Faster Than Normal - The ADHD Podcast

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ADHD Bridges Meditating DJs and Rock-N-Roll: A Journey of Transformation with Entrepreneur Brett Greene 0

Aug 30, 2023

We are thrilled to be joined again by the makers of Skylight Calendar! Enjoy this podcast knowing that we used it to get this one to you on time! :-) You can order yours by going to www.skylightcal.com and using the discount code PETER for 10% off of this 15” device up to $30.

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. Our Guest today in their own words: Brett Greene is the Founder of the New Tech Northwest community of 60,000+ technologists and is a transformational ADHD and Executive Coach helping high-achieving tech entrepreneurs and business leaders reach unprecedented success. His life's journey with ADHD has included holding an MA in Counseling Psychology, producing hundreds of event experiences, working with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artists, being a life long meditator, a professional DJ, an Advisory Board Member for SXSW Pitch, a Top 35 Social Media Power Influencer in Forbes, and speaking at the White House. Many of his clients have had successful exits including an acquisition to a Fortune 50 company. Offering individual coaching, group coaching, as well as professional training, Brett specializes in effectively mastering neurodivergence and communication in the workplace to foster inclusive environments that unlock the potential of all individuals. Enjoy!

[You are now safely here]

00:04 - Skylight Calendar makes chores & scheduling easy! Use code “PETER” for a nice discount!

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening, and for subscribing!!

01:57 - Introducing and Welcome Brett Greene!

03:05 - A diagnosis journey, experiences w/ medication, productivity turbo, via The Musix Biz?

05:25 - ADHD, various experiences including meeting the Dalai Lama, speaking at the White House

06:40 - ADHD and it’s power of community building

09:17 - Anxiety, rejection sensitive dysphoria, and being neurodivergent in the workplace. #DEI

11:33 - Neurodivergent Professionals and the Struggle with Neurotypical Systems

13:50 - The never-ending quest for success

14:27 - Neurodivergent individuals and the need for education in society.

14:45 - Understanding neurodivergent more as an operating system that's different, like Apple versus Android

14:26 - How can people find you?

Socials: LinkedIn @ BrettGreene

Web: newtechnorthwest.com add epsiloncoaching.com.

15:05 - Gratitude and Recognition

16:57 - Thanks so much for enjoying "Faster Than Normal”! We appreciate you and your hard work so much! Onwards! Please join us again very soon!

If you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. mostly but somewhat.

You're listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast, where we know that having Add or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Each week we interview people from all around the globe, from every walk of life in every profession. From rock stars to CEOs, from teachers to politicians who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their add and ADHD diagnosis and used it to their personal and professional advance edge to build businesses, to become millionaires, or to simply better their lives. And now, here's the host of the Faster Than Normal podcast

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. pretty-much.

[01:36]: Peter Shankman: All right, who are we talking today? We're talking to Brett Greene. Brett is the founder of new Tech Northwest. It's a community of 60,000 technologists, and he's a transformational ADHD and executive coach. He helps high achieving tech entrepreneurs and business leaders reach tons of success. His journey with ADHD has included holding an Ma in counseling psychology, producing hundreds of experiences, working with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists, and being a lifelong meditator professional DJ because you need to be professional DJ if you're going to work with a DHG. An advisory board member for SX Swiss Out West pitch a top 35 social media power influencer in Forbes, and he spoke at the White House. His clients have had tons of successful exits. He offers coaching, group coaching, professional training. He does a lot. And best part, he has some stories he wants to tell. Brett, welcome.

Brett [00:02:19]: Thank you, Peter. It's great. Now, I think I first met you in 2006 at Blog World.

Peter Shankman [00:02:26]: Yeah, it's been a while. We've known each other for quite some time. It's great to have you here. It's great to finally have you on the podcast. Give us 30 seconds about you. And I know that you have a bunch of stories you want to share with us.

Brett [00:02:37]: Sure. Add first, real quick shout out to Skylight. My brother and I got that for our parents a few years ago and great gift for parents and other people who love to see the family photos and get excited when you load them in there.

Peter Shankman [00:02:54]: That was their original product. The Skylight frame was the original product. The calendar www.skylightcal.com came next, which does mostly the same thing.

Peter Shankman [00:03:00]: You still show the photos, but it also has a calendar on it. And I love that one for my daughter.

Brett [00:03:03]: Cool

Peter Shankman [00:03:04]: Awesome.

Brett [00:03:05]: Yeah. ADHD so I'll try to make it short. I guess the thing I would share about my story is I didn't get diagnosed until a few years ago, but about 20 years ago had a nephew on Ritalin and his mom's a psychologist and she said, hey, you might want to try this. And I did. And I didn't want to be on meds my whole life, so I didn't do much about it. But when I took it, I took it on a Sunday and in 4 hours got more done than I got done in a week. And I was like, oh my gosh. People's brains like, do this. And I know you've heard this story of your time. I've known for a long time. But then there was a point where I needed to get diagnosed, which a lot of folks part of it was to stay married and to figure out everything else than wasn't working. ADHD diagnosis and understanding that really helped to understand where things were so that we had a new place to create agreements together and build relationship, which is what I've now been working with people with for their careers as well as their personal lives. My life was all over the place and not planned and just a lot of luck and weird things. I became a DJ at college radio station 17. Then I was a music director and the program director started. I was a club DJ and had a mobile DJ company in college, all of that. One thing ADHD wise, that's weird about that is in high school I got asked by someone I'd known for a while, like, hey, do you want to be a cheerleader? And this other guy in the class the asked too. And I was like, oh, I don't know. But the teacher doing it had been one of my favorite teachers. I'm like, okay, these guys from the college are showing a team now since we get it. So I was a DJ at the punk rock radio station while I was a cheerleader at the high school, and then I was the vice president of a fraternity while I was the program director of the punk rock radio station, which made no sense to other people. But I just did what felt good and what seemed interesting and than just led me into a career in the music industry that I didn't plan. And that was great. So I was in the music industry.

Peter Shankman [00:05:18]: That's classic ADHD. I mean you realize that's classic ADHD I'm going to do what feels good and all of a sudden have a career.

Brett [00:05:25]: Yeah. And felt weird and it didn't make sense. And the whole time I had anxiety during the career because in hindsight, with the diagnosis, I can realize, oh, this is another reason why I gave up a natural position for a regional. And I moved from La. To Boulder, Colorado, because I could have bosses in La. And New York, and I was on planes all the time, which now I know. ADHD we love to be in motion. And you, with your books and other people know we think better. We get centered when we're in motion. And I wasn't having to go into an office every day and feel awkward and weird and trying to navigate the politics and the things that I couldn't scan because our brains are more empathetic and we're not really into those things. I'm ADHD I'm dumping all over the place with this. So career in the music industry when I left that realized it wasn't the ladder that I wanted to be on started a digital marketing company in the early 2000s was Blogging when that first came out. That's how I ended up meeting you at Blog World. Just got into social media early which was the main reason why I built community. In hindsight I realized I'm a community builder and I did it with music, I did it online. Then when I moved to Seattle ten years ago, I ended up doing it with the tech community and I realized that I'm a connector. I like to help people. It's one thing that made me resonate with you when I first met you and other weird thing when I was in Boulder, I left school for the record industry went back and finished my degree while I was doing 14 state territory and realized I could keep going. So I went continued with my master's degree. It wasn't actually at Cu, it was at Europa University which was founded by a Tibetan Buddhist. Just happened to be there. Somebody asked me to be on student council. And the one six month term I did happened to be when they had, after 15 years, gotten the Dalai Lama to come to Denver and the did a big thing at the Pepsi Center, but he came to the school. So I actually had a private audience with the Dalai Lama. Again, all this is like luck. And following ADHD and even speaking at the White House, I sat in the audience of New Tech Boulder for six years with 400 people a month. And when I moved to Seattle, I couldn't believe nobody had done it. The formula started after 911 in New York with the founders of Meetup.com had created New York Tech Meetup, which is still going strong and people new York, right? So people are there and then they go other places. So somebody had left in Boulder and I had already been in San Francisco for twelve years. I couldn't believe nobody had done this in Seattle. So I'm like, oh, I don't want to just have a job or do something, I want to connect with community. So I started it and it was just great timing. And two years later happened to be when the founder Meetup.com did the first and so far only tech Meetup at the White House because he had known the first female CTO at Google and she was the first CTO of US government under Obama. And they reached out and they asked like 50 Meetup organizers to come speak. And again, not totally, I literally almost fell on my floor when I opened the email. How did this happen? This is just doing what I loved and good things coming so a little longer than I wanted to go. But I realized that a lot of stuff. And ADHD.

Peter Shankman [00:09:04]: It's okay though, I like that, I like that. Tell us about a lot of good stuff, right? You took these risks, they paid off. You're doing what you love to do. But it's not all sunshine and roses. It never is. No, talk about some of the negatives.

Brett [00:09:17]: The negative was not knowing I had ADHD and having anxiety all the time and always feeling wrong. In hindsight, I can see most of us go through what seems like and possibly is like daily emotional poking from the outside, which gives us great radar. But also in my case I realized I also learned after I found out ADHD, and I know you've heard this a lot of times, then I discovered rejection, sense of Dysphoria, and for me I was like, oh my gosh, that's the deal. Like as much as I thought ADHD changed my entire understanding of myself and put me on a healing path around it. RSD just deepened my empathy for everybody else going through it. Add I was like, oh my gosh, I'm glad I'm not alone. But I feel for all the other people that with rejecting sensitive Dysphoria, being so outer oriented, which I think the positive of that is, makes me a great community organizer. The weird thing is, pre COVID, I was producing 52 events a year, getting on stage three or four times a month in front of hundreds of people. And I did it because I loved the connection with the people. Add, I was scared shitless every time. And still now I've been doing this ten years, and I get the fulfillment, because people come up and say, oh, I met a great business partner, I got a job, I met this wonderful person, I got this great idea from the presenters. And so I get the fulfillment from the community telling me that what I'm doing is valuable for them, and the saying, thank you so much for doing this, that this exists for us to find each other. But I get on stage and freak out every time. And when I had jobs, in hindsight I realized it wasn't just that I was a horrible employee, it was because this is actually something I talked to some of my clients about because especially in tech they go through this a lot. I'm not going to throw a blanket statement, but I'll say in general it seems that most companies are based on neurotypical systems. They're hierarchical and they're generally based on how do you get more money? How do you get more power? How do you get a better title? Most of the neurodivergent folks than I've met and work with, we are wired because of those things I was talking about in early life I think to be pretty empathetic. We have huge bullshit detectors and we don't work well in those systems. And so we want to go to work, do a great job. Our brains see all these problems people don't see, make all these great connections, create solutions that gives us dopamine it's awesome. Want to do that great job, be acknowledged for it, move up the ladder at work from doing a great job, go home and have a nice life. Then we don't understand why the guy who does half the work but has radar to find the right people to get his power and money higher is great at sniffing those people out, giving those people what they need. They sniff out the folks who do really hard work, usually a lot of neurodiversity folks who aren't necessarily or not self promoters generally and out our great work and they get to be the face of the work. They can go up the ladder and go, hey, see what our team is doing even though they're not doing the work. And you watch those people move up the ladder. And I don't say it seems like most situations are than way. I've talked to over 200 tech professionals that are neurodivergent in the last two years and I'd say almost all of them have experience of this, of like, why can't I just go do my great job, have a good career, have a good life? Because we're not wired to play those games and we hate the politics and we hate the nonsense.

Peter Shankman [00:13:04]: Yeah, 100%. It's very accurate. That's very accurate. I think that one of the interesting things is that when that happens, instead of fighting it, we internalize it and that doesn't help us at all. It makes it even worse.

Brett [00:13:20]: Yeah. And that's actually another thing with coaching that I work with people around is in coaching they talk about that little voice as the saboteur or the wounded child and your more positive self, the leader within the wise adult is really connected to your successes, your wins, and truly who the light you really are. But for ADHD I call it the YAB but full, because it seems like we could work 40 years on cancer and we could cure cancer, but as soon as we get at the top of that mountain, we're never looking back. And we don't acknowledge all the work that went into that and everything we did, because we're in the moment, we're getting the dopamine while we're hyper focused building it. We get to the top of the mountain, we cured cancer, and for 30 seconds it's awesome. And then we look around at the horizon and see all the other mountains and that little yeah, but Fro goes, yeah, but multiple sclerosis, what are you doing with that? And we're like, oh yeah, I'm a piece of crap, I need to go work on that.

Peter Shankman [00:14:21]: No, it's so totally true. So totally true. Brett, I want to keep it at 15 minutes like we always do, but we'll definitely have you back.

14:26 - How can people find you?

Socials: Yes. LinkedIn @ BrettGreene

Web: newtechnorthwest.com add epsiloncoaching.com.

Brett: Can I just say one more?

Go for it.

I know you try to keep it tight. Yeah. One thing we talked about real quick on here than I think just because it helps people a lot is understanding neurodivergent more as an operating system that's different, like Apple versus Android. And when you understand that it's low executive function, low working memory, low dopamine, low serotonin, you can explain that to people, then you can create a new understanding and context with each other to move forward in a more positive and helpful way. So a quick example is if two people go to lunch, one person orders mayonnaise with their fries, the American goes, that's weird, and feels like it's really awkward. Add strange and why would a person do that? And then the other person says, oh, I'm Canadian, that's what we do. And immediately it just melts. It's like, oh, you're Canadian, right? What they do. The truth is we haven't been educated as a society. We're not educated on neurodivergent. Unfortunately. It's up to us to educate the folks around us. And actually I'm working on a book now on communication specifically to help neurodivergent people easily in like a 20 minutes conversation be able to explain what a neurodivergent brain is. So that now the understandings of like, well, why didn't you do that thing you said you were going to do? Why do you forget this now you're not going to get labeled as lazy and negative and these things because from a neurotypical perspective that stuff could be true. Bu once they understand a neurodivergent brain and go like, oh, well, you don't have the parts in your brain for that. You're at 20% executive function versus 100, and by eleven or 12:11 A.m. Or twelve you're spent for the day. Whereas I started with ten gallons of fuel I ended up with four and I'm tired. You started with two and you're at zero and we're acting like it's the same thing because we don't have the language to explain.

Peter Shankman [00:16:24]: No. Excellent, excellent. Great answer.

[00:16:27]: So thank you for letting me do that and thank you for allowing me to be on here. I really appreciate peter, glad to have you, Brett.

Peter Shankman [00:16:33]: Definitely.

Brett [00:16:33]: It's an honor

Peter Shankman [00:16:35]: Goes, as always, you've Been listening to Faster Than Normal. If you like what you hear, leave us a review. Tell people the more people who listen, the better off we are. We are hundreds of episodes in over 300 and we are thrilled that you guys have been along the journey. We couldn't have done it without you. So we will see you next week. As always, ADHD at all forms in our diversity. What do I say is a gift, not a curse. We'll see you guys soon. Take care. Stay safe!

—

If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

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Parents With ADHD for Kids- An In-Depth Discussion by Jessa & Peter Shankman 0

Aug 23, 2023

We are thrilled to be joined again by the makers of Skylight Calendar! Enjoy this podcast knowing that we used it to get this one to you on time! :-) You can order yours by going to www.skylightcal.com and using the discount code PETER for 10% off of the 15” device up to $30.

[You are now safely here]

00:04 - Skylight calendar makes chores and scheduling easy. Use the code “Peter” for a nice discount!

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing - Introducing and welcome TO EPISODE THREEHUNDRED!!

Today.. It's my daughter who is asking the questions!!

03:48 - The Importance of Self-Care on Sundays05:08 - ADHD and unintentional distractions.

06:00 - On Imposter syndrome, fear of inadequacy, difficulty focusing

09:12 - How does Dopamine work and how do we get some?

11:21 - ADHD and Self-Perception

13:14 - The Impact of diagnosis on self-perspective

14:18 - What's the most common question about ADHD

15:51 - Advice for Living with ADHD

16:18 - Thanks so much for enjoying with us this special 300th episode of "Faster Than Normal”! We appreciate you and your hard work so much! Onwards!

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. mostly but somewhat.

Peter Shankman [00:01:36]: Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Faster than Normal. My name is Peter Shankman. I am your host. I am thrilled that you're here. I have a very special interview today because I decided that who better to understand the ADHD brain of a parent than their child? So with that, I want to introduce you all to my daughter, Jessa Shankman, who has ten. I told her to come up with ten questions that she is going to ask her dad today. Add dad's going to talk a little bit about ADHD from the perspective of what it's like to have it when you're a dad and what it's like for a kid with a dad who has ADHD. So, Jessa, welcome to Faster Than Normal.

Jessa [00:02:14]: Hey, everyone. I'm really glad to be here. It's super cool.

Peter Shankman [00:02:17]: It's great to have you. So tell us a little bit about yourself. How old are you?

Jessa [00:02:21]: I'm ten years old. I really like music. I like coloring. I don't know what to say.

Peter Shankman [00:02:27]: Okay, you're going into what grade? In the fall.

Jessa [00:02:30]: I'm going into fifth grade in my school. It's junior high, so I'm pretty excited for that. Peter Shankman [00:02:34]: You start in junior high this year. Very cool. And have you had a good summer so far? Jessa [00:02:38]:

Yeah, I went to sleepway camp, and I went to a day camp for a little bit, and I'm going to Paris in a few weeks.

Peter Shankman [00:02:43]: Paris, very nice. I didn't get to go overseas until I was, like, 25. Very cool. Very cool. All right, so I'm going to start off and ask you a question first, and then from there, we can go into sort of your questions. I don't know if you remember this bu when you were about three or four years old, one day I woke up, you were here, and I slept in that day, and I didn't get on the bike. You know how I get on my bike every morning, right? I get on my bike to clear out my brain and all that. One day, you must have been, like, maybe four years old, and I came in the kitchen, and I woke you up, and I woke you up in your room. We went to the kitchen to have red goes, and I was just sitting there, and I was watching you eat, whatever, and you went, dad, daddy, did you get on the bike today? Did you get on your bike? And I said, no. I said, no. Why? And you said, because you're not as happy. Do you remember this?

Jessa [00:03:31]: No, I don't remember it, but I probably did ask.

Peter Shankman [00:03:33]: Yeah, you said no because you're not as happy. And so that's when I realized the true meaning of what it means to get that dopamine every morning. So can you still tell the difference in me on the days that I work out before I wake you up versus the days I don't?

Jessa [00:03:48]: The days that you don't work out are usually Sundays, so you're always like, okay, let's get breakfast. And then after breakfast, you either take a shower or you lie on the couch.

Peter Shankman [00:04:01]: And the days that I do work out?

Jessa [00:04:03]: The days you do work out, after breakfast, you probably do some work or whatever, and it's always like a weekday that you work out.

Peter Shankman [00:04:11]: You see the difference, and that usually comes from the exercise. Yes. Interesting. Okay, so you still see us. That wasn't a one time thing. Cool. Good to know. All right, so Jessa has some questions for her dad, so you want to start it of yeah, sure.

Jessa [00:04:24]: All right, first question. What is your favorite thing about having ADHD?

Peter Shankman [00:04:31]: Question my favorite thing about having ADHD is that there's always something new. Everything is a new experience. So everything than someone asks me to do or that I get to do or everything I get to do with you, I always look at as a new challenge and a new experience, and I find a way to make it not boring. Last week, we had to drive like 2 hours to get to the ranch, right? And then 2 hours back, and we were singing music, we were singing show tunes. We were just having fun, right. So, for me, ADHD really lets my brain work so I can always have a good time.

Jessa [00:05:04]: Yeah. All right. And you can guess the second question. Is your least favorite thing about having ADHD.

Peter Shankman [00:05:08]: My least favorite thing about having ADHD? I think my least favorite thing about having ADHD is worrying a lot that I'm not as good as I could be. So there's a name for it. It's called imposter Syndrome, and it means that you don't think you're as good as everyone else thinks you are. So people might say, wow, you're doing really well, but in your mind, you're like, no, I'm kind of a loser. Right. And I think that comes from having ADHD. So I think the worst thing about having ADHD is probably twofold. One is that fear that I'm not as good as other people think I am. And the second thing is, sometimes I lose my focus. And if it happens when we're hanging out and you notice it, I always feel really bad. That's fine, because I know it's fine, but I want to give you my full attention. And sometimes, no matter how hard I try, ADHD kicks in, and I'm like, well, you know, that a squirrel. So it's hard sometimes, but I try.

Jessa [00:06:05]: Yeah. And then the related question is, when you get distracted from your work, from me, what's the best solution? Like, what's the best thing that you could do to stop the distraction?

Peter Shankman [00:06:19]: It's a great question. So we've talked about that, because sometimes you get distracted. And what do I tell you to do?

Jessa [00:06:25]: Bring a fidget, do some squats, add jumping squats.

Peter Shankman [00:06:28]: Add jumping jacks. Right. And the fidget, the squats and jumping jacks, they all have one thing in common. They make your brain produce what dopamine dopamine? Exactly. And dopamine is the chemical in your brain that people with ADHD don't make enough of. And so when I take my fidget or when I do some squats or some jumping jacks, or even if I just walk up and down some stairs or get some fresh air, that gives me dopamine and lets me focus more than I could have if I just didn't do anything. So, yeah, I think that for me, it's always about getting up, add doing something, even if it's just like, three minutes of going outside the apartment, walking up from our floor, like, to the roof and then back. Right. It's just something to change that brain chemistry, really. Good question. What else what's the next one?

Jessa [00:07:10]: Next question. Fourth question. If you could get rid of your ADHD, would you or would you keep it?

Peter Shankman [00:07:17]: I would never, ever get rid of it. So I think that my ADHD is very much responsible for most of if not all of my success. And even though there are some negatives to it, I think that the positives really outweigh the negatives. Having a different brain, having a brain that thinks differently than most people, I think is a gift. As long as you know how to use it.

Jessa [00:07:38]: Yeah. Keep it under control, obviously.

Peter Shankman [00:07:40]: Exactly.

Jessa [00:07:41]: Next question. What is the most common problem with ADHD where you have?

Peter Shankman [00:07:49] I think for me, one of the most common problems is sometimes I'm too fast. When your mom and I were married, a lot of times I'd come home, right, and she might be home already, and I'd walk in the door and it didn't matter what she was doing, it didn't matter if she was with you, it didn't matter what she was. I'd be like, Let me tell you about my day. And I would just sort of go from like zero to 100 miles an hour. And I didn't realize because in my head, I'm like, wow, this is really exciting. I want to share this with the person I love. And it never occurred to me that I might want to just take a second, relax, say hi, calm down. So that was something I really had to learn. So I think that one of the biggest problems is that when you're ADHD, you're very fast, and not everyone is as fast as you, right? And so I think that one of the biggest problems is you have to learn that because everyone's fast as you, you have to learn how to slow down. And that's really hard because when you have a faster brain, all you want to do is go fast. So it's hard to learn. I think the biggest problem for me has been learning how to slow down. I think I've done a much better job than I used to, but I'm still learning.

Jessa [00:08:58]: It like your new book.

Peter Shankman [00:09:01]: Exactly. The boy with the faster brain. Very good.

Jessa [00:09:03]: That's what he tries to learn anyway. Next question. When you get on the bike in the morning, how does it help you with your ADHD?

Peter Shankman [00:09:12]: Good question. So when I get on the bike in the morning, I am sweating out and I am focused on riding and the exercise that I'm doing. There's something that happens in my body because I'm working out really hard. That tells my body to produce extra chemicals, to let my workout be better and to absorb what I'm getting from my workout. There's a term called runners high, which means that when you're running, when you go and do a marathon Add, you just run like a five K or a ten K. You get this sort of feeling of elation, feeling of happiness, right? And even though you're running and everything hurts and you shouldn't be happy, you're like and you're totally giggling and everything. And that's what it feels like when I'm cycling, and that's what it feels like when I Skydive. That's what it feels like when I run or when I'm boxing. And what's cool about that is that when I finish the workout, it doesn't just go away. There's so much of those chemicals in my body that the body has to take time to process them out. So I might feel that sort of energy for like three, four or 5 hours, which is enough to get me through my morning, right? To keep me focused, to allow me to focus on you and than take you to school and then focus on work. And then in the afternoon, maybe I'll do another little exercise to get me through the afternoon. So that's really what being on that bike does for me. Imagine. Remember how when we were in the car last month, in Grandpa's car, and it stopped on the side of the road, and I pressed the start button and it went Add? It didn't start right away, but it finally caught. So that's sort of what having ADHD is like. When you wake up, your brain is sort of like but if you get on the bike, it catches, and then it catches and it starts and it goes really fast. So the bike sort of helps my brain start up in the morning, I guess.

Jessa [00:10:58]: Kind of like when you start a race car and it goes like and then when they say, like, Ready, set, go, you're like, zooming off.

Peter Shankman [00:11:03]: Exactly. That's 100% correct. Yes.

Jessa [00:11:06]: Okay, this next question. If someone were to say, like, wow, you have ADHD, or wow, are you okay? Like, is something happening to your brain? How would that make you feel? Would it make you feel good? Add make you feel bad, like, proud to have ADHD? Or would it make you feel sad?

Peter Shankman [00:11:25]: Well, I'll tell you the truth. When I was growing up, Jessa, when I was a kid in school, ADHD didn't exist. No one knew what it was. And so what I was told a lot by teachers and by other students, whatever, was really just to shut up, stop interrupting the class, stop interrupting what I'm saying, stop trying to make jokes, just sit there and be quiet. And that really hurt. That was really hard because I didn't realize I was doing anything wrong in my mind. I was just trying to make a joke or trying to try to give an answer or whatever, but was constantly, even in my twenty s and thirty s before I met your mom or before you were born. I have friends now who I was friends with back then, and they say, yeah, you really calmed down back then. You used to try to make it all about you. Now you don't. And so I think that back then, it really made me sad because I didn't know how to control my faster brain. But now that I do know how to control it, when someone says, oh, you look like you have ADHD, I think that's a compliment, because what they're saying is, wow, you can do six things at the same time, or, I can't believe you wrote that entire book on a flight to Tokyo, or things like that. So I look at it as a compliment. They're saying that, wow, you have a real gift. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Jessa [00:12:33]: That's really cool. Okay, when you were diagnosed with ADHD, when you were, like, 35 or something, what was the first thought that popped into your brain? When the doctor said, okay, you have ADHD, what was your immediate thought?

Peter Shankman [00:12:51]: Like, wow, my first thought was that everything makes sense. All the stuff that I used to get in trouble for, all the things I used to do that I didn't understand why I did, they all made sense. Now they all seem to have a reason for why I did them, and now that I know what that reason is, I can control it better. That was the first thought I had yeah.

Jessa [00:13:13]: Than makes sense. Because in school, you're like, what is this? What do I have? I think it's just normal. But then when you got diagnosed, you're just like, wow.

Peter Shankman [00:13:23]: Imagine if you had a big eyelash in your eye, and it was constantly bothering you and hurting, whatever, but you cold.

Jessa [00:13:27]: Never know what it was.

Peter Shankman [00:13:28]: You could never find it. Right? And one day you look in the mirror and you see the eyelash, and you get it out, and you're like, oh, that's exactly what it's like.

Jessa [00:13:36]: Yeah. Or, like, something like, I don't know, a good example. Let's say someone was teasing you because you had, like, a pimple on your nose, and you're like, what is happening? What's going on? Why is everyone laughing at me? Then you go to the mirror, and then you're like, oh, let's get that off.

Peter Shankman [00:13:56]: Yeah. It's hard when you don't understand why things are happening, but once you're able to figure out the reason for them, you can start figuring out what to do about it. Yeah.

Jessa [00:14:05]: All right, next question. What's the most common question you get asked about ADHD? From your viewers or from people that you speak to about something? What's the most common question you get asked? Like, wow. Is it okay? Are you good?

Peter Shankman [00:14:21]: That's a good question. I think the most common question I get is probably, how did I learn how to use my ADHD for good? How did I learn to use it to my advantage? How did I learn to make it so that it's not a negative in my life? And the answer I usually give is that just took a lot of time and a lot of practice, add a lot of effort, a lot of working with my feelings, doctor, my therapist, and a lot of sort of understanding that if you break your leg right, you have to put a cast in your leg to heal it. No one's going to say, oh, you're stupid for breaking your leg. No, it just happens, right? So it's understanding that, hey, I'm not stupid, I just have a different brain and I need to learn how to work that brain better. And I think that was the biggest thing. So people ask me, people will tell me they don't think ADHD is good, they think it's terrible. And I'm like, well, you have to learn how to use your brain.

Jessa [00:15:18]: You have to learn how to use it right differently.

Peter Shankman [00:15:20]: Exactly.

Jessa [00:15:21]: Or to keep it under control and not get it all crazy and stuff. Okay, and this is the final question. This is a really interesting one. If you could give any advice to anyone who has ADHD, kids, adults, teens, what would it be?

Peter Shankman [00:15:39]: Embrace what you have. Understand that you're not broken, you're gift and find ways, whether it's through therapy, whether it's through talking to friends who you trust, whether it's through talking to your family or your teachers. Find ways to challenge your brain and use your brain to the best of your ability. Because you really do have a much faster brain than normal people and as soon as you learn how to use it, you'll be much faster than them.

Jessa [00:16:03]: It's really good and it helps you. And yeah, those are all the questions and I love all your answers.

Peter Shankman [00:16:10]: Well, Jessa, you are a wonderful interviewer. I'm going to have you start doing more of my shows. Thank you so much for taking the time.

Jessa [00:16:15]: {kisses} Goodbye, everybody.

Peter Shankman [00:16:18]: Guys, as always, you've been listening to Fast Add Normal. This is a special episode of my daughter, Jessa. Thank you so much, Jessa. Guys, we will see you again next week with another fresh new interview. As always, if you know anyone who should be on our podcast, shoot me an email. Peter@petershankman.com. I'm on threads at Petershankman. Like me, I'm on Instagram at petershankman and you can find us at Faster Normal or anywhere you find podcasts online. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. We will see you next week. Thank you so much for being a part. Take care.

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

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Classroom Curriculum Training for Neurodiversity, Social Emotional Learning + ADHD: The Work Ahead 0

Aug 16, 2023

We are thrilled to be joined again by the makers of Skylight Frame! Enjoy this podcast knowing that we used it to get this one to you on time! :-) You can get yours too for TEN PERCENT OFF if you use the discount code: PeterShankman Enjoy!

https://www.skylightframe.com/

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. Our Guest today in their own words: Lisa M. Navarra, M.S. in Special Education, SDA, award-winning educator, behavior specialist and published author of children’s books, music and teacher resources provides powerful training and tools to help children self-regulate in school and at home. Lisa has been invited to speak at conferences, schools, libraries and organizations where she has transformed resistant learners into students who learn the skills in how to focus and believe in themselves! Lisa’s dedication to supporting schools and families extends beyond her books and resources and includes her podcast, “Student Success Beyond Expectations” Podcast and therapy dog Rosie! Check out Lisa’s resources and information at

https://childbehaviorconsulting.com.

Reflecting on significant changes in education over the past decade, Lisa wonders how they have benefitted children. She shares her experiences dealing with parents of children with special needs or neurodiversity, highlighting the challenges they face. #SpecialEducation Today we learn more about the challenging work yet ahead. Enjoy!

[You are now safely here]

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!

00:41 - Introducing and welcome Lisa Navarra

05:21 - On Lisa’s journey of choosing a career in Special Education and behavior consulting

07:30 - On pedagogical paradigm shifts in teaching by focusing on teaching children how to learn and self-regulate via parents, teachers and even administrators #ASL

07:40 - On educators and parents learning cognitive skills, using positive self-talk #CBT

11:28 - Practical vs theoretical knowledge/help, and TikTok's impact on kids’ advice.

How do our subscribers find out more about you?

Web: https://childbehaviorconsulting.com

Socials: @LNavarraCBC on Facebook X YouTube and LisaNavarraEDU on INSTA

15:23 - Thank you Lisa, stay safe, stay well!

00:00 - 00OhHello hello? Beep beep beep hello there?! YEs, yoU.

We are so happy that you are doing good, here & learning with us!! I’ll say it till I die..

ADHD and all forms of Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. -Peter Shankman. And ooh-ooh now.. and just by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

[We will siphon-in BlueSky and learn about that in October, or when eX-Twitter stops eating itself and we figure out hash^tag threads or whatever it all and in the Newnew is then whatAmess-Ed]

—

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. mostly but somewhat.

Ladies Gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal. My name is Peter Shankman. I want to give a shout out to Skylight frame. If you guys have been around for a while, you remember Skylight and specifically the Skylight calendar. They were kind enough to sponsor Faster Than Normal last year. And you guys did such a great job and had such a great result with Skylight calendar that they're back. So what is Skylight calendar? I have one in my kitchen. It essentially is a digital calendar that connects to all of my regular calendars, like Google and everything like that. It also shows all the photos I want. It sits on my kitchen wall. And every morning, my daughter gets up, sees the tasks she has to do, sees the schoolwork she has to do. She has to do this reading, or she has to change the dog's weebly pads, whatever it is, it's on there. The second she does it, she runs back to the frame and she's the calendar, and she clicks it and it goes away. She loves it. It keeps us on track. It keeps us together. You can find them www.skylightframe.com Use code Petershankman. They'll get you a nice discount. It is the greatest thing. We have no more fights. We have no more arguments anymore. She does what she has to do because she sees it on the calendar every morning. And when we're not looking at it, it just shows awesome photos of us and our dog and all of our trips and stuff like that. So strongly recommend it. Skylightframe.com. Check out the calendar. Use code. Peter Shankman you'll get a nice discount.

Peter Shankman [00:02:01]: All right, who are we talking to today? We're talking to Lisa Navarro. Lisa is an MS in special education. She's an SDA award winning educator. We're talking about education sake. She's a behavioral specialist. She's published authors of children's books. She's music, done music. She's done teacher resources. She provides training. I don't know what she doesn't do. Apparently, she's also a spy in 14 different countries and can kill you with just one pinky. So it's very cool. She has a podcast called Student Success Beyond Expectations, and she's a therapy dog named Rosie. That's obviously the most important part to me. But Lisa, welcome to the podcast.

Lisa [00:02:34]: Thank you so much for having me. Peter, I'm so excited to be here with you.

Peter Shankman [00:02:38]: So tell us your story. How did you A, get into this and B, how did you start working with children with special needs?

Lisa [00:02:46]: Well, I guess I started with how did I get involved with children with special needs? I think it was always in me. I wanted to help people. And so when I was going through college, I kind of just kind of meandered a little bit. I love the deaf world and hearing. And then I ended up changing my major that allowed me this certification for special education. Zero to 21 at the time. I'm old also for gen ed k to six. But Peter, what I realized the first day of my first real job as a classroom teacher was not only do I not know what I'm doing and how to help these kids, but the even more sad part is no one else around me was able to. So when I say these kids, I said I want to teach children who were then classified emotionally disturbed. So I had all the behavioral kids and I was at a complete loss. It was at that point in time I said, wow, you know what? I need to either figure this out for these kids because they need me or I need to bail because I'm not going to be good enough for them.

Peter Shankman [00:04:04]: Right. It's a tough decision to come to when you realize that basically you have to change virtually everything.

Lisa [00:04:12]: It really was sincerely. I cried from this is back in like gosh, when did I start? 1990, 719 96. It's been a while.

Lisa [00:04:21]: But I've cried before too. But anyway, yeah, I cried from September through December. I mean, I had children who would kick, bite, hit some that were abused. They made the newspaper a foster child. One would bang their head so hard on the concrete and actually join school with his forehead already kind of curved because it was something that he had been doing for years. And I was teaching children four years old through seven all in the same class. So it was kindergarten, first and second grade. So it was quite the challenge. But you know something? I believe that when we do things for the right reason and we become inspired, then we empower ourselves and the are ways to do that. Even if it's not quite the way of the system that we're in. But we can overcome those challenges to help kids.

Peter Shankman [00:05:16]: I imagine that it's incredibly gratifying.

Lisa [00:05:21]: You know what's really gratifying, and I say this honestly, very humbling, is that throughout the years you had mentioned that I wrote books, add, I've got these programs and whatnot my career had been a special education teacher, behavior specialist for almost ten years. Back into the classroom. I'm back to being behavior specialist within the district, plus having cold behavior consulting where I see clients and I provide professional development for educators and for parent, of course, because they need to be involved. But what's the most gratifying is knowing that the time and years add efforts spent on researching peer reviewed articles and then creating trainings and tools to help children are working. That is the most gratifying thing ever because I feel like it's putting the pieces together for them, and when they're happy and they feel empowered, then that's what it's really all about for me.

Peter Shankman [00:06:28]: Tell me what it's like to deal with parents. When I was growing up and ADHD didn't really exist, there was special education. It was literally this is the era of the special ed short bus back in the, which of course we don't refer to as now. But when you deal with parents, I often wonder what it's like for a parent that has to sort of get the news than the child is either neurodiverse or needs special attention or whatever. And a lot of parents I've talked to say that this is sort of just dropped in their lab. Right. They're given this news and they're not really given many resources from the school or from the teachers or whatever they say, yeah, you might want to get them evaluated. Well, how do we do that? That's good luck on you. What has to change for that?

Lisa [00:07:22]: I can't believe you're actually asking this. You just opened up a whole can of worms, Peter. I hope you're okay with that.

Peter Shankman [00:07:29]: Go for it. All you.

Lisa [00:07:30]: So listen, my everything in this world is to create a paradigm shift in the pedagogy of teaching. And I have been a staunch advocate in every single way to be able to do this, and it involves parents. So here's what I propose. I propose that children need to learn how to learn so they can understand what's being taught to them. Okay, so what does that mean? That means that educators and parents need to learn the cognitive skills in how to learn so children can engage in what's called, you know, goal oriented behaviors. We need to teach towards children's ability to self regulate we in the classroom and then support that at home. We don't need to be teaching them just the standards and curriculum. It's obviously not enough. These kids need to know that they can overcome challenges by using positive self talk, identifying that they're off task and they're not focused. Okay, well, how do we focus? So honestly, that's where my training tools come in. That's where my parent workshops come in. That's where my educator workshops come in, and they're all aligned. So education needs to now meet finally with research from years ago that we need to support executive functioning skills to support self regulation in the classroom and couple it and integrate it with social emotional learning, and it becomes part of our daily teaching and style of teaching.

Peter Shankman [00:09:03]: What do you think it is about the system currently that makes it so reluctant to change.

Lisa [00:09:12]: So I think we do have some inspired leaders. I think we have very well intended people too, who are in leadership positions. However, I still believe that there's two things here. I think that there's a disconnect between what the know and what is really truly needed. And also what I'm talking about here is I'm talking about integrating psychology and education and it truly hasn't happened in public schools. And so it's kind of also the unknown. Does that make sense?

Peter Shankman [00:09:48]: Yeah, it does. I think that a lot of times, more often than not, you get stuck in a situation where the system or the department or whatever says, well, that's the way we've always done it and it seems to be working well, it's not working, but it's easier to stay the course. Add it is to change. Change is always scary. Where have you found the best success when working with children, parents, teachers, whatever? What makes a teacher successful in understanding that children learn in different ways?

Lisa [00:10:20]: First of all, I believe it's the passion, right? They need to be passionate. Teaching now more than ever is so hard. It's a lot of micromanagement, we've got a lot of behaviors, a lot of academic achievements, gaps. There's a lot working against the teachers now. So I than first, that passion is number one because that's going to allow them to be open to learning new things. And I think it's also presenting this type of information in ways like I do. You know what I do if you read my presentations, Peter, I have real classroom footage of students learning and applying the information. So it's not theory. There's so many programs out there now than throw around these terms executive functioning and self regulation and okay, well, show me what you're talking about in real time. Right? And a lot of these programs, it's either theory, they've done studies, they have maybe clients of their own, but have they been in it, doing it and seeing a success? I think that's huge for really making that turning point within education.

Peter Shankman [00:11:28]: It's interesting because I think that you make a really good point, the concept of theoretical versus practical. I get that all the time. I see these people when I'm giving my keynotes, I see other people giving keynotes and they're like, oh, and they're telling how to handle the customer and how to do this Add. I'm like, this is all from your book, but what practical experience? I started Add sold three companies. Where's your experience in that? Where's the practical aspect of that? And I think that's something that unfortunately, with the rise of social media, TikTok and all these, you have 50 million people on TikTok explaining how to manage your ADHD, right? And 49.99 million of them are not trained in any way whatsoever, right? And so we become sort of this meme generation where we're helping people through memes. But are we really helping? Is the question. It's interesting. I'm good friends with someone. I've had her on the podcast countless times. Dr. Jennifer Hartstein. She was the CBS Early Show psychology contributor. She's a child psychologist on the show. She has her own practice in New York City, and she's constantly talking about, know, the fact that you can't diagnose or treat any condition through TikTok. It's so true. But it's amazing. What have you seen? What's the biggest thing you've seen in, say, the past ten years or since in your time doing this that you never thought you'd see? What has happened that's beneficial? What has changed in the education world that you see as an actual, very strong positive for kids?

Lisa [00:12:57]: Well, I think the identification of we've had a lot of problems, and kids have a lot of challenges, and finally we need to address them. I think COVID and we've probably heard people say this a lot before, that there were preexisting conditions, but with the rise of COVID now we can't deny it anymore. And so more schools are talking about social emotional learning. I've sat on a number of panels and discussions. I was the moderator for New York State Assembly panel and discussion, Mental Health in the Classroom and think, yeah, really cool stuff. So I think that the awareness and the push toward meeting students'needs are there. But I still think that we need to be careful, Peter, because people are putting mental health in a very wide umbrella, and it's kind of loosey goosey. And I think when we're talking about kids who have ADHD or even kids who maybe have an attention challenge or, you know what, that they feel like they're not good enough because they have a learning disability. All these cognitive skills and social emotional learning entwined together can help all of them. So I'm seeing school districts be a little bit more open now to hearing about some of these programs, what kids need, and saying, okay, we might need to be doing something different.

Peter Shankman [00:14:27]: I think it's the premise also that a rising tide raises all boats, that if you're helping one segment of the population, than can be beneficial to every segment of the population.

Lisa [00:14:37]: I agree. And it makes you a stronger educator. It makes you a more effective parent and communicator. It makes children in the classroom work with each other, better interpersonal skills, better modeling, because they're confident and not afraid to take a risk. They have more growth mindset. So how can any of that not be a good influence on kids who technically, quote unquote, need it or not? Right?

Peter Shankman [00:15:02]: Yeah, 100%. Lisa how can people find you if they want to get more from you?

Lisa [00:15:06]: Childbehaviorconsulting.com you can find me on social media, @LNavarraCBC or you can always give me a call. 631-617-1958 but childbehaviorconsulting.com is the website and has a lot of information there so people can reach me in lots of different ways.

Peter Shankman [00:15:23]: Very cool. Really great to have you. I'd love to have you back as well at some point. Definitely, I'd love to be back. So thank you so much for taking the time, guys. As always, you've been listening to Fast than Normal. I want to give a shout out again to Skylight Frame. Check them out@ skylightframe.com. The calendar they have that sits on my wall has stopped about 300 arguments between me and my ten year old daughters. Best thing in the world, discount using the code PeterShankman We will see you next week with a brand new guest. Stay safe, stay well. ADHD and all farms in our diversity is a gift, not a curse. We'll talk to you soon.

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“I would rather a child start therapy at an early age and learn that they're brilliant; than spend the next 30 years undoing the belief that they are broken.” -Peter Shankman June 7, 2023

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