Hyperfocus with Rae Jacobson

Your smartwatch tracks your steps and your pulse. Soon, devices like it could track your brainwaves, and even tell if the wearer is neurodivergent.

Brain-monitoring wearables that purport to help with focus, sleep, and even ADHD are already being sold online. This is called “neurotechnology,” and it’s a fast-moving market with almost zero regulation. Stephen Damianos of the Neurorights Foundation joins us to unpack the potential promise — and dangers — of this emerging technology. We discuss the unique risks it poses for neurodivergent people, and why your brain data might be the most valuable, and least protected, information you own.

For more on this topic

Explore: The Neurorights Foundation

Watch: Is “ring of fire” ADHD real?

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.
Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Many people with inattentive ADHD feel like something is missing from their diagnosis. That missing piece might be cognitive disengagement syndrome, or CDS: a cluster of symptoms including daydreaming, confusion, daytime sleepiness, and more.

CDS isn’t officially its own disorder. But scientists and clinicians are beginning to recognize it as something distinct from ADHD — though it often overlaps.

Pediatric psychologist Melissa Miller explains how CDS differs from ADHD, what it looks like, and why it’s linked to anxiety and depression. She also shares early research on treatment, plus the strengths that may come with it.

For more on this topic

Listen: The “devastating” findings of a decades-long ADHD study

Watch: Why people with ADHD quit therapy (and how to make it work for you)

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.
Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

ADHD can create all kinds of challenges in the workplace. Like a list of infinite things to do and to remember. A busy, ever-changing schedule. And co-workers who don’t always know what’s going on in your mind. 

There’s a lot to figure out. But recently, Rae Jacobson found herself wondering what it's like on the other side — to manage someone who’s neurodivergent and still figuring it out. 

So, Rae called her former boss, Caroline Miller, the editorial director of the Child Mind Institute. 

On this episode of Hyperfocus, Rae and Caroline go over this question and Caroline shares some advice on ADHD at work — for employees and managers alike. 

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

Note: This episode originally aired on November 7, 2024.

Related resources

“Masking my ADHD at work was exhausting, so I stopped”

Workplace supports: A guide for employees 

3 big myths (and truths) about workplace accommodations

How to ask for a workplace accommodation  

 

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.
Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fidget toys, like NeeDohs, are sold out and  banned in classrooms. Journalist Anna North joins us to unpack how fidget toys went from gag gifts to a generational obsession, and what that shift reveals about neurodivergence, attention, and play. Plus, fidget toys are not just for kids. We look at how they are destigmatizing fidgeting for neurodivergent adults. And we dig into the science behind fidgeting, the history of the fidget spinner, and whether this wave of acceptance for sensory needs will survive. 

For more on this topic:  

Read: Why your kid is obsessed with squishy toys

Watch: Can I get rid of my adult sensory issues?

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.
Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Finding a therapist is hard. Finding one who actually understands ADHD? That’s a different problem entirely. Clinical psychologist Dr. Michelle Frank, who has ADHD herself, breaks down why people with ADHD struggle to stick with therapy. She looks at everything from the executive function demands of just getting there, to sensory issues, to the rejection sensitivity that makes you think “Does my therapist hate me?!” Plus: How to advocate for yourself in the room, even when your provider doesn’t specialize in ADHD.

For more on this topic

Listen: So... How does that make you feel about your therapist?

Watch: Why people with ADHD can’t sleep (and what actually helps)

Read: A Radical Guide for Women With ADHD, by Sari Solden and Michelle Frank

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.
Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.