Winning with ADHD: Welcoming Grace Friedman
Hello Hallowell Todaro ADHD community!
My name is Grace Friedman, M.S., and I am thrilled to be part of the Hallowell Todaro ADHD team! I am an ADHD coach, blogger about all things ADHD, and the published author of Winning with ADHD: A playbook for teens & young adults with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.
I am excited to announce that I am partnering with the Hallowell Todaro Center to write a blog series as well as conduct a workshop for middle schoolers with ADHD this upcoming fall. My experience with my own ADHD—challenging, complex, yet empowering, beautiful and bold—sparked my drive to ignite a conversation around ADHD drive and expand the ADHD community one genuine conversation at a time. I want to share a snippet from my book that highlights my background and purpose.
A girl is walking down the street when she falls into a hole. The walls are so steep she can’t get out.
A doctor passes by, and the girl shouts up, “Hey, Doc. Can you help me out?” The doctor writes a prescription for some ADHD medication, throws it down to her, and moves on.
Then a judge comes along, and the girl shouts up, “Judge, I’m down in this hole! Can you help me out?” The judge writes out an order for accommodations at her school, throws it down into the hole, and moves on.
Then her friend walks by. “Hey, Grace, it’s me! Can you help me out?”
I jump down into the hole.
Our girl says, “Grace...what are you thinking? Now we’re both down here.”
I say, “Yeah, but I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out.”
When I was 11, I was the girl in the hole. I was confused, scared, and feeling ashamed about my having ADHD. OMG, I have ADHD? That was heavy news to process. I thought I was alone, didn’t know what I needed to do, or if I could succeed with ADHD. I quickly recognized that there is a huge ADHD community - over six million people - that share similar experiences that deserve to be highlighted. Through self-love, a lot of grit, and mentorship from loved ones and professionals, I realized that accepting myself and my ADHD was necessary to be the best person I could be. I needed to have perseverance, acceptance, and language to explain my experiences, behavior, struggles, and what I wanted out of my life. I wanted to learn to manage my ADHD, not have my ADHD manage me. I wanted to win with my ADHD.
A decade dedicated to advocacy, ADHD coaching, public speaking and academic pursuits in psychology inspired me to write and publish Winning with ADHD at just twenty-one years old. This interactive workbook is aimed to be an authentic, teen-friendly, evidenced-based resource for youth with ADHD that speaks directly to those eager to manage, thrive and ultimately “win” with their ADHD. Similar to learning a new technique in soccer, dance, or on a musical instrument that requires breaking down new skills into small steps, the book is designed around “Plays”, specific skills broken down into step-by-step instructions. Each play functions to show the reader how to tackle new skills by breaking them down into smaller steps and invites them to actively participate in the process of applying new skills into their daily life.
My book and the way I approach ADHD coaching prompts youth with ADHD to think: What do I value? What are my strengths? What parts of my life need to be developed? Which of those areas do I think I need a little bit of help developing?
The Winning with ADHD blogs and six-week workshop address crucial issues around self-management, peer relationships, home-related issues, school problems, problem-focused coping and emotion regulation strategies—all aimed to strengthen capabilities and confidence in the many areas ADHD impacts. I take a strengths-based, humorous and direct approach while working with adolescents and teens. My goal is to highlight the experience of the girl in the hole: I’ve been here before and I am here to help you gain traction to succeed.
I am excited to break these topics down one by one, be a resource to the ADHD community, and connect with those signing up for the workshops that will be in person at the Seattle location!
Continue your learning!
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