ADHD Mums

Jane McFadden
  • 4.2 (6)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Being a mum is hard enough. Being a mum with ADHD — or raising neurodivergent kids is a whole different level. ADHD Mums is the unfiltered, science-meets-reality podcast hosted by Jane McFadden, educational neuroscientist, advocate, and mother of three. This isn’t another polished parenting show with 'ten easy tips.' It’s real stories, confessions we’re not supposed to say out loud, and the research that explains why so many of us are running on empty. Every week you’ll hear: 🎙️ Confessions — raw, anonymous truths from mums navigating rage, burnout, and survival. 🧠 Expert insights — from neuroscientists, clinicians, and policy leaders on ADHD, autism, and mental health. 💬 Advocacy in action — exposing ADHD medication shortages, NDIS red tape, and the hidden costs mothers carry. With over 1 million downloads already tuning in from across the world, the podcast has already influenced ADHD reforms in Australia, been featured in national media, and pushed politicians to answer the questions mothers are asking. If you’ve ever screamed in the car, forgotten every form until the night before, or wondered if you’re the only one falling apart — this podcast is your proof that you’re not broken, you’re just telling the truth.

  1. 101. RE-RELEASE: When You Stop Your ADHD Meds for the Baby — And the Pram Rolls Across the Car Park

    4D AGO

    101. RE-RELEASE: When You Stop Your ADHD Meds for the Baby — And the Pram Rolls Across the Car Park

    This podcast episode is not a replacement for individual medical advice and is general education only. You go to the mother's group, you don't put the brake on the pram, and it rolls across the carpark. Baby is fine. You are not. You're already the mum who decided — quietly, without asking anyone — that you wouldn't take your ADHD meds while breastfeeding. Because that's what good mothers do. This is the episode about what happens when 'just push through' stops being a plan. What we cover Why your prescriber freezes the second you say the word 'pregnant' and what to actually say backWhat the research actually says about traditional stimulants in pregnancy, and the gap between that and the kickback you've been gettingWhy pregnancy and breastfeeding aren't the same conversation, even though everyone keeps lumping them togetherThe Infant Risk Center, the resource your psychiatrist probably hasn't looked at that pharmacists rely onTrying to conceive, IVF, egg collection, and where ADHD meds actually sit in that timelineThe quiet self-sacrifice that tells you a thinking, regulated mother is somehow worse for the baby than an unmedicated, exhausted onePMS, perimenopause, antidepressants in the mix, and why ADHD is rarely just one medication, one decision, one answerMedication breaks, weekend breaks, and why being told to take them on the busiest days of your week isn't advice, it's a generic scriptIron, thyroid, glucose, constipation, and the unsexy stuff your wellness actually hinges on while you're carrying everyone else's Why this episode matters There is a whole layer of women who stopped their meds the day they saw two lines on a test, never asked the question out loud, and have been white-knuckling it ever since. Not because the evidence said to. Because nobody safe was available to talk to. Rodney has spent thirty years being that person on the other end of the phone, and most mums have never been told he exists. This episode is for you if You stopped your meds the second you found out you were pregnant and never asked anyone if you had toYou've been told 'we don't know enough' so many times you've started saying it to yourselfYou're breastfeeding and Googling at 2am because no one in the room will give you a straight answerYou feel guilty for wanting to be medicated, focused, and present, like that's the selfish versionYou're trying to conceive and quietly terrified that staying on your meds makes you a bad mother before you've even startedYou're the one who'd rather suffer than risk it, and you've been suffering for a while now Related product ADHD Medication Guide — https://adhdmums.com.au/product/a-guide-to-adhd-medication/ External links mentioned Infant Risk Center — www.infantrisk.comJean Hailes — https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/Better Health Channel — https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au 📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written) https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    35 min
  2. When You Know School Isn't Working — And You're Still Waiting for Permission to Leave

    6D AGO

    When You Know School Isn't Working — And You're Still Waiting for Permission to Leave

    You've spent more time on drop-offs, pickups and meetings this week than your kid has spent actually learning. You keep telling yourself the routine is good for them. They come home flat anyway. You can see it isn't working. You just can't picture what else looks like. So you stay on the fence. Another term. Another meeting. Another 11pm google. What we cover Why most homeschoolers in Australia didn't plan to homeschool — and what 'accidental homeschooling' actually meansThe two competing fears keeping you stuck — and which one usually wins in the endWhat 'enough is enough' really looks like (it's rarely one big moment — it's bankruptcy logic: slow, then very fast)What a homeschool day actually looks like when you're not running school-at-homeThe legal stuff schools won't tell you — you don't need their permissionWhy $50k a year still doesn't fix this, and what you might actually be paying forHow to take a term off without making a forever decisionWhy bullying gets reframed as 'resilience-building' at school but is illegal at work Why this episode matters The fence is the hardest place to live. Most parents sit there longer than the kid can afford. Rebecca has spoken to hundreds of families about why they finally jumped — and the answer isn't 'they were ready.' It's that the fear of staying finally outweighed the fear of leaving. This episode names the decision underneath the decision, and hands you a permission slip you probably didn't know existed. This episode is for you if You've tried two schools, maybe three, and nothing's stuckThe meetings have started to outnumber the actual learningYou keep saying 'maybe next term' and next term keeps not comingYou're more scared of Uncle Ned's questions at Christmas than you'd like to admitPart of you knows it isn't working, and part of you can't picture what else looks likeYou've already googled 'homeschooling Queensland' at 11pm and closed the tab For more about Dr. Rebecca English https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/r.english Jane's Related Episodes S1 EP63 — The Episode That Led Jane to Choose Homeschooling (Nicki Farrell, Wildlings) 👉 https://adhdmums.com.au/63-episode-that-led-jane-to-choose-homeschooling/ S2 EP7 — Raising Strong Children: How to Support Without Always Solving Their Problems (Emma Rose Parsons, Spectrum House) 👉 https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-7-raising-strong-children-how-to-support-without-always-solving-their-problems/ S2 EP33 — Autistic Burnout: Self-Awareness Part 2 (Jane solo) 👉 https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-33-preventing-autistic-burnout-practical-tips-for-neurodivergent-mums-and-their-children/ S3 EP20 — SCHOOL SERIES: How to Choose a School That Won't Break Your Kid (or You) — Millie Carr https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-20-how-to-choose-a-school-that-wont-break-your-kid-or-you/ 📬 Check out my Free Resources on Schools: Choosing the Right School https://adhdmums.com.au/product/the-school-choice-kit/ The School Complaint & Escalation Guide for Parents https://adhdmums.com.au/product/school-complaint-escalation-guide/ 📬 Check out my Paid Resource on Schools: When School Looks Fine But Isn’t Understanding Burnout, Masking & School Can’t Making School Work: A Parent’s Guide to Neurodivergent Kids and the System School Advocacy Hub of Resourceshttps://adhdmums.com.au/advocacy/ 📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written) https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    38 min
  3. When the Teacher Asks ‘What Can I Do to Help? But You Don’t Know What to Say

    APR 22

    When the Teacher Asks ‘What Can I Do to Help? But You Don’t Know What to Say

    If your child looks ‘fine’ at school… but falls apart the second they get home — this episode is for you. 🧠 What We Cover in This Episode: What masking really looks like in a classroom settingWhy ‘they’re fine at school’ can be deeply misleadingThe invisible work happening before the school day even startsWhy internalising kids are often missed entirelyWhat it costs to ‘look like you’re coping’ all dayWhy asking a child to self-advocate isn’t always realisticHow anxiety builds when expectations aren’t predictableThe difference between behaviour you can see… and effort you can’tWhy some kids nod, smile… and completely miss instructionsWhat actually reduces stress in the classroom (and what doesn’t) 💭 This episode is for you if: Your child holds it together at school but unravels at homeYou’ve been told ‘we’re not seeing that here’Your child doesn’t speak up when they’re strugglingYou can see the effort they’re putting in — even if others can’tyou’re trying to explain your child to the school and not being heardYou feel stuck between what you see… and what they report 📬 Check out my Free Resources on Schools: The School Complaint & Escalation Guide for Parents https://adhdmums.com.au/product/school-complaint-escalation-guide/ 📬 Check out my Paid Resource on Schools: When School Looks Fine But Isn’t Understanding Burnout, Masking & School Can’t Making School Work: A Parent’s Guide to Neurodivergent Kids and the System School Advocacy Hub of Resourceshttps://adhdmums.com.au/advocacy/ 📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    14 min
  4. When School Feels Too Much Too Early — Expectation Creep Explained

    APR 20

    When School Feels Too Much Too Early — Expectation Creep Explained

    If you’ve ever sat in a school meeting hearing what’s ‘expected’… and thought ‘this feels like too much… too early’ — this episode is for you. Because sometimes it’s not subtle. It’s that quiet moment where something doesn’t sit right… but you’re told it’s normal. In this episode, we unpack what’s really happening when school expectations keep creeping up — academically, behaviourally, socially — and why so many kids are being asked to meet standards that don’t actually match where they are. 💭 This episode is for you if: – You’ve thought ‘this feels too much for their age’ – Your child is struggling, but you know they’re capable – You’ve been told ‘this is just how school is now’ – Your child is falling behind quickly and can’t catch up – You’re noticing stress, resistance, or shutdown around school – You’re questioning whether the system is actually the issue 🎧 Related Episodes When School Becomes the Trauma – School Series https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/s2-ep2-school-series-when-school-becomes-the-trauma-what-no-one-tells-adhd-parents/ Here’s the part most people don’t say out loud: If it feels too big… too fast… too much… that doesn’t automatically mean your child is the problem. Sometimes it means the expectations have moved and no one stopped to check who they were leaving behind. For more about Dr. Rebecca English https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/r.english 📬 Check out my Free Resources on Schools: The School Choice Kit https://adhdmums.com.au/product/the-school-choice-kit/ The School Complaint & Escalation Guide for Parents https://adhdmums.com.au/product/school-complaint-escalation-guide/ 📬 Check out my Paid Resource on Schools: Making School Work – Parent Guide ($20) https://adhdmums.com.au/product/making-school-work-parent-guide/ School Advocacy Hub of Resourceshttps://adhdmums.com.au/advocacy/ 📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written) https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    23 min
  5. 98. When You Say ‘Can We Talk’ — And It Blows Up Straight Away

    APR 15

    98. When You Say ‘Can We Talk’ — And It Blows Up Straight Away

    If you’ve ever said ‘can we just talk about something?’ and it escalates before you’ve even said the thing — this episode is for you. Because it’s not the conversation that’s blowing up. It’s what happens in the seconds before it even starts. In this episode, we unpack that exact moment — the one where you’re trying to keep it calm, keep it small, keep it ‘not a big deal’… and somehow it still turns into tension, shutdown, or a full spiral. The urgency you feel to resolve it. The resistance you feel coming back. And how quickly that turns into ‘why do I make things like this?’ 🧠 What We Cover in This Episode: Why ‘can we talk?’ can trigger a reaction before anything is saidWhat’s actually happening when one person moves in and the other pulls awayThe demand-withdraw pattern (and why it escalates so fast)Why urgency to resolve something doesn’t land as ‘small’ to the other personHow unfinished conversations sit in your body all dayWhy it feels impossible to just ‘leave it’What happens when both people are trying to regulate — in opposite waysHow effort builds with zero progress (and why that feels so heavy)Why this quickly turns into ‘I’m too much’ or ‘I make things hard’The difference between a communication problem… and a timing collision 💭 This episode is for you if: You feel a strong need to resolve things straight awayYou struggle to leave conversations unfinishedYou’ve been told ‘not right now’ and felt it land hardYou replay conversations that never even really happenedYou feel responsible for fixing the tension in relationshipsYou’ve thought ‘why do I make things escalate?’ 🎁 Free Resource ADHD Self-Test https://adhdmums.com.au/adhd-self-test/ If you’ve ever wondered ‘why does this feel so intense for me?’ this is a helpful place to start. 🎧 Related Episodes Why You Keep Waking at 3am — And It’s Not Just Anxiety https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-26-why-you-keep-waking-at-3am-and-its-not-just-anxiety/ Why You’re Bad at Asking for Help and What to Do Instead https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-18-quick-reset-why-youre-bad-at-asking-for-help-and-what-to-do-inste Why Self-Care Feels Like Another Task https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-22-quick-reset-why-self-care-feels-like-another-f****g-task/

    9 min
  6. 97. The Invisible Job: Being the One Who Holds Everything Together

    APR 13

    97. The Invisible Job: Being the One Who Holds Everything Together

    If you’ve ever stepped away for five minutes… come back… and everything has already escalated — this episode is for you. Because it’s not just the moment. It’s the feeling that if you’re not there… it doesn’t hold. And somehow you’ve become the thing that keeps everything from tipping over. In this episode, we unpack the invisible role so many ADHD mums carry — the one where you’re not just part of the family… you’re the one holding it together. The one who reads the room. Softens the tone. Finds the compromise. And slowly realises… nothing really runs without you. 🧠 What We Cover in This Episode: What emotional labour actually looks like inside a familyHow you become the ‘regulation’ in the room without realising itWhy things escalate faster when you step away (and what that creates)The difference between helping… and holding the entire system togetherHow hypervigilance turns into a full-time roleWhy your nervous system never fully switches offWhat happens when everyone starts relying on you to stabilise thingsThe hidden cost of always stepping in ‘because you can’Why burnout here isn’t about one moment — it’s repetitionHow this shifts from a behaviour… into an identity 💭 This episode is for you if: You feel like you can’t fully leave, even when you leaveThings escalate quickly when you’re not thereYou’re the one who smooths, translates, and fixesYou feel responsible for how everyone interactsYou’re exhausted, but can’t explain exactly whyYou’ve wondered ‘am I too much… or just too involved?’ 🎁 Free Resource ADHD Self-Test https://adhdmums.com.au/adhd-self-test/ If you’ve ever thought ‘why does everything seem to land on me?’ this is a helpful place to start. 🎧 Related Episodes Too Exhausted to Be the Parent You Want to Be https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/too-exhausted-to-be-the-parent-you-want-to-be Why You’re Bad at Asking for Help and What to Do Instead https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-18-quick-reset-why-youre-bad-at-asking-for-help-and-what-to-do-inste When You Can’t Relax Even When It’s Quiet https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/why-adhd-mums-cant-relax/ Why Self-Care Feels Like Another Task https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-22-quick-reset-why-self-care-feels-like-another-f****g-task/ 📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written) https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    16 min
  7. 96. When You Keep Starting the Same Thing — And It Never Gets Finished

    APR 6

    96. When You Keep Starting the Same Thing — And It Never Gets Finished

    In this episode, we unpack the invisible load of trying to do something simple inside a day that won’t hold it. The interruptions, the split attention, the constant restarting — and how quickly that gets turned into ‘I’m the problem.’ From the outside, it looks like nothing happened. But inside it? You were doing that one task over and over again. 🧠 What We Cover in This Episode: Why ‘simple tasks’ don’t stay simple in real lifeWhat constant interruptions actually do to your brainHow restarting a task repeatedly drains more than doing it onceWhy your brain doesn’t register effort — only completionThe invisible load of managing kids, conflict, and tasks at the same timeWhat happens when attention keeps getting split before anything finishesWhy it feels like ‘I did nothing today’ when you were actually working all dayHow small tasks turn into identity stories like ‘I can’t follow through’The difference between a task not getting done… and never having the conditions to be doneWhy school holidays amplify this pattern 💭 This episode is for you if: You start the same task multiple times and never finish itYou feel exhausted but can’t point to what you actually completedYou’ve thought ‘this shouldn’t be this hard’You manage kids, tasks, and emotions all at onceYou feel like you’re constantly behind, even on small thingsYou’ve labelled yourself as disorganised or bad at follow-through 🎁 Free Resource ADHD Self-Test https://adhdmums.com.au/adhd-self-test/ 🎧 Related Episodes Too Exhausted to Be the Parent You Want to Be https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/too-exhausted-to-be-the-parent-you-want-to-be Why You’re Bad at Asking for Help and What to Do Instead https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-18-quick-reset-why-youre-bad-at-asking-for-help-and-what-to-do-inste 📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written) https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    15 min
  8. 95. When You Make Yourself the Joke — And It Turns Into ‘That’s Just Who I Am’

    APR 1

    95. When You Make Yourself the Joke — And It Turns Into ‘That’s Just Who I Am’

    In this episode, we unpack the very real (and very common) experience of showing up already stretched… masking it with humour… and then internalising the entire thing as a personality flaw. The jokes land. People laugh. It looks like you’re coping. But underneath it — something else is happening. 🧠 What We Cover in This Episode: What’s actually happening when you default to self-deprecating humourWhy ‘being funny about it’ can be a form of real-time regulationHow overwhelm gets rewritten as ‘this is just who I am’The hidden role of impression management in social situationsWhy you leave interactions replaying everything you saidWhat ‘cognitive downplaying’ looks like in everyday lifeHow overcommitment + pressure turns into identity, not contextWhy nothing changes when you minimise what’s actually too muchThe moment it shifts from ‘this doesn’t work for me’ to ‘I am the problem’What it looks like to move the pressure off you — and back onto the situation 💭 This episode is for you if: You make jokes when you’re actually overwhelmedYou leave social situations thinking ‘I did it again’You overcommit, then feel trapped in itYou replay what you said and cringe laterYou’ve labelled yourself as ‘too much’, ‘chaotic’, or ‘bad at follow-through’You feel like you have to manage how others see you 🎁 Free Resource ADHD Self-Test https://adhdmums.com.au/adhd-self-test/ If you’ve ever thought ‘is this just my personality… or something else?’ this is a helpful place to start. 🎧 Related Episodes No, I Can’t Meditate. I’m Too Busy Dissociating https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-47-quick-reset-no-i-cant-meditate-im-too-busy-disassociating/ Why You’re Bad at Asking for Help and What to Do Instead https://adhdmums.com.au/podcast_episode/episode-18-quick-reset-why-youre-bad-at-asking-for-help-and-what-to-do-inste .📬 Listener Questions & Community 🎙️ Ask a Listener Question (voice) Voice notes are preferred when possible — hearing your voice helps add context — but you’re very welcome to submit a written question instead. Send me a WhatsApp voice message here: https://wa.me/61403457313 ✍️ Ask a Listener Question (written) https://form.jotform.com/251238118486864 👥 Join the ADHD Mums Facebook Group For community, shared language, and conversations with other mums who get it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/adhdmumspodcast

    11 min
See All (267)

Ratings & Reviews

4.2
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Being a mum is hard enough. Being a mum with ADHD — or raising neurodivergent kids is a whole different level. ADHD Mums is the unfiltered, science-meets-reality podcast hosted by Jane McFadden, educational neuroscientist, advocate, and mother of three. This isn’t another polished parenting show with 'ten easy tips.' It’s real stories, confessions we’re not supposed to say out loud, and the research that explains why so many of us are running on empty. Every week you’ll hear: 🎙️ Confessions — raw, anonymous truths from mums navigating rage, burnout, and survival. 🧠 Expert insights — from neuroscientists, clinicians, and policy leaders on ADHD, autism, and mental health. 💬 Advocacy in action — exposing ADHD medication shortages, NDIS red tape, and the hidden costs mothers carry. With over 1 million downloads already tuning in from across the world, the podcast has already influenced ADHD reforms in Australia, been featured in national media, and pushed politicians to answer the questions mothers are asking. If you’ve ever screamed in the car, forgotten every form until the night before, or wondered if you’re the only one falling apart — this podcast is your proof that you’re not broken, you’re just telling the truth.

Information

  • Creator
    Jane McFadden
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    267
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Jane McFadden
  • Show Website
    ADHD Mums

You Might Also Like