With Elianna Friedman & ADHD Coach & Producer Marion Cunningham

This is a special one! In the Season 6 finale of ADHD FM, Elianna sits down with someone who has been a huge part of her ADHD journey, her coach, producer, and today’s guest, Marion Cunningham.

After being diagnosed as an adult, Elianna found herself overwhelmed, confused, and searching for support. Coaching became a turning point offering not just tools, but deeper self-understanding, clarity, and a sense of connection she didn’t know she needed.

In this honest and personal conversation, Elianna and Marion break down what ADHD coaching actually is (and isn’t), how it’s different from therapy, and why it can be such a powerful support for ADHD brains.

• What ADHD coaching really looks like in practice
• How coaching helps you build self-trust and make aligned decisions
• What a typical coaching session feels like (spoiler: human, not clinical)
• How to find a coach (without getting overwhelmed)
• Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) and how to navigate it

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, stuck, or like you’re “doing it wrong,” this episode is a reminder that you’re not alone and you don’t have to navigate ADHD by yourself.

Guest Interview: Marion Cunningham

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

ADDitude Magazine (coach directory)

CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD)
ICF (International Coaching Federation)
Bilateral Stimulation Music

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In this episode, Elianna talks about her struggles with proofreading and editing due to ADHD, and how she has found AI tools helpful in overcoming these challenges. Then Elianna talks with guest Janel Stewart Leatherman, an event professional with ADHD who uses AI as a collaborative tool.

Janel shares her experience of being diagnosed with ADHD at age 45 after years of struggling and being misunderstood. She describes hitting a burnout point and how the ADHD diagnosis gave her more understanding of her brain. AI helps Janel communicate more concisely and avoid "word salad" in forms and applications.

The benefits of AI for Janel's ADHD include reducing startup friction for tasks, allowing her to get ideas out of her head quickly, helping with prioritization, meeting participation, and emotional regulation by providing a "second set of eyes," and acting as a thought partner and sounding board for her ideas.

However, Janel cautions against using AI as a crutch or replacement for human interaction and decision-making, emphasizing the importance of prompting AI carefully, fact-checking outputs, and maintaining one's own authentic voice. She also discusses privacy, ethical, and environmental considerations when using AI. Looking to the future, Janel hopes AI can bring ADHD communities closer together through more intentional collaboration.

Guest Interview: Janel Leatherman Stewart

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

How are you using AI to support your wonderfully creative ideas?

Please share!
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ADHD & Money

An interview with Jodie L Stauffer, CFP Money Coach and Financial Planner

Money. If you’ve ever hidden a credit card bill, ignored a parking ticket until it multiplied, or felt like you’re “bad at money” despite being smart and capable then this episode is for you.

In Episode 4 of ADHDFM, I open up about my own messy money story, the secrecy, the guilt, the overspending, the inevitable “I’ll deal with it later” spiral, and the very real tightness in my chest that still shows up when I talk about it.

Then I sit down with financial planning expert Jodie Stauffer, who was also diagnosed with ADHD later in life, to talk about what is going on when ADHD and money collide, and how to build systems that work with our brains, not against them.

What We Talk About

• The “ADHD tax” (subscriptions, late fees, parking tickets, forgotten returns)
• How impulsive spending is often dopamine-seeking and not irresponsibility
• Why traditional budgeting advice often fails ADHD brains

If this episode resonates with you, especially the secrecy, guilt, or “I should be better at this” voice, you are absolutely not alone.

Contributors

Guest Interview: Jodie L Stauffer, CFP Money Coach and Financial Planner

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Resources Mentioned

Hey Money Get a Life, a Podcast about flipping the script on financial stress, money anxiety, and the pressure to “have it all together.”

Tell Me
What’s your biggest ADHD money challenge?
Are you going to try renaming your budget?

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