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Kathleen Helm had never pictured themselves retiring. When the thought of a future in Italy appeared one day, they realised how much had changed: for the first time, a future felt imaginable.

In this episode, Jannine and Kathleen talk honestly about the mental health impact of growing up neurodivergent in a world that keeps asking, “Why can’t you just?” They discuss suicidal thoughts and survival, but also what helped them move towards a life they wanted to live.

The conversation takes in ADHD, autism, chronic boredom, the difference between capability and capacity, and the shame that can follow years of being misunderstood. They explore how coaching, community and understanding your own needs can help you accept praise, set boundaries and stop saying yes when you have nothing left to give.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicidal thoughts, psychological distress and difficult childhood experiences.

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Content note: This episode discusses the death of a young child, accidental harm and parental grief.

Every parent has a sliding-door moment. A second when something could have gone terribly wrong, but thankfully did not.

For parents of neurodivergent children, those moments can be frighteningly familiar. A child runs, hides, follows an impulse or moves towards something without recognising the danger. Parents must somehow balance constant vigilance with their child’s need for freedom, movement, exploration and an ordinary childhood.

Following the tragic death of three-year-old Noah, Jannine is joined again by Jo Roberts and Luisa Gray for a deeply compassionate conversation about SEND parenting, risk and the rush to blame families when tragedy occurs.

Together, they share their own near misses and explore:

• The exhausting vigilance involved in raising neurodivergent children
• Why running, hiding and an urgent need for autonomy can create unpredictable risks
• The impossible balance between protecting children and allowing them to live
• How hindsight creates the illusion that every tragedy could have been prevented
• Why parents are judged whether they are considered too protective or not protective enough
• The grace and humanity families need when the unthinkable happens

As Luisa puts it:

“A parent’s place is in the wrong, because no matter what you do, somebody’s going to decide that you are wrong.”

This episode is for every parent who has carried the responsibility, fear and loneliness of trying to keep a child safe in a world that does not always understand them.

Our thoughts remain with Noah’s family and everyone who loved him.

Content note: This episode discusses the death of a young child, accidental harm and parental grief.

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Hyperfocus can feel incredible.

You can lose yourself in an idea, a project or a piece of work and achieve more than you thought possible. The rest of the world quietens down. Everything narrows into one absorbing thing.

But hyperfocus also has a cost.

In this solo episode, I talk about what hyperfocus actually feels like from the inside, how I have learned to create the conditions that help me access it intentionally, and what happens when it takes over when I didn't mean it to.

I explore monotropism, flow, movement, the practical strategies I use to support myself during periods of deep work, and why the recovery afterwards matters just as much as the productivity itself.

Because the week when you produce extraordinary work may need to be followed by a week when you can do less.

That isn't inconsistency.

It is the Wave and the Ebb.

Becoming ADHD Wise is about understanding your own patterns well enough to work with them, advocate for what you need, and stop expecting yourself to function in exactly the same way every day.

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