How Parents of ADHD Kids Can Be Supportive vs. Rescuers

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Jul 14, 2025

Ryan Wexelblatt, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of ADHDDude.com, shares insights from his work with ADHD kids and his personal experience as a father. He emphasizes the importance of coaching over correcting to build skills and foster independence. The conversation highlights how to create calm home environments, the role of CBT at the right moments, and the need for practical social skills training. Ryan advocates for clear expectations and warm authority, aiming to reduce family friction and enhance children's self-esteem.

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ANECDOTE

From Classroom To Real-Life Success

Ryan adopted his son at age eight who arrived with ADHD and severe behavioral challenges.
Over years Ryan helped him find stability and now his son is a successful chef at 25.

INSIGHT

Inflexibility Is An Executive Skill Lag

Ryan highlights cognitive inflexibility as a core, under-recognized executive function issue in many kids with ADHD.
He links mislabeling this behavior to oppositional diagnoses rather than treating it as a skills gap.

ADVICE

Prioritize Parent Training And Medication

Follow evidence-based care: parent training plus medication management yields the best results for kids with ADHD.
Prioritize changing parent behavior and routines instead of sending the child to standalone therapy.

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Episode Summary

Licensed clinical social worker Ryan Wexelblatt (“ADHD Dude”) shares a practical, skills-first playbook for parents: coach over correct, step into calm parental authority, and build real-world social skills through practice, not lectures. We cover when CBT actually helps ADHD kids, why consistent home routines beat reminders, and how to create momentum without shame or power struggles.

Guest
Ryan Wexelblatt, LCSW, ADHD-CCSP, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified School Social Worker, and founder of ADHDDude.com. Ryan trains parents to help their children build skills, improve behavior, and feel better about themselves. He’s also a father to a son with ADHD and learning differences.

Episode Overview
Most families are working hard but on the wrong levers. Ryan explains how parent-led coaching, clear expectations, and warm authority transform everyday friction points (mornings, transitions, homework). We dig into timing CBT so it sticks, designing social practice that isn’t awkward or punitive, and shifting from “try harder” to “build the skill.” Goal: fewer battles, more progress, and a kid who sees themselves as capable.

What We Talk About (Highlights)

Coach > correct: teach the skill, don’t repeat the reminder
Parental authority: firm + kind (clear expectations, consistent follow-through)
CBT timing: works best after regulation and core skills are in place
Social growth through reps: real contexts, short practices, no lectures
Routines that reduce conflict: prompts, transitions, and predictable scaffolds
Common parent pain points—and what to do instead of “try harder”
Inside ADHD Dude Camp: structure, community, and practical wins
Ryan’s words of wisdom for exhausted parents

Resources & Links

ADHDDude: https://adhddude.com/

About Your Host
Kate Brownfield, Certified Whole Person & ADHD Parent Coach; author of How We Roll: A Parent’s Journey Raising a Child with ADHD; host of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast. Every child with ADHD is unique—so are their strengths and struggles.
Website & coaching: ADHDKidsCanThrive.com

Free Download
Get the first three chapters of How We Roll free: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/On1ABRH/first3chapters

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