What is your biggest challenge with ADHD?

Your child is smart. You know it. But the grades don't show it, and nothing you've tried is working. Dr. Linda Silbert, Ph.D., has spent more than 50 years working with kids who struggle in school, raising an ADHD son of her own, and running Strong Learning Centers in New York. She has seen this story from every angle. And she has some things to say about it.

In this conversation, Dr. Linda walks us through what she calls the "three shuns" every ADHD child battles: lack of motivation for non-preferred tasks, disorganization that touches everything including time, and procrastination that can look like laziness but isn't. She talks about why punishing these behaviors doesn't just fail; it actively makes things worse. And she makes the case that the school system itself, designed on an Industrial Revolution factory model, was never built for brains like your kid's.

We also get into the difference between ADHD, high anxiety, and auditory processing disorder (and why they're so easy to confuse), how to use metacognition to help your child build confidence, and what Dr. Linda's dream classroom would actually look like.

She also shares two books worth knowing: her newly updated "Why Good Kids Get Bad Grades" and Berticus, a hilarious novel written by her son, a TV producer with ADHD, for boys aged 9-11 who won't read anything. (My thirteen-year-old immediately wanted it.)

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Resources Mentioned:

Dr. Linda Silbert Website: StrongLearning.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stronglearningcenter

Why Good Kids Get Bad Grades by Dr. Linda Silbert and Alvin Silbert, Ed.D.

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Quick Wins for ADHD Moms is a podcast for smart, high-functioning moms with ADHD who are tired of systems that don't work. Practical resets for ADHD burnout, mental overload, and everyday mom life. Find every episode at theADHDmom.com.