If reading turns into tears, avoidance, or exhaustion in your home, this episode offers a fresh, practical angle: instead of forcing the brain to adjust to the text, what if the text adjusted to your child?

Host Kate Brownfield sits down with Diane Gutierrez (co-founder of Cognition Labs and a mom in a neurodiverse family) for a two-part conversation on reducing reading strain for dyslexia/visual-perceptual differences, and on real-life parenting strategies for ADHD families. Diane shares how adjustable text tools can lower cognitive load and improve comprehension, plus the lived wisdom that helped her family navigate school, stress, mental health, and the long haul of raising kids with ADHD and dyslexia.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why “the text should adjust to us” (and how that supports comprehension + reduces fatigue)

• How Cognition Labs transforms books, PDFs, notes, and scanned images with 15+ adjustable settings

• Tools families use most: syllabication support, confusable-letter fixes (b/d/p/q), and visual settings that reduce strain

• Why these supports may help kids with ADHD, by reducing cognitive load during reading

• Parenting wisdom from a home where ADHD affects nearly everyone: meaning over pressure, consistency over perfection, rest as a requirement

• When to consider therapy/coaching support and why it’s okay to switch if it’s not the right fit

• Advocacy and testing: how understanding a child’s brain can change the path forward

Resources mentioned: Cognition Labs: https://www.cognitionlabs.com/ Connect with Kate, certified ADHD/Executive Function Parent Coach: ADHDKidsCanThrive.com | Coaching inquiries: https://adhdkidscanthrive.com/appointment/

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If you’ve ever wondered whether there are nutrition-based supports to consider when ADHD brings big swings in mood, sleep, cravings, irritability, or focus, especially when medication isn’t preferred, isn’t available, or you’re looking for complementary tools, this episode offers a practical, hopeful starting point.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why foundational nutrition (especially steady fuel + breakfast) can matter for mood, attention, and regulation

• How Julia’s work in addiction recovery led her toward nutrient therapy and “brain chemistry” support

• The amino acids discussed in The Mood Cure and how they’re framed as potential supports for stress, sleep, cravings, and focus (with a strong emphasis on going slowly and listening to the body)

• Why blood sugar dips (hypoglycemia) can show up as irritability, anxiety, “hangry” meltdowns, and intense sugar cravings, especially after school

• How to think about trialing changes cautiously, including the importance of collaborating with a licensed clinician (especially for kids and anyone on medication)

• Why parents deserve support too, because caregiver stress and sleep matter in the whole family system

Important note: This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Always consult a licensed clinician before starting supplements or making medication changes, especially for children.

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Host: Kate Brownfield, Certified Whole Person & ADHD Parent Coach Guest: Dr. Kate Lund, clinical psychologist, peak performance coach, TEDx speaker, and author of Step Away: The Keys to Resilient Parenting

Episode Overview

In this empowering “Kate + Kate” episode, Kate talks with Dr. Kate Lund about what resilient parenting really looks like when you’re raising kids with ADHD, big emotions, or health challenges. Drawing from her own medical journey (hydrocephalus as a child), 20+ years as a psychologist, and parenting 18-year-old twins, Dr. Lund explains resilience not as “pushing through,” but as a lifestyle: managing your stress response daily so you can ride the waves of homework battles, morning chaos, and dysregulated kids. She teaches a simple, science-backed tool, the Relaxation Response, that parents can practice for 5 minutes in the morning and at night to lower reactivity, model calmness, and create a more regulated home.

Suppose your baseline feels higher than that of other parents because your child is more intense or more dysregulated. In that case, this episode will help you stop comparing, honor your unique context, and build steadiness that you can actually sustain.

What We Talk About (Highlights)

• Resilience as a lifestyle
• Managing your stress response
• The Relaxation Response (Herbert Benson)
• Modeling regulation
• Avoiding the comparison trap
• “Step away” moments
• Ripple effect for ADHD families: Calm first, then coach skills

Resources & Links

• Guest: Dr. Kate Lund https://www.katelundspeaks.com/
• Book: Step Away: The Keys to Resilient Parenting https://www.katelundspeaks.com/book

About Your Host, Kate

I’m Kate Brownfield, Certified Whole Person & ADHD Parent Coach, author of How We Roll: A Parent’s Journey Raising a Child with ADHD, and host of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast. I help parents understand ADHD through a whole-person lens—because every child is unique, and so is every family.

🌐 Find me: ADHDKidsCanThrive.com

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