With Elianna Friedman & ADHD Coach & Producer Marion Cunningham

This is a special one! In the Season 6 finale of ADHD FM, Elianna sits down with someone who has been a huge part of her ADHD journey, her coach, producer, and today’s guest, Marion Cunningham.

After being diagnosed as an adult, Elianna found herself overwhelmed, confused, and searching for support. Coaching became a turning point offering not just tools, but deeper self-understanding, clarity, and a sense of connection she didn’t know she needed.

In this honest and personal conversation, Elianna and Marion break down what ADHD coaching actually is (and isn’t), how it’s different from therapy, and why it can be such a powerful support for ADHD brains.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What ADHD coaching really looks like in practice
• How coaching helps you build self-trust and make aligned decisions
• What a typical coaching session feels like (spoiler: human, not clinical)
• How to find a coach (without getting overwhelmed)
• Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) and how to navigate it

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, stuck, or like you’re “doing it wrong,” this episode is a reminder that you’re not alone and you don’t have to navigate ADHD by yourself.

Contributors

Guest Interview: Marion Cunningham

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Resources Mentioned

ADDitude Magazine (coach directory)

CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD)
ICF (International Coaching Federation)
Bilateral Stimulation Music

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Janel shares her experience of being diagnosed with ADHD at age 45 after years of struggling and being misunderstood. She describes hitting a burnout point and how the ADHD diagnosis gave her more understanding of her brain. AI helps Janel communicate more concisely and avoid "word salad" in forms and applications.

The benefits of AI for Janel's ADHD include reducing startup friction for tasks, allowing her to get ideas out of her head quickly, helping with prioritization, meeting participation, and emotional regulation by providing a "second set of eyes," and acting as a thought partner and sounding board for her ideas. 

However, Janel cautions against using AI as a crutch or replacement for human interaction and decision-making, emphasizing the importance of prompting AI carefully, fact-checking outputs, and maintaining one's own authentic voice. She also discusses privacy, ethical, and environmental considerations when using AI. Looking to the future, Janel hopes AI can bring ADHD communities closer together through more intentional collaboration.

Contributors

Guest Interview: Janel Leatherman Stewart

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Let’s Connect

How are you using AI to support your wonderfully creative ideas?

Please share!
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An interview with Jodie L Stauffer, CFP Money Coach and Financial Planner

Money. If you’ve ever hidden a credit card bill, ignored a parking ticket until it multiplied, or felt like you’re “bad at money” despite being smart and capable then this episode is for you.

In Episode 4 of ADHDFM, I open up about my own messy money story, the secrecy, the guilt, the overspending, the inevitable “I’ll deal with it later” spiral, and the very real tightness in my chest that still shows up when I talk about it.

Then I sit down with financial planning expert Jodie Stauffer, who was also diagnosed with ADHD later in life, to talk about what is going on when ADHD and money collide, and how to build systems that work with our brains, not against them.

What We Talk About

• The “ADHD tax” (subscriptions, late fees, parking tickets, forgotten returns)
• How impulsive spending is often dopamine-seeking and not irresponsibility
• Why traditional budgeting advice often fails ADHD brains

If this episode resonates with you, especially the secrecy, guilt, or “I should be better at this” voice, you are absolutely not alone.

Contributors

Guest Interview: Jodie L Stauffer, CFP Money Coach and Financial Planner

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Resources Mentioned

Hey Money Get a Life, a Podcast about flipping the script on financial stress, money anxiety, and the pressure to “have it all together.” 

Tell Me
What’s your biggest ADHD money challenge?
Are you going to try renaming your budget?

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
⭐ Leave a review if it helped.
Send me your questions for a future episode.
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Organizing, cleaning, and decluttering with ADHD can feel like a never-ending cycle of good intentions, overwhelm, and… doom piles. In this episode of ADHD FM, I’m digging into why organization is so hard for ADHD brains and why so many traditional organizing rules just don’t work for us.

I share some of my own struggles (and a few hard-earned wins), like why deadlines help me get started, why I’ve stopped believing that “less stuff is always better,” and how things like open shelving, clear containers, and having multiples of everyday items actually make my life easier and not harder.

Then I’m joined by organizing expert Lorinda Dishington Ortiz, a registered nurse, ADHD organizing specialist, and fellow neurodivergent woman who truly gets it. 

We talk about:

• What doom piles really are (and why they’re not a personal failure)
• Clutter blindness, perfectionism, and why “I’ll do it later” rarely works
• Why organizing is an executive function nightmare and how to work with your brain instead of against it.
• Gamifying boring tasks, using timers, rewards, and even alter egos

This episode isn’t about becoming a minimalist or having a Pinterest-perfect home. It’s about finding systems that reduce friction, letting go of shame, and remembering that clutter is morally neutral and it does not define your worth.

If organizing has always felt overwhelming, paralyzing, or just plain impossible, I hope this conversation helps you feel a little less alone and a lot more hopeful.

Contributors

Guest Interview: Lorinda Ortiz

Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Resources Mentioned

Institute for Challenging Disorganization — Classes and certifications for becoming an organization coach

Full episode transcript available at adhdfm.com

Please share and reach out!
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In this episode of ADHD FM, Elianna sits down with Catherine Smart, founder of Not From Concentrate, to explore the deeply intertwined relationship between ADHD, food, creativity, and daily life.

As someone who works as a food coach and culinary educator, Elianna brings her own experience and professional perspective into the conversation, especially around how ADHD shapes our relationship with cooking, meal planning, and feeding ourselves consistently.

Together, they unpack what it really means to feed yourself when structure feels hard, motivation comes in waves, and pleasure matters just as much as practicality. Catherine shares candid insights into her relationship with food and exercise, her career path, and the systems (and hacks) that actually work for an ADHD brain.

The conversation covers everything from hyperfixation meals and hosting strategies to meal planning, organization, and reducing food waste while also naming the very real challenge of having to figure out what to eat every single day.

At its core, this episode is about permission: to prioritize creativity, to seek pleasure in food, and to let go of perfection.

✨ Key Takeaways

• Creativity and pleasure are essential when it comes to food and ADHD
  
  
• Meal planning and reducing food waste can be especially challenging with ADHD, but flexible systems help
  
  
• Hyperfixation meals can be a tool, not a failure.
  
  
• Feeding yourself consistently is real labor and it’s okay to acknowledge that.

Accessibility

A full transcript of this episode is available at adhdhfm.com

Contributors

Guest Interview: Catherine Smart

️Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Resources Mentioned

Not From Concentrate Recipes — Recipes and food inspiration by Catherine Smart

Let’s Connect

What is your current hyper fixation meal?

Please share! Instagram | TikTok

Elianna shares her own lived experience with body doubling and is joined by expert Kate Ostergren, who breaks down why this technique works, what the science says, and how to make body doubling actually helpful (not awkward or pressure-filled).

Together, they explore:

• What body doubling is—and what it’s not
• Why ADHD brains respond so well to shared presence
• Tips for successful body-doubling sessions
• The role of accountability, connection, and community
• Real stories from listeners who use body doubling in everyday life

This episode makes the case for body doubling not just as a productivity tool, but as a powerful way to feel less alone while getting things done.

Contributors

Guest Interview: Kate Ostergren

Listener Voices: Abbey Lile-Taylor & Elizabeth Brunetti

️ Producer & Editor: Marion Cunningham

️ Logo Art: Jennifer Cooper

Resources Mentioned

Body Doubling Platforms Tried:

• Flow Club
• Dubbi

Let’s Connect

What body doubling techniques are working for you? Please share!
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