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Motherhood: Unmasked & Unfiltered

Motherhood: Unmasked & Unfiltered

著者： Alisha Burns & Rhiannon Henderson
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Motherhood: Unmasked & Unfiltered is the podcast for neurodivergent Australian mums who are tired of pretending they've got it all figured out.

Each week, Melbourne mum Alisha Burns (ADHD, diagnosed later in life) and Sydney mum Rhiannon Henderson (AuDHD, diagnosed in adulthood) get honest about parenting, identity, hormones, overwhelm and the messy reality of raising kids while understanding their own neurodivergent brains for the first time.

This isn't clinical ADHD content. It's two friends laughing, disagreeing and figuring it out in real time — masking, late diagnosis, rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), executive dysfunction, sensory overwhelm, the ADHD tax, PDA, PMDD and perimenopause, school-mum politics, and the mental load no one warns you about.

If you've ever wondered why you're "too much," too sensitive, too chaotic or too inconsistent — or if you're raising a sparkly kid of your own — come for the "wait, I do that too" moments and stay because you'll laugh, learn why your brain does what it does, and feel a little less alone.

New episodes every Thursday. And just remember — you were born sparkly.

© 2026 Motherhood: Unmasked & Unfiltered. All rights reserved. 人間関係 子育て 心理学 心理学・心の健康 社会科学 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • Episode 21 - New Season, New Us

    Episode 21 - New Season, New Us
    2026/09/02
    This week's episode starts, as most weeks do, with a confession: Alisha has spent all day on "productive procrastination" instead of launching her new membership beta, and Rhiannon decided the most urgent task in her life was mounting a wood pelmet above her window without drilling into concrete. From there, the hosts get into the real theme of the episode: as spring rolls around, can they finally become the kind of people who finish projects instead of just starting them? Enter the index card planning system — a low-tech, endlessly forgiving ADHD organisation method they've both been eyeing on TikTok, complete with daily cards, dividers for "someday," "waiting on" and quarterly tasks, and zero pressure to get it perfect (it's a note card, not a $40 notebook you've ruined on page one). They also run through the seasonal cleaning jobs nobody tells you about — air-con filters, dryer vents, vacuum filters, mattress deep-cleans — while being brutally honest about the stuff that's been sitting untouched for months: the seven doom boxes, the empty photo frames, the baby book that's still only half-filled in. It's a funny, chaotic, very relatable episode about trying to build systems that actually work for brains that don't do "set and forget." What We Talk About in This Episode Alisha's "productive procrastination" while avoiding launching her new membership beta offerThe wall of doom: Rhiannonn's DIY pelmet project, a staple gun mishap, and a hole in the wall she still hasn't fixedAlisha's $1,000+ Ikea bookcase build-out gone sideways, and missing her dad's DIY skillsNew season, new us? Deciding to commit to finishing projects rather than trying to become different peoplePitching public accountability and a decluttering community for springAlisha's seven doom boxes, working late into the night for work calls, and wanting a real sleep routineBuilding an actual wind-down routine instead of just intending to have oneWhy a flexible routine works better than a rigid schedule for ADHD brainsIntroducing the index card ("Sparkle Box") planning system: daily cards, dividers, colour-coding, and why simple beats perfectHow the cards physically move through the week — pull them out, do the task, move it to next week if you don'tSeasonal cleaning tasks neither of them knew they had to do: air-con filters, dishwasher and washing machine maintenance, dryer vent cleaning, vacuum filter washingCarpet vs floorboards when you live with anxious pets (and a French bulldog leaving slobber marks on the walls)Quick wins for spring: the five-minute bathroom declutter, cleaning mirrors, wiping down skirting boardsMattress deep-cleans, flipping mattresses, and knowing when to just buy a new oneThe dreaded photo-sorting task, empty photo frames, and a still-unfinished baby bookMonthly wardrobe resets and prepping outfits for the week ahead"Autistic brains love routine, ADHD brains hate it" — and why the system needs to survive being ignored for a weekDigital filing chaos, letting go of old files, and new-phone anxietyNaming the system "The Sparkle Box" and inviting listeners to join in for spring Key Takeaways A system only works for ADHD brains if falling off it for a week doesn't ruin it — index cards can be picked back up anytime, unlike a notebook where one skipped page feels like the whole thing is "ruined.""Out of sight, out of mind" is a real barrier, not a character flaw — having a tangible, visible reminder (a card, not just a digital list) can be the difference between remembering a task and forgetting it existed.Committing to finish what you start is a more realistic goal than trying to stop starting new projects altogether — the impulse to dive in isn't the problem, the follow-through is.Seasonal maintenance tasks (air-con filters, dryer vents, vacuum filters) are rarely taught to anyone — not doing them isn't a personal failing, it's a knowledge gap.Public or shared accountability — a friend, a community, even an Instagram audience — can be the missing piece that turns "I should really do that" into "I actually did that." A Quick Explainer: What Is the Index Card ("Sparkle Box") Planning System? It's a low-tech ADHD planning method built around a simple box of index cards instead of a notebook or app. Each card holds one task or routine — a day of the week, a recurring chore, a "someday" idea — sorted behind dividers (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, waiting-on, someday). As you complete a task, you move its card to the back or file it under the next relevant day; if you don't get to it, it just waits until you're ready. Because nothing is permanent or handwritten into a bound page, there's no "ruined" system to abandon — you can drop it for a week and pick it back up without starting over, which is what makes it worth trying for brains that struggle with rigid digital planners and all-or-nothing habit trackers. Who This Episode Is For Anyone with a pile of half-finished home projects, a "...
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    47 分
  • Ep20: I'm trying to minimise my shit

    Ep20: I'm trying to minimise my shit
    2026/08/26
    Some weeks are just a lot. This episode starts with two very different-looking problems — one daughter who's suddenly refusing school, one daughter who's suddenly refusing food — and ends up in the same place both of them usually end up: is this a phase, is this the environment, or is this actually her brain? Alisha unpacks her daughter's abrupt swing from loving school to dreading it, working through whether it's a friendship issue, a masking-fatigue issue, or something closer to PDA, and the very relatable spiral of trying to have a calm "how was your day" conversation with a six-year-old who has nothing left in the tank to give. Rhiannon shares the equally unsettling shift in her daughter Bunny — sudden pickiness, attitude, and an OT-recommended blood test to rule out a nutrient deficiency before anyone reaches for the word "PDA." From there the conversation goes somewhere the hosts admit they've avoided for a while: should they actually get their daughters formally assessed and, if needed, medicated for ADHD? They talk through the double standard that lets "naughty little boys" get diagnosed and medicated early while girls get overlooked or told they're "just sensitive," the school-accommodation paperwork that requires a formal diagnosis to unlock, and a doctor's blunt warning about hormones, puberty and RSD that's stuck with them both. It's not all heavy — the episode also swings into the hosts' own adult executive dysfunction (Rhiannon's years-stalled recertification exam, leaning on ChatGPT for step-by-step instructions like a human doesn't already know how to make a to-do list), a very candid update on Rhiannon's doom-box wardrobe project, and a warm reminder that finding your people — your fellow "neuro sparkly weirdos" — makes the whole thing easier to carry. What We Talk About in This Episode Alisha's daughter's sudden shift from loving school to dreading it, and untangling whether it's friendship dynamics, masking exhaustion, or something more like PDAA basketball-to-the-head incident and the challenge of working out what's actually upsetting a six-year-old versus what's just the most recent thingWhy "how was your day" often gets nothing back, and using write-it-down/indirect strategies to get a real answer laterBunny's sudden picky eating and attitude change, and the OT's recommendation to rule out a nutrient deficiency with a blood test before considering PDAOffering choices instead of demands, and recognising a PDA-flavoured "no thank you" for what it isThe big conversation: should we get our daughters formally assessed, and would we medicate them?The double standard around ADHD medication — why "disruptive" boys get diagnosed and medicated early while girls fly under the radarWhy school accommodations often require a formal diagnosis on paper, not just a parent's observationA doctor's warning about puberty, hormones and RSD, and why that's shifted the hosts' thinking on timingPerfectionism, generational guilt, and parenting differently to how they were raisedA school system built for the "average" kid, and what that means for kids who are struggling or excellingExecutive dysfunction in adulthood: "I know the answer, I just can't start," and leaning on ChatGPT for step-by-step task breakdownsWhy systems and scaffolding don't always stick, and choosing self-compassion over self-blame when they fall offMedication as something that doesn't change who you are — it just makes the doing part possibleThe doom-box wardrobe project: sorting, under-bed chaos, and the idea of public accountability via InstagramBody doubling, Alexa AM/PM checklists, and other accountability tools that actually workFinding your people — hyperfocusing on Lego with a fellow "neuro sparkly weirdo" — and why community matters Key Takeaways A sudden, sharp behaviour change in a child — whether it's school avoidance or food refusal — is worth investigating from multiple angles at once: physical (nutrient deficiencies, blood tests), social (friendship dynamics), and neurological (PDA, anxiety, masking fatigue), rather than assuming it's "just a phase."ADHD in girls is still routinely overlooked because the diagnostic picture was built around "disruptive" boys — quieter struggles like people-pleasing, sudden meltdowns after school, or picky eating don't fit the stereotype, so they get missed or dismissed.Formal diagnosis isn't just a label — for many families it's the only way to unlock real school accommodations, which is worth knowing before deciding to "wait and see."Executive dysfunction doesn't disappear when you become an adult — "I know what to do, I just can't start it" is a genuine, common experience, and outsourcing the step-by-step (to a person, an app, or even ChatGPT) is a legitimate strategy, not a personal failing.Medication doesn't change who your child is — it can simply make it possible for them to do the things they already want to do. Who This Episode Is For Parents ...
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    56 分
  • Ep 19: The things Katherine Richardson could tell you

    Ep 19: The things Katherine Richardson could tell you
    2026/08/20
    This week's guest gets it from every angle: Katherine "Kat" Richardson is a late-diagnosed ADHDer, a mum navigating her own son's likely neurodivergence, and the author-illustrator behind The Things Enid Can Tell You — a children's book about a sparkly-brained girl that never once uses the word "ADHD." Kat and the hosts trade late-diagnosis stories that will sound painfully familiar: the report cards that said "talks too much" and "needs to apply herself," the university degrees started and abandoned on a whim, the diagnosis that arrived not as grief but as relief mixed with a strange kind of double-edged clarity — finally knowing why, and also knowing this is permanently who you are. Kat talks candidly about writing her book before she'd even fully unpacked her own masking, about the ADHD-house reality of forgotten showers and rotten apples left in odd corners, and about her very deliberate choice not to label Enid's brain at all — because a children's book that announces "this character has ADHD" lands differently to a kid than one that just lets a sparkly character be herself. It's a warm, funny, occasionally chaotic conversation about writing honestly, parenting differently to how you were parented, and giving kids language for their brains that we never had for our own. What We Talk About in This Episode Kat's late ADHD diagnosis story: report card comments, undiagnosed years, and finally asking the question out loud in her late 20sThe "double-edged sword" of diagnosis: relief at finally having an answer, alongside the realisation that no amount of trying will make you differentUniversity chaos: switching degrees between Antarctic science, guide dog training and a communications degree finished via distance education at double speedWhy "always early" can be the same anxiety as being lateParenting a sensory-driven, possibly-neurodivergent toddler son, and catching herself repeating the same "can you just sit still" messaging she's trying to breakReparenting: working out what actually damaged you growing up versus what was just imperfect but harmlessWriting her first book, Diary of a Red Handfish, about a real endangered Tasmanian species and a real conservation projectPublishing under two names — Kat for her business, Katherine Richardson for her books — and why that split existsThe deliberate choice not to name ADHD or autism anywhere in The Things Enid Can Tell You, so kids can recognise themselves without a clinical label attachedAvoiding stereotypes: writing a messy, imperfect, lovable character without reducing her to "the ADHD kid who's always late and disorganised"The exhausting mental load of basic self-care tasks (showers, teeth-brushing) and the tricks she uses to get herself to do them anywayWhere to find Kat's books and her illustration/editing studio Key Takeaways Late diagnosis often isn't followed by grief so much as a strange, double-edged relief: "this explains everything" and "this is permanently who I am" arriving at the same time.Being chronically early can be driven by the same anxiety as being chronically late — it's still time-related distress, just pointed the other direction.The most authentic representation in children's books often comes from writing your own story first, rather than deliberately setting out to "write a diverse character."Reparenting isn't about getting everything right — it's about identifying what actually caused harm growing up and interrupting that specific pattern, not chasing an impossible standard of perfect parenting.Basic daily tasks (showering, brushing teeth) can carry a genuinely higher mental load for ADHD/autistic brains, and finding a "trick" that works is a legitimate strategy, not a failure to just "do the normal thing." Who This Episode Is For Anyone who got diagnosed later in life and is still working out what to do with that knowledge. Parents looking for children's books that let a neurodivergent-coded character just be a full, funny, flawed person rather than a walking symptom list. And anyone who has ever quietly wondered whether they should have finished that degree they abandoned in week three. A Message From This Episode You don't need permission to tell your own story, and you don't need a diagnosis to hand to prove it's real. The most authentic writing — and the most authentic parenting — usually comes from working out what actually hurt you, not from getting everything technically right. About This Episode's Guest Katherine "Kat" Richardson is an author, illustrator and late-diagnosed ADHDer. She is the author-illustrator of The Things Enid Can Tell You, a children's picture book about a sparkly-brained girl, and Diary of a Red Handfish, a self-published children's book about one of Tasmania's most endangered fish species. She also runs an illustration, editing and book design studio supporting other authors, with a particular focus on making the process accessible for neurodivergent clients. Both books are ...
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    1 時間
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