The Executive Function Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Hey Team,

I remember reading a sentence that changed my brain forever: childhood is the only time we're expected to be good at everything. Think about it. As an adult, you likely engineer your life (at least work life) to avoid things that are more difficult or boring. Don't like chem? Don't become a chemist!

But in childhood, we ask students to be competent in every subject and skill. This is a big demand. Add executive dysfunction to the mix, and it's a wonder our kids and teens keep pushing to attend school!

Executive function needs can manifest as apathy and disengagement (It's safer to break up with school before school breaks up with us, right?)
Students are absent from school at the highest rates in history. And instead of blaming them or assuming they "don't care," we can start to think and act differently. Dr Dennis shows us how on this week's show!

All my love, team!

Sarah

Connect with me!

My book is out in the wild, and it's changing lives! Order Growing Executive Function at ⁠Solution Tree ⁠or on ⁠Amazon⁠.

I'm also training educators and organizations across this beautiful globe, and we're finding improving executive function is game-changing! If that sounds like what your school or organization needs, ⁠reach out⁠! Sarah at sarahkesty.com.

About Our Guest: Dr. Dennis Lefevre has spent more than 30 years helping young people succeed in school, at home, and in the community.

With extensive experience as a General Education Teacher, a Special Education Teacher, an Educational Therapist, a School & Educational Psychologist, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and a School- and District-level Administrator, Dr. Dennis has had the opportunity to work in a variety of public, non-public, and private school settings with thousands of preschool, elementary, and secondary students – many facing serious academic, social-emotional, and behavioral challenges.

This comprehensive background has made Dr. Dennis uniquely qualified to provide effective supports to struggling children and adolescents, as well as practical, yet compassionate guidance for their parents and teachers.

Hi, Team!

We're backwards this week, but not in the "hidden message when you play the track backwards" way. Dr Blaise Aguirre, a guest from episode 63, interviews me! After reading my book, Growing Executive Function, the doctor and author of many impactful books explores what he found interesting in my writing. I'm excited to share this side of my life with you, team! And many thanks to Dr Aguirre for his lovely interview!

All my love,

Sarah

PS If you want your very own copy of my book, Growing Executive Function, you can find it here.

And, if you'd like to learn more about Dr Aguirre's work, including his many books, check this out.

Hey, Team!

Most of the time, we tend to avoid what we fear, and this works okay...until it doesn't. Kris Jennings, author and change leader, teaches us how to both manage and grow from fear.

Having struggles with executive function can mean feeling stressed by and possibly fearful of heavy cognitive tasks or life transitions. On the flipside, when fear takes over our brains, it can be hard to use our executive function! Fear is an important consideration when we're growing executive function.

Living with PTSD, Kris knows fear well and has developed tools and perspectives to use her fear as fuel for growth and living a meaningful life. On the show, Kris shares practical ways to befriend your fear as well as her executive function hacks for writing.

I think you'll love our conversation! Let me know what you think.

All my love,

Sarah

Find Kris:

Website

Buy "Inspired By Fear"

About Kris:

I help change agents and leaders learn how to make organizational change faster and easier by growing their influence.

I pursue my passions for health and creativity by exploring new places several times a year. My recent trips include swimming the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia with my oldest son, making encaustic art in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, yoga in the jungle of Costa Rica, and beautiful southern France with my husband. Wherever we go, we eat well! (Food is art + love.) 

Writing will always be a core part of how I share my expertise. Read about making change easier in my book, subscribe to receive articles, or connect on social media.

Join me in making change in our world more positive for humans. 🧡

Mentioned in the show:

Box breath video

Calm Strips

Connect with Sarah!

My book is out in the wild, and it's changing lives! Order Growing Executive Function at ⁠Solution Tree ⁠or on ⁠Amazon⁠.

I'm also training educators across this beautiful globe, and we're finding improving students' executive function is game-changing! Improved behaviors, attendance, learning...big, surprising impacts (even to me, who loves this stuff!) If that sounds like what your school or child's school needs, ⁠reach out⁠! Sarah at sarahkesty.com. #executiveFunction, #change, #fear, #leader, #adhd, #neurodivergent, #inspiration, #neurodiversity

Team,

Autism is on the news, tv, and social media a lot, and much of the conversation is aimed at helping people understand autism. Sol Smith helps fill in a missing piece: helping autistic people understand themselves. We talk on the show all the time about how executive dysfunction and being neurodivergent are not a character flaws, but people often feel as if they are. Sol's conversation on the show and his book, The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery, help untangle and identify the self-perceptions that are untrue and unhelpful, replacing them with self-acceptance and tools that actually work. There are some funny moments that you might find very relatable, too!

All my love,

Sarah

PS My book is out in the wild, and it's changing lives! Order Growing Executive Function at ⁠Solution Tree ⁠or on ⁠Amazon⁠.

I'm also training organizations and educators across this beautiful globe, and we're finding improving executive function is game-changing! Improved student behaviors, attendance, learning...big, surprising impacts (even to me, who loves this stuff!) If that sounds like what your school, organization, or child's school needs, ⁠reach out⁠! Sarah at sarahkesty.com.

Connect with Sol:

TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@bettersol  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprofessorsol 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solsmith  

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@professor_sol  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-smith-mfa-eds-ms-cas-7955364 

Sol Smith is the author of The Autistic’s Guide to Self-Discovery and of the manager of the Neurospicy Community, which is the largest support network for autistics and ADHDers in the world.  A certified autism specialist who is autistic, dyslexic, and living with ADHD. He spent more than two decades as a college professor before shifting his professional focus to coaching other autistic and ADHD people to gain autonomy in their lives. Sol’s speaking skills have earned him a following of hundreds of thousands on TikTok and led to educational seminars about neurodiversity with corporations around the world. He lives in Southern California with his wife and four children and you can find him online at http://www.ProfessorSol.com.

Here’s a link to his book on Amazon:  https://a.co/d/dO0dUh6

#autism, #ExecutiveFunction, #AdultAutism, #AuDHD, #college, #NeuroSpicy, #Neurodiversity

Hey Team!

Dr. Ari Tuckman is a real-life hero to me. His latest book, The ADHD Productivity Manual, is like a pep talk meets a strategy session. He gets ADHD, and he gets human brains. You'll love this episode, where we talk perspectives and tools to make life smoother.

All my love to you,

Sarah

Ari Tuckman's ⁠website⁠ and to ⁠order his books⁠Learn about the CHADD/ International ADHD conference here

Connect with me!

My book is out, in the wild, and it's changing lives! Order Growing Executive Function at ⁠Solution Tree ⁠or on ⁠Amazon⁠.

I'm also training educators across this beautiful globe, and we're finding improving students' executive function is game-changing! Improved behaviors, attendance, learning...big, surprising impacts (even to me, who loves this stuff!) If that sounds like what your school or child's school needs, ⁠reach out⁠! Sarah at sarahkesty.com. More about Ari:

I love doing therapy, presenting, writing, and volunteering. And I’m really lucky to have such great people to do it with—my clients who do the hard work, the friends I present with, the podcast hosts who create fascinating conversations, and the fellow volunteers who help organize one of the biggest ADHD conferences of the year. It’s important work that’s easy to motivate for.

I say that ADHD doesn’t create new problems; it just exacerbates the universal ones. We all sometimes get distracted, procrastinate, misplace our keys, feel misunderstood, and doubt ourselves. Targeted strategies can make all the difference, whether about managing your time or navigating a difficult negotiation with your partner. And also, none of us need to be perfect in order to live a meaningful life and feel good about ourselves, so we also work on being OK with the parts of ourself or our situation that won’t change.

A brave life means being willing to take risks (but only wise ones) and also having the courage to accept the imperfections in ourselves and others. --Ari Tuckman

#ADHD, #executivefunction, #autism, #productivity, #timemanagement, #therapy, #CHADD, #ADD

Hi team,

You might call it an "ADHD" or "Executive Dysfunction tax." The very real experience of executive function challenges costing money is frustrating. Late fees, forgotten payments, impulse buys...these might even be topics you don't want to approach because they're overwhelming and possibly shameful.

That's where   registered investment advisor, wealth manager, and thought leader Elizabeth Husserl comes in. We talk about the tough stuff, the money stuff, and give you new perspectives and tools. Her book, The Power of Enough: Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Money, is full of resources, stories, and gentle support, to help you heal your approach to money and celebrate the areas in life where you have SO much wealth.

All my love to you, team,

Sarah

More about Elizabeth: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.husserl/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethhusserl/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethhusserl
Visit her online at http://www.elizabethhusserl.com.

Get her book here or at your favorite book store.

Connect with me!

My book is out, in the wild, and it's changing lives! Order Growing Executive Function at ⁠Solution Tree ⁠or on ⁠Amazon⁠.

I'm also training educators across this beautiful globe, and we're finding improving students' executive function is game-changing! Improved behaviors, attendance, learning...big, surprising impacts (even to me, who loves this stuff!) If that sounds like what your school or child's school needs, ⁠reach out⁠! Sarah at sarahkesty.com. More about the amazing Elizabeth:Elizabeth Husserl is a registered investment advisor representative, financial advisor, and cofounder of Peak360 Wealth Management, a boutique wealth planning firm. She holds a BS in economics from Tulane University and an MA in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she has also taught as an adjunct professor. Her experience spans nonprofit work throughout the Americas, and she is a highly sought-after speaker, having led workshops at major tech companies, including Airbnb, Unity, and Google. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter.#executivefunction #wealth #financialadvising #autism #adhd #autismo #neurodivergent #parenting #wealth

Hi, Team!

You know when you feel overwhelmed or lost and you have (or want) that one friend who can hear you and help you sort things out? That's Debra Levy. In our conversation, we explore self-advocacy, adult ADHD, and why our minds might be like messy closets. (Real talk: we definitely have some chaotic spaces in our household and sometimes in our brains around here, and I'm eager to test out new ideas!) Debra shares some of her favorite strategies and client wins. I left our conversation with new perspectives, analogies, and most importantly, hope!

All my love,

Sarah

From the show:

Debra's original episode with us was #49 on Spotify and Apple

JAN Job Accommodation Network: askjan.org

Find Debra at:

www.alifethatfits.com
debralevy@alifethatfits.com
732-688-3060
https://twitter.com/alifethatfits
https://www.instagram.com/alifethatfitscoaching/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/debraslevy/
https://www.facebook.com/alifethatfitscoaching/Connect with me!

My book is out, in the wild, and it's changing lives! Order Growing Executive Function at Solution Tree or on Amazon.

I'm also training educators across this beautiful globe, and we're finding improving students' executive function is game-changing! Improved behaviors, attendance, learning...big, surprising impacts (even to me, who loves this stuff!) If that sounds like what your school or child's school needs, reach out: Sarah at sarahkesty.com.

Hey Team!

By now you've probably come to realize that being different isn't wrong, and that's certainly true for our students! Sometimes the traditional school model is out of synch with what our students need,--a challenge we meet with accommodations, learning plans, and sometimes changing schools. Today on the show, we'll hear from one model of schooling, Fusion Academy. Administrator Samantha Lettin explores her strengths and struggles as a leader and celebrates the different ways students can learn.

Sending you all my love,

Sarah

Audience: everyone, particularly parents of neurodivergent kids

Team,

Meet my new friend, Allison Robertson, who you may know her from The Accountant 2 . What you might not know is that Allison's journey is one to celebrate and learn from. Allison reminds us that what you see on the outside, in this moment--a successful actor, filmmaker, singer, and model-- may reflect years of messy growth and self-discovery. I know that her perspectives and strategies will help each of you!

Allison's short film, Love Transparent, is linked below :)

All my love to you, team,

Sarah

The film: https://youtu.be/YJUEDL4VZSA

Interview with director: https://youtu.be/aw4OV7Ft1a4

About Allison: IMBD

Audience: all ages and brains :)

Team,

When I met Steve at the TACA convention, I realized that Love on the Spectrum captured his awesomeness well--but not in its entirety. Steve is thoughtful, upbeat, and, well, full of Love!

On our show, Steve and explore the experience of being different, how we can look to artists for examples of being true to their "weird" selves, and our shared distain for competition. (Yes, I lose the ball in pickleball because I'm watching other players' faces.) Get ready to fill your heart with Steve's message to all of us!

All my love,

Sarah

TACA: The Autism Community in Action. Learn more here

Netflix's Love on the Spectrum (Steve is featured in seasons one and two)