
Show Notes
Growing up with ADHD can feel like nonstop failure, especially in a world built for neurotypical brains. In this episode, Jheri sits down with Ryan Jones, an ADHD advocate who has spent years helping families understand ADHD through lived experience and real world support strategies. Ryan shares what it was like growing up with ADHD long before awareness, support systems, or realistic expectations. He opens up about being medicated without explanation, struggling socially, repeating grades, failing classes, and carrying deep shame around school and graduation. Together, Ryan and Jheri reframe ADHD as a brain wiring difference, not a character flaw, and explain what actually helps, including support systems, realistic expectations, education, and practical tools that make the “superpower” side accessible.
Chapters (00:00) Introduction (01:01) Were You Ever Diagnosed, Or Just Put On Medication (03:12) What Made Childhood So Hard With ADHD (08:41) What Were The Thoughts Running Through Your Head At Your Lowest (11:11) What Helped People Survive ADHD Before Awareness And Treatment (13:16) What Happened With Graduation And Why It Hurt So Much (21:30) Analogy to help Explain ADHD To Parents So They Finally Get It (26:23) How Do You Shift From “What Is Wrong With Me” To “This Is My Strength”
What is one thing you wish a teacher, parent, or friend understood about your ADHD? Leave your answer in the comments
FREE RESOURCES ✨ ADHD Quiz: https://jherisouth.com/page/adhd-quiz RSD Webinar: https://jherisouth.com/page/adhd-emotions-webinar-opt-in More resources at: https://jherisouth.com
GET SUPPORT ✨ ADHD Simplified Course (just $97!): https://jherisouth.com/page/adhd-simplifed FREE consult for ADHD coaching: https://jherisouth.as.me/schedule/f39adc54
FOLLOW ME ✨ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjherisouth/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jherisouth TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@jherisouth8
Connect with Ryan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Ryan-Jones Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryantheazrealtor/
More from South of Normal
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria might be the reason everything has felt harder than it should. In this episode of South of Normal, Jheri South breaks down one of the most overlooked parts of ADHD and why emotional reactions, not effort, are often the real reason behind inconsistency, overwhelm, and burnout.
How do you actually follow through on goals when you have ADHD? In this episode of South of Normal, Jheri South talks with entrepreneur, creator, and coach Kelsey Edwards about why traditional goal setting often fails ADHD brains and what works better instead.
If you have ADHD and struggle to stay focused on your goals, you are not alone. In this episode of South of Normal, Jheri South sits down with multi-faceted entrepreneur Kelsey Edwards, who was only recently diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Kelsey shares how discovering her ADHD helped explain years of perfectionism, chasing too many goals, and feeling like her brain worked differently than everyone around her.
At 12 years old, Michael Bernoff was told he had a 90 percent chance of not having an effective life unless he medicated for ADHD. That sentence could have defined him. Instead, it forced him to question the label.
Tiny things should not feel this big. But in a neurodivergent marriage, they can . Jheri South, ADHD educator and mom of seven neurodivergent kids, sits down with her husband Brad South, who is on the autism spectrum, to play “Same Team, Different Brains.” What starts as a fun rapid fire game quickly reveals why ADHD and autism can clash over plan changes, shutdowns, overwhelm, reassurance, and communication.