Jeremy Didier
Parent Coach
Military spouses/partners are by necessity resilient, independent, & resourceful. As a proud, young Navy wife, I spent a lot of time on my own. During those early years, I had to learn how to successfully juggle my full time job, childcare, & home management, while balancing the joy (& often the disruption!) of a come & go husband. Challenging to say the least. While I was on my own, I was never alone.
Truly, the military community is one big family. We get through deployments and disappointments together. We open our hearts & our doors to people from all over the world, and from all walks of life. We share joy, pain, proud moments, commissary runs, parenting tips, advice (wanted & unwanted!) and much more. We prop each other up during the long weeks of separation and we support each other however we can. I learned clear steps to take to help our family stay strong and succeed — from amazing men & women who’d been through it all before.
When our child was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, it never occurred to me to keep it a secret or to try to tough-it-out solo. I immediately sought help & guidance within our civilian community, just like I had on the Navy base. And while I found overwhelming amounts of advice, treatments, providers & programs, I quickly foundered. Unlike my experience in the Navy, I could find no clear path to success.
My own knowledge had gaping holes. I struggled with every decision involved in the care & feeding of our little guy with ADHD. I read books, tried various medical, social & dietary experiments, created gorgeous reward charts…yet nothing seemed to work! Relationships at home — and with extended family — were strained. Our house was always a mess, we yelled at each other constantly for reasons I can no longer remember, and our kids floundered as we tried to land firmly on our feet. No one seemed to understand what we were going through. Many, many times I wished it was my turn to deploy.
Jeremy’s Expert Advice
Jeremy’s helpful articles, tips, tricks and videos to help you turn the chaos into calm.
Our son’s new psychologist suggested we find other parents of ADHD kids to talk to so we could help support each other. I didn’t realize how isolated and alone we’d felt until we met other parents just like us! As we heard their stories, I could feel my shoulders relaxing. I hadn’t consciously been holding my breath, but I clearly remember exhaling during that first meeting. Just knowing that what happened in our house also happened in other homes with ADHD kids – well, it empowered us to erase any lingering shame. Our son’s behaviors, energy level and lack of self-awareness were actually NORMAL BEHAVIORS for complex kids! Knowing we weren’t alone kept us grounded & sane. Just like when my husband was off to sea, having a support system in place made all the difference.
I realized I wanted to do for Parents of ADHD kids what the military community had done for me. Provide support, resources, information and a massive extended ADHD family for parents & caregivers everywhere. From the parent with a newly diagnosed child looking to acclimate in an ADHD world, to the seasoned parent who’s been here before (but this kid’s different!), coaching provided the best, most rewarding way for me to open doors and hearts for people all over the world.
As a coach, I have been able to help families creatively achieve aligned happiness (which means less yelling, more success, more smiling!) Here’s how I got from there to here:
- Founder & Group Director, ADHDKC, Kansas City’s Award Winning CHADD Chapter — named affiliate of the year in 2014
- Recognized as CHADD’s volunteer leader of the year in 2013
- CHADD Parent 2 Parent Teacher
- Graduate of ADDCA (ADD Coach Academy,) and of JST’s ‘Coaching Kids, Teens & Young Adults with ADHD’ Program
- Graduate of the inaugural class of the Chris Z. Dendy Executive Function Training Camp
- Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), providing a stable presence in at-risk kids’ lives
- Military wife, ADHD Adult and Mom of 5 Fabulous Kids
- Successful 15-year career in telecom & pharmaceutical sales & marketing
- Proud graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism, B.S. (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!)
- Lover of all things Star Wars & Star Trek (Live Long & Prosper!)
