PARENTING WITH IMPACT PODCAST
What Happens At The International ADHD Conference (podcast#245)
Ever wondered what it feels like to be surrounded by more than a thousand people who truly get the ADHD experience? In this episode, we explore the energy, connection, and unexpected moments that shaped our time at the International Conference on ADHD. We share what community support really looks like and why being in the room matters more than you think. Press play to hear the insights and inspiration we brought home from this powerful event. Download a free tipsheet, "10 Tips for Calm & Confident Parenting." Use the coach-approach to change the tone in your home or classroom -- starting now! Amazon Music | iHeart | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | Youtube Related Links: There is nothing quite like being in a room full of people who truly understand ADHD. If you want that same sense of connection, support, and practical learning, join us at the 2026 International Conference on ADHD. Learn more and register at https://www.theadhdconference.org/adhdiconnect2026/9979287. Get your FREE copy of 12 Key Coaching Tools for Parents at https://impactparents.com/podcastgift Connect with Impact Parents: Sponsors Do you recognize current ADHD interventions fall short? At DIG Coaching, we’ve developed a groundbreaking field of engineering called Cognitive Ergonomics from the Inside Out. Discover a fresh approach to ADHD care that looks beyond traditional methods. Learn more at www.cognitive-ergonomics.com Elaine Taylor-Klaus So, we had a beautiful opportunity in November. We were attending the International Conference on ADHD, as we are wont to do every year, every November. Over the next year, it’ll be December. And that is the conference where Diane and I met each other there for the first time. It is the conference where we launched Impact at the time Impact ADHD, and now Impact Parents. We have exhibited, we have presented, we have schmoozed and talked and cried and laughed and partied, maybe partied, maybe a little bit closed down some late nights. And last week, when we went this year, we had the opportunity to bring Natasha and Brittany to join us for this conference. And it was Diane Dempster Wait, Elaine, you just called them Natasha and Brittany, and they’re probably sitting in their chairs going, “Oh my gosh, are we in trouble?” That is Nat, we brought Nat and Brit with us to the pop. We did Elaine Taylor-Klaus We did. I was getting ready to go stand in the corner as the person who coordinates all of the communication on some level, and when and how. And then you’d probably know Brit because she goes by the team Diane Dempster It says right there. It says Impact Parents Team. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yep. Team. That team at Impact Parents. If you’re writing an email at some point, Britt’s gonna be the one to figure out how to handle it or how to respond or how to get it to us. To mention that she also doubles as the Zoom fairy on webinars and workshops. Diane Dempster Yes. And mostly, both of them are people that we can’t live without. Right. They’re what make us work. And they work really hard and work behind the scenes, and we’re so very, very grateful to have them with us. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Oh, amazing. And so we got the first opportunity ever to bring them into the conference this year to join us. We had a booth for the first time since I think 2019, Diane for a long time, because it was kind of a special conference for us, which we’ll talk about in a little bit. And they got to meet each other for the first time in person after years and years and years of working with each other. Like, did we ever figure out how many years? I think approximately eight. Yeah, yeah, eight. Yeah. So like long before the whole COVID sent everybody working virtually, we’ve always been virtual since we started in 2011. And so we had the privilege of watching these two fabulous humans who well, you guys describe yourselves better than we could, about how you work together. But to watch them get to actually see each other in real life and real time in real person was really a precious moment for us. So what should we talk about for people listening in terms of what are we taking away from this conference this year? Like, what are this rather than oftentimes when we do this work, this podcast episode, we’re talking about what do we learn in the sessions? But I wanna pull us back to kind of a macro, to what do we learn from the experience of being at the International Conference on A D H D, which you two had never been to before. Natasha Skanes No, we I’d never been. Britt, you’d never been. For me, I think the biggest thing that I walked away from, the biggest learning that I had was what a community like. That is what I left thinking. Watching just a huge amount of people who are all together for one common purpose, working together as a community was pretty remarkable. There was an energy to the whole place. Yeah. That it it, I, I, I used the word energy, but it there was, there was like a humming, a buzzing to the whole place. You know, I think it’s pretty incredible when you have so many people come together working towards one common goal, and it was just pretty incredible to see it from that lens. I’ve always worked behind the scenes helping get materials ready, booth stuff ready and whatnot, but to see it live on the ground, to hear parents who are there that have been a part of our community for so long come up and share stories, about how, you know, Impact Parents or even Impact A D H D has impacted their lives. To hear stories from other of your colleagues, Elaine and Diane, that you guys have collaborated with over the years, to get to meet them in person, but to also hear them share stories about, you know, collaborations that you guys have been on together, and just see the full reach of Impact as being it was pretty remarkable. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yeah. I get that. What about you, Britt? What came up for you? Britney Seago Yeah. So when Nat said energy like the energy was amazing. Yeah. And just the amount of people that, you know, that we met that I feel like I knew already, just because we’ve we have that relationship virtually. So it was just so cool to meet everyone, you know, in real life. You know, whether they were members or, you know, partners of ours, you know, other professionals that we’ve worked with. It was it was just really amazing. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Go Ahead. Diane Diane Dempster They’re like accommodating and open and warm and, you know, it it’s, there’s this, just this ener like you said it’s this energy of connection. Support, whether you know everybody, which we we know a lot of people there and a lot of people know each other, and even if they don’t know you, they’re your new best friend. Right. You really are two of those. Yeah. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Acceptance and non-judgment that just kind of permeates the hotel. It’s like you you’re at a hotel for three or four days, where you can talk to anybody pretty unabashedly. You can start like crazy conversations in the elevators because nobody’s really blinking twice about it because there’s this assumption that we’re, as you said, now we’re all in this together. Natasha Skanes We are, yeah. Elaine Taylor-Klaus One of my favorite pieces was when we first saw Nat and Brit together and they had seen each other at the airport, and so they’re like holding onto each other, hugging each other in the lobby when we when we got to see them, and the four of us got to meet each other in real life for the first time. And they are looking around the lobby going, I cropped their headshot. I fixed their headshot. I cropped their like they’re seeing all of our colleagues who have been guest expert and we have had, over the years, y’all, over 300 professionals who have been experts or guest experts or summits or, you know, who have worked with us over the years. And they were seeing all these people for the first time in real time too. So it’s not just we existed like in the flesh, but everybody did. Yeah. Natasha Skanes Right. It felt like a little bit of fangirling. I think I used that term while I was there, but I almost felt like I was at a film festival, or it was it was similar, I think, to meeting celebrities or something in person. ’Cause I’d only ever seen screen or print. And then I’m like, oh, you really do exist in real life. Yeah. Britney Seago Well, and I think part of are celebrities. Diane Dempster Yeah. Thinking about the people who are listening and kind of what they would wanna hear. And I think there were Bri, you said this it’s like we had professionals that we work with and then we there was also a lot of, parents and members of ours that were there. I think the question is like, what is it that you think drew people? And yes, if you’re there for professional development, that’s one thing. But there’s a group of people that are adults with ADHD that are there. Then there’s a group of people that are also parents that are looking for information and support for their kids. What do you think are the things that drew people, the parents that you were talking about talking to, to the conference? Natasha Skanes I think a consolidated place to feel connected to community for resources, for support. To share experiences with other parents. that’s what I take away from it like even, even myself who was there in a different capacity than, you know, some of the parents that we met and other professionals that we met. I know when my when I came back and I was chatting about it with my best friend, something that I said to her, which comes to mind right now, is that I somehow immediately felt like I belonged. Mm-hmm. I was there in a completely different capacity, but I picked up on threads of that in my conversations that I had with other parents, that were attending and professionals that were attending, is that seemed to be the common thread is a place where, you know, you don’t feel, isolated, that you can get support and help. And really just looking for some community. Diane Dempster So many of our parents are like out there, and they don’t have other parents who are going through the same sort of things. That’s part of what we love about Impact Parents generally. But you’re describing bigger, which is this sort of there’s this isolation, but when everybody’s together in the room, it feels completely different. Elaine Taylor-Klaus We are, uh, talking with Brit and Nat about the international conference on A DHD. They got to join us this year, and we were talking about what that experience was like, and we’ve been talking about the conference as a place of community and connection and and also you mentioned resource, Nat, and so what I was thinking about was talking about the different ways in which We as parents and professionals in this space, seek different ways to get the resources we need to do whatever it is we’re doing, whether it’s as parents or as professionals. And there was a lot of different ways that people can do that there, right? One of the ways is, is these big keynote sessions where everybody’s in the same room, right? And so you’re in a room with literally like a thousand people. And then there are all these breakout sessions. and then, then we were in the exhibit hall where there was a whole other thing going on. What do we wanna, what, what, what comes up right now as we talk about, like, the different kinds of experiences that we had while we were there. Britney Seago I’m not sure about the experiences as far as like the presentations. I did not go to any presentation, but the experiencing exhibit hall was, was something else just the amount of people that came by our booth, either because they were fangirling over Elaine and Diane and Impact Parents and they’ve been part of our community. Or they were parents that have never heard from us and they’re struggling and they needed support. So the amount of different people that we met was just, it was really cool to see, and, and talk to so many different people. Diane Dempster Or maybe they were just going to visit the puppies and they got distracted and they came over. Britney Seago Oh, as soon as the puppies came out, you know, the lines everyone went to the line for that. Diane Dempster And of course you guys know, it’s like if you’re gonna have a conference on A DHD, there will be puppies, there will be labyrinths, there will be miss. Elaine Taylor-Klaus It’ll be creativity. Diane Dempster Yep. Elaine Taylor-Klaus There’ll be art. Diane Dempster I mean, it was just, I mean Yes. All the things. Elaine Taylor-Klaus There will be a talent show. Diane Dempster Yes. Elaine Taylor-Klaus yeah, there, there will be yeah. Natasha Skanes Further to what Britt was saying, the exhibit hall was pretty special, but I think it was like there, it’s the amount of resources. I know myself as a parent and, you know, a, a working parent and running a household, I run out of time sometimes to actually, you know, do all the things that I want to, especially when it comes to, you know, extensive or thorough research uh, research, sorry on resources available to me on a variety of topics. So what I thought the conference did a really good job of was providing a variety of resources all in one place, whether you were somebody that would benefit more from attending a presentation and a breakout session, or from having a casual chat in the exhibit hall. I know that even just walking from the exhibit hall to my room, I passed parents in the hallways having conversations. It struck me that they had maybe just even met and maybe were in a session together and realized they had some shared experiences and were just chatting. So I think there was that in itself as a resource. So I think it’s something that works. It’s condensed. You can get anything that you’re looking for. It meets you where you’re at. You can take as much from it as you want, as little from it as you want, and add in some fun along the way. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yeah, it’s so true. It is fun. I mean, it’s where else in the world can you hear somebody, while sessions are going on, walking through the hallway going, “Did anyone lose a pink phone?” Diane Dempster You know, there’s just it’s a conference with a lost and found. That was one of the things they were highlighting. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yeah. There’s kind of a need for a lost and found. So one of the things that happened at this conference was Diane and I got recognized for the work of Impact. And part of the reason we were able to bring you in was because of that. And so I’d love your take on what it was like to see the impact of Impact. Like, you guys are the ones behind the scenes making it all happen, doing so much work that nobody ever recognizes. I mean, we try to, but, you know. What was it like to see the impact of the work you’ve been doing all these years? And I don’t know if you can see if you’re not watching you can see the right, both of them. Natasha Skanes Yeah. Yeah. it’s really kind of hard to put into words. I will start by saying that I was filled with so much gratitude for being able to be there and be a part of that with you guys, but to also experience firsthand the impact of Impact. And for me, I will say that that started before the ceremony even took place where you guys were presented with the award. Just watching people come up to you guys and greet you, whether it was parents in the community, other partners in the community. Just realizing the impact that you guys have on so many people in so many different capacities, and then in the ceremony itself I know I’ve mentioned this to you guys before, Elaine. You had a part of your acceptance speech where you asked everybody in the hall to put up their hands if they have been touched by Impact ADHD or Impact Parents at any point. And watching the number of hands go up was truly moving. It’s pretty incredible to see that many people and to feel a part of something that has impacted, in a positive way, so many people’s lives. It makes me feel truly lucky to be a part of this team. Britney Seago Yeah, agreed. I know I’m bummed. I was videoing the ceremony. I did not get to see all the hands go up. I know all the hands in front of me went up, but I did not get to turn around and see. And I wish we could have captured that because, like what Nat said, there were so many people in there that put their hands up to that. And just the amount of people that I mean, we could not walk from one end of the hotel to the other end of the hotel in less than 30 minutes with the amount of people that were stopping to want to talk to you guys like that. It’s just amazing. You guys have built this extraordinary community. Natasha Skanes Even just on our we Britt and I called them our press badges. Britney Seago Yes. Natasha Skanes But we all had conference name tags, and we were pretending they were our press badges. And on our conference name tags, it said that we were from Impact Parents. And even when we weren’t with you, Elaine and Diane, and people would stop and look at our name and say, “Oh my gosh, you’re a part of Impact Parents.” You could see that they were there was just a connection immediately when they found out that we were part of the team. And they were really eager to meet us, get to know us, find out what we did for the team. So yeah, you definitely immediately felt like I felt like I already know I’m part of something special, but to see it firsthand was, yeah Amazing. Britney Seago Pretty amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Elaine Taylor-Klaus And I loved getting to watch the two of you. We had this one night where we were hanging out. Diane, I think you had already called it a night. Wisely. Wise in that moment. And I was listening to the two of you talking. The way you described it was you were saying to somebody else we share a brain. And watching the two of you talk about how you work together as a team and how you support the team here, I was thinking a lot about the kind of neuro-informed way that we operate as a team. We recognize how each other’s brains work, and we accommodate for that, and we give each other space for that. And so before I know we have to start wrapping soon but does that bring up anything for either of you? Natasha Skanes I say this all the time. I could not imagine doing this without Britt. She is the other half of my brain. Even better than being able to do something that I realize more and more every day has such a positive impact on this world even better than that is getting to do that with a team of people that I love and respect so much. And having Britt as my sidekick, my partner in crime every single day, I couldn’t ask for anything better. And there are some days where I am a little down or feeling overwhelmed, and she’ll tell me she can’t do something because she has to go wash her hair, and I am laughing. All is well in the world again. So yeah, super lucky. Love Britt to pieces. Wouldn’t want to be doing this with anybody else on the planet. Britney Seago Elaine Taylor-Klaus Well, and what you’re saying makes me realize that I don’t think we consciously I know that Diane, when we started, we were very conscious about wanting a conscious company, right? We wanted a conscious workplace. And I think what you’re describing is that the thing about the coach approach is that we use it everywhere. It’s in all of our dynamics, in all of our relationships. And as those of you who are in the community who are listening to this, you know, you’ve gone through Sanity School, you’ve read the book, you’ve done group coaching, whatever you’ve done. All of those tools and techniques and concepts and skills apply everywhere in our lives. And when we use them, when we bring them to the workplace, it makes for such a more nourishing experience at work, right? Diane Dempster Definitely does. I can’t say how many times people say there’s nothing like working with coaches. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yeah, that’s true. Diane Dempster There’s nothing like it. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Completely. Yeah. Kathy used to say that all the time. So we need to start wrapping this conversation. What are the parting messages that we want to share with people as we wrap up this podcast? Natasha Skanes If you have the chance to attend the conference in the future, take it. I hope to be able to go back one day. As I said, I definitely feel like I met my people. And getting that time I’ve come back with my cup built up. I feel energized, inspired, motivated to tackle some new projects and whatever’s coming next. So yeah, I think just find your community. Attend the conference. Stay connected. Stay talking. Stay playing, because that was a theme. I think that’s part of what our team does so well. We work hard, but we play hard, and we’re kind and take moments of compassion and love with each other. And I saw that there too. So yeah, I think those are my final thoughts. Diane Dempster So in the show notes, we’ll have a link to the ADHD conference website. Depending on when you’re listening to this, there’ll be a link either to the online version which will be not quite as fun, but equally informative and connecting. That’s in February 2026. And in December technically December of 2026 the conference is in Baltimore, Maryland, and we would love to see you there, as I’m sure we’ll be there. Elaine Taylor-Klaus We are always there. Diane Dempster Anything you would close with? Elaine Taylor-Klaus That was you. Diane Dempster Oh, I’m sorry. Natasha Skanes Britt’s washing your hair. Britney Seago Yeah, I’m washing my hair. No, I mean, I would agree with Nat. Definitely try to attend the conference. I mean, the amount of people in the community it’s really something special. And like Nat said, you just get that immediate feeling that you belong and that you’re with your people. And I’m pretty sure I said that on Friday night. I gave them a speech about being with my people on Friday night. It may or may not have that recorded. Diane Dempster Well, and I just want to close with, again, just how grateful I am to have the team that we have. I mean, we do work like a finely tuned clock. And having this level of safety it’s just a beautiful thing. A beautiful machine that we have running here. And so I just want to thank both of you and Elaine, and just for what you do to help us do what we do, I guess is what I want to say. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yeah. Well, you know, and as I think about it, one of the things we talk about probably not as much as we could is how privileged we feel to get to do the work we do in the world. Right. When we started Impact, we created a private-sector business for the public good, because we didn’t want to spend our life raising money. So we’re not a nonprofit, but we kind of operate more like a nonprofit than a profit-making business. And so it feels like a privilege to get to serve the community the way that we do with information, with education, with coaching, with training like working with colleagues, working with professionals, working with parents. Like every day we get to bring this gift of the coach approach whatever we call it into the world. And it’s such a gift that we get to do the work that we love in the world, and that we all, as a team, get to do work that really makes a difference in the world. Like that just feels so good. So I’m really grateful to all of you for giving me that gift. Because I wouldn’t be able to do what I get to do if I didn’t have all of us working together to do it. And, you know, as I bring that forward to those of you who are listening, the reminder is to kind of create what you want in the world live the life you want, create the work that makes you feel great. Because when you do, it just elevates everything in your lives. And as you’ve got these complex kids and you’re worried and you’re concerned and all of those things, the more that we can help them find their gift and play to their strengths, the more likely they will be to grow up to find a place where they feel like they belong. Diane Dempster Can I add to that? Well, as I was listening to you say that, I was thinking back to why we started Impact. And I don’t think this is if you go back and listen to our initial podcast episode, we probably talked about this but both Elaine and I come from a public health background. And part of what we did the first time we really sat down and said, “What do we want to do?” was ask, “What was missing in this community?” And 15 years ago, what was missing in this community was really focused support for parents. And so we said, “Well, how do we step into that? How do we give parents something that we didn’t have when our kids were first diagnosed, or first identified, or whatever when we first started struggling?” And if I look now at the supports that are there and the number of coaches and parent coaches and all kinds of flavors of coaches I think that’s the piece. Can we inspire that? If you see a need, fill a need. If you see a need, step into it and figure out how to even if it’s just a baby step and a contribution make it happen, you know? Elaine Taylor-Klaus Well, you know, thank you for that, Diane, because what I’m reminded of is when we were talking at the conference when we got the Hall of Fame award part of what I was talking to people about was exactly that. Like 15 years ago, we didn’t really know each other. We didn’t know anybody there. We hadn’t really started anything. We had an idea, we leaned in, and you know the impact cascaded. And so the message I want to bring out to all of you parents and professionals is really to follow the dream and keep pushing and driving yourself if you’re impassioned by it. Because a lot of these things take time. It’s that “gradually, then suddenly.” And then suddenly you look and you go, “Wow, it’s been 15 years,” and you look back and see what you’ve created. You know, we started off wanting to create a workshop together. Natasha Skanes So you’ve come a long way since then. Elaine Taylor-Klaus Yeah. Yeah, exactly. All right, folks. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for listening. Take a moment. Ask yourself: what are you taking away from this? What made this last half hour something that brought you hope or joy or insight or awareness? And, uh, thanks for what you’re doing for yourself and for your kids. You make a huge difference, and thanks for being part of our world and helping us get to do this amazing work that we get to do. Download a free tipsheet, "10 Tips for Calm & Confident Parenting." Use the coach-approach to change the tone in your home or classroom -- starting now!
What to expect in this episode:
Article continues below...
Want to Go from Chaos to Calm?
What Happens At The International ADHD Conference
Find Parenting with Impact on your Favorite Player:
https://impactparents.com/parenting-with-impact
https://impactparents.com/adhd-can-help-you-succeed-in-unexpected-ways-with-ari-tuckman
“Cognitive Ergonomics from the Inside Out” – A New ADHD InterventionOur Discussion
Walked into the hotel, right? It’s just sort of there’s like and I think, Britt, we should share the, picture collage thing that you did. Like, we can put that in the show notes or have that be the featured image or something so people can see it. But you walk into this big, giant hotel we were in Kansas City and there’s this sign that says A D H D 2025, and it was it was just this sort of warm and welcome and it just, you know oh wow, we’re here. And part of what makes this conference amazing is that there are a lot of people that have been supporting this community for as long as we’ve been in this community for 15 years. But there’s a group of people that have been around like we have for a really long time, and then there’s, you know, just this community they don’t know you.
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. Nat is the better half of my brain. She’s always spot on with everything and fills in the gaps. And I think our team works so well together because we all know where we need support. And if I drop a ball, I know one of you is right there to pick it up before it hits the ground. And that’s the biggest thing. This team is just awesome. We all have each other’s backs, and I think that’s the most important thing.Want to Go from Chaos to Calm?
Find Parenting with Impact on your Favorite Player:
Amazon Music | iHeart | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | Youtube