351: ADHD in Kids: Why Understanding Their Brain Changes Everything, with Cate Osborn & Erik Gude

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of understanding ADHD in children and its impact on their identity and emotional well-being.

There’s a quiet kind of harm that happens when a child doesn’t understand their own brain. It doesn’t show up all at once. Instead, it builds over time as confusion, shame, and the belief that something is “wrong” with them. In this conversation, I sit down with two amazing ADHD adults, Cate Osborn and Erik Gude, to unpack what it really means to grow up with ADHD, and why understanding it early can change everything. We talk about the very real impact of diagnosis, not as a label, but as a path to self-understanding, support, and safety. Cate shares the long-term emotional toll she sees in adults who weren’t diagnosed or informed as kids, while Erik brings the perspective of being diagnosed young and navigating what that meant for his identity. Together, they offer a balanced, compassionate look at why knowing your brain matters. We also dive into masking — how it shows up in ADHD, why it’s so exhausting, and how finding your people can change everything. There’s so much hope here, especially when we talk about building community, normalizing conversations about neurodivergence, and helping our kids feel less alone in their experience. This episode also goes deeper into topics…

People in this episode

Host: Penny Williams

Guests: Cate Osborn, Erik Gude

Topics covered

• ADHD
• child development
• neurodivergence
• self-understanding
• parenting
• community support

Keywords

• ADHD
• children
• diagnosis
• self-esteem
• neurodiversity
• masking
• community
• parenting

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