamics of an ADHD Family

Would you define your family as an ADHD family? Today's guest, Dr. Tamara Rosier, and the author of the book You, Me, and Our ADHD Family: Practical Steps to Cultivate Healthy Relationships, says that ADHD isn’t an individual experience – it’s a relational one. And the ADHD dynamic affects the entire family system.

I know many listeners of this show would identify as members of an ADHD family and so I’m excited to share this conversation and Tamara’s work with you. Tamara is an ADHD coach, speaker, educator, and founder of the ADHD Center of West Michigan, where she and her team support individuals and families in better understanding how ADHD shapes their experiences. In addition to the book we’re talking about today, she’s also the author of the popular book. Your Brain’s Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD. 

In our conversation, Tamara shared her personal and professional insights on what it really means to live in an ADHD family, from the emotional rollercoasters to the quirky dynamics that might feel familiar to you. We talked about how ADHD deeply affects relationships, communication, and emotional regulation across the whole family system. Tamara offered creative, relatable metaphors that help make sense of ADHD behaviors, and she emphasized the importance of self-awareness and revisiting our own childhoods to parent with more clarity and empathy.

Lots of ideas and takeaways from this one! 

About Dr. Tamara Rosier

Dr. Tamara Rosier has been a college administrator, a professor, a leadership consultant, a high school teacher, a business owner, and an ADHD coach. Through these varied experiences, she has gained invaluable insights into ADHD and its impact on individuals’ lives. As the founder of the ADHD Center of West Michigan, Dr. Rosier guides a dedicated team of coaches, therapists, and speech pathologists in assisting individuals, parents, and families as they develop a deep understanding of themselves and acquire practical skills to navigate life with ADHD. Her books, Your Brain’s Not Broken and You, Me, and Our ADHD Family, offer practical strategies for addressing the potent emotional dimensions of living with ADHD.

Things you'll learn from this episode

• The ways in which ADHD affects entire families and how recognizing its inheritable nature can foster deeper understanding across generations
• How emotional processing and dysregulation present unique challenges in ADHD households, making self-reflection and revisiting childhood experiences key to breaking cycles
• Why cultivating self-awareness and compassion is essential for growth and healthier family relationships
• How externalizing ADHD symptoms and using metaphors can help children better understand their experiences
• How strategies like managing one’s “monkeys,” recognizing quirks as non-personal, and understanding proximity to emotional triggers can improve family dynamics
• Why helping kids take responsibility for their emotions is a critical piece of helping ADHD families thrive

Resources mentioned

• Dr. Tamara Rosier’s website
• You, Me, and Our ADHD Family: Practical Steps to Cultivate Healthy Relationships by Dr. Tamara Rosier
• Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD (A Playbook for Neurodivergent Men and Women with Tools for Coping with ADHD) by Dr. Tamara Rosier
• The ADHD Center of Western Michigan (Tamara’s organization)
• Internal Family Systems

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