If you’ve ever felt like you’re the one doing all the care coordination for your child—between doctors, therapists, teachers, and insurance companies—you’re not alone. The mental health system hasn’t always made it easy. But there’s a new model that’s starting to change that: it’s called the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model, or Collaborative Care for short.

In this episode, we’re talking about a mental health crisis that is quietly, and sometimes invisibly, reshaping the lives of millions of young people—particularly adolescent girls. Anxiety and depression have been on the rise among teens for over a decade, but the numbers for girls are especially stark—and deeply concerning. Our guest today is Dr. Gretchen Hoyle, a pediatrician with 25 years of experience and a focus on child and adolescent mental health.

In this episode, we’ll explore what childhood anxiety really looks like—not just the textbook symptoms, but the day-to-day signs that often get missed. We’ll talk about how anxiety shows up differently in kids than in teens or adults, the key risk factors, and how parents can respond with empathy, structure, and support.

🔍 Episode Summary
In this episode, we dive into what ADHD looks like in real life, how it shows up in kids at different ages, and the importance of early identification. Dr. Hoyle shares practical insights from the clinic, discusses the challenges of diagnosis, and addresses common fears—like whether treatment might change a child's personality. We explore how to strike a balance between classroom functionality and preserving a child’s unique essence.

🧠 Key Themes & Takeaways

• Misconceptions about ADHD: It’s not just about being “wild” or “hyper”—some kids fly under the radar because they’re bright and verbal but struggle quietly with attention.

  
  

• Common fears around diagnosis and medication:
  Many parents fear their child will lose their spark or become “zombified.” Dr. Hoyle normalizes this concern and explains what appropriate treatment really looks like.

  
  

• The role of the Vanderbilt assessment:
  This tool, along with detailed history and teacher input, helps pediatricians identify ADHD accurately. But no diagnosis is made based on a single moment or form.

  
  

• When ADHD tends to be identified:
  
  
  • Kindergarten: Often flagged due to disruptive behavior or lack of classroom readiness.

    
    

  • 3rd grade: A spike in diagnoses due to standardized testing pressures (EOGs), where bright kids can’t focus long enough to show what they know.

    
    

• Why early diagnosis matters:
  Identifying and treating ADHD before age 9—and doing so consistently—can significantly improve outcomes in adolescence and adulthood.

💬 Quotes Worth Sharing

“I don’t want my child to be a zombie.”
“That’s valid. If your child is disengaged and robotic, that’s not success—we’re not aiming for compliance at the expense of personality.”

“Third grade is a flashpoint—not because the child suddenly has ADHD, but because that’s when it really starts to affect performance.”

“ADHD isn’t just a school issue. It touches everything: identity, self-esteem, safety, even long-term health.”

“Managing a child’s ADHD early is one of the most powerful things we can do to reduce the risk of anxiety, depression, and substance use later.”

👀 Next Episode Preview

In Episode 3, we’ll follow ADHD through the youth life cycle—how it evolves through adolescence, how to support ongoing care, and what happens as kids transition into adulthood.