PDA Parenting for ADHD Kids: Why 'Shoes On' Starts a War (And What Actually Helps)
You said "time for shoes" and the morning was over. Sticker charts backfire. Consequences make it worse. If your ADHD child melts down over ordinary requests, it may be pathological demand avoidance (PDA) — an anxiety-driven response to losing control, not defiance. Here's why standard discipline fails, and the approaches with actual research behind them.
ADHD and Sexuality: Why ADHD and Queer Identity So Often Go Together
You spent years feeling slightly outside the group, without the words for why. If you're holding neurodivergence and a queer identity at the same time and suspect they're connected, you're not imagining it. Here's what the research actually says, why ADHD gets missed, and what helps.
What Some Therapists Get Wrong About Neurodiversity-Affirming Care
Some therapists think neurodiversity-affirming care means rejecting CBT, DBT, ACT, ERP, or behavior change entirely. At Brilla, we disagree. Affirming therapy should not gatekeep evidence-based treatment — it should adapt tools to your brain, your goals, your lived experience, and your consent. Here is the difference between compliance and consent, and how to tell whether a therapist is actually affirming.
Visual Schedules for Kids with ADHD and Autism: The Morning Routine Fix That Doesn't Need Your Voice
Your child's teacher says he's one of the most independent kids in class. At home, you've said "shoes" six times before 7:45. The difference is hanging on the classroom wall. Here's how visual schedules let ADHD and autistic kids run their own morning routine — and let you stop being the schedule.
High-Functioning ADHD: Why "You're Doing Fine" Is a Measurement Error
On Friday you were the most competent person in the meeting. On Saturday you couldn't get off the couch. If you've been calling this "high-functioning ADHD" — or someone else has, as a reason you don't need help — this is about the invoice nobody sees, why the collapse is arithmetic and not weakness, and what actually helps.
ADHD Task Initiation: Why You Can't Start (And What Helps)
There's a task you actually want to do, right in front of you, and you still can't make the beginning happen. That's task initiation — a discrete brain function ADHD taxes hardest — and it's not laziness. Here's why starting is its own operation, why "you did it fine once you started" is evidence for you, and six ways to make the start cheaper.