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167: Happiness Tools for ADHD Families with Matt O’Neill

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Release Date: 07/17/2025

194: Minerals & ADHD Explained with Caroline Alan show art 194: Minerals & ADHD Explained with Caroline Alan

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Most parents are told ADHD lives only in the brain, but what if the real issue starts much deeper? In this episode, we explore a powerful and often overlooked driver of ADHD symptoms: mineral depletion at the cellular level. You’ll hear why calm, focus, sleep, and emotional regulation are literally built from minerals and how many kids are trying to regulate big emotions while running on empty batteries. Dana Kay is joined by Caroline Alan, co-founder of Beam Minerals and author of The Mineral Reset, to break down complex biology into parent-friendly language. Caroline explains how minerals...

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Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Many parents worry that talking about sex, boundaries, consent, or online exposure will open doors too early—but real-world clinical experience shows the opposite. In this episode, Logan McIlwain explains why ongoing, everyday conversations actually reduce risky behavior and help kids feel safer turning to their parents instead of the internet. Dana Kay brings a deeply personal perspective as a mom of a teen and a tween, naming the fear so many parents quietly carry: “Am I too early… or already too late?” Logan gently dismantles the pressure to get it perfect and replaces it with a...

info_outline 192: Screen Time Meltdowns in ADHD Kids with Sondra Bakinde and Mariana Gordon show art 192: Screen Time Meltdowns in ADHD Kids with Sondra Bakinde and Mariana Gordon

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

A child can appear calm on a screen and unravel seconds after it turns off. That reaction isn’t bad behavior or poor discipline — it’s a nervous system crash driven by dopamine, overstimulation, and an abrupt loss of regulation. In this episode of The Soaring Child Podcast, Dana Kay sits down with Sondra Bakinde and Mariana Gordon, co-founders of Mindful Mantis, to unpack what’s really happening in a child’s brain and body during screen time. They explain why screens activate the sympathetic nervous system, how dopamine crashes trigger fight-flight-freeze responses, and why kids with...

info_outline 191: Overcoming Parental PTSD: Lara’s Story show art 191: Overcoming Parental PTSD: Lara’s Story

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Imagine sitting on your front porch, enjoying a quiet moment after school drop-off, only to suddenly find yourself in the grip of a panic attack—not because something went wrong, but because nothing went wrong. For Lara, this was the reality of parental PTSD. After years of daily phone calls, school expulsions, and crisis management, her nervous system had forgotten how to feel safe in the calm. In this emotional episode, Lara shares her family’s incredible journey from “survival mode” to thriving. She opens up about her son Oliver, who was once on three different medications and...

info_outline 190: Executive Function Skills for ADHD Kids with Hannah Bookbinder show art 190: Executive Function Skills for ADHD Kids with Hannah Bookbinder

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

What if the biggest struggle your child faces isn’t motivation at all, but a hidden set of brain-based skills that help them start tasks, stay organized, manage time, regulate emotions, and follow through? These are executive function skills  and for kids with ADHD, they can feel nearly impossible to access. In this episode of The Soaring Child Podcast, Dana Kay welcomes executive function expert Hannah Bookbinder, a licensed social worker and educator with almost 30 years of experience helping ADHD kids build these skills in practical, meaningful ways. Hannah explains what executive...

info_outline 189: 3 ADHD Podcasts Every Parent Needs to Hear show art 189: 3 ADHD Podcasts Every Parent Needs to Hear

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

If you’re trying to support your child with ADHD naturally and feel overwhelmed by where to start, this episode is for you. ADHD health practitioner Dana Kay shares the three podcast episodes every parent should listen to first. She explains exactly where she would send you if you were sitting together over coffee asking one simple question: “Where do I even start?” Dana breaks down why understanding what’s really driving ADHD is the foundation, why traditional ADHD treatments don’t always lead to lasting change, and why hearing another parent’s real journey can shift everything....

info_outline 188: Homeschooling ADHD Kids: How to Build Education That Fits with Leslee Dirnberger show art 188: Homeschooling ADHD Kids: How to Build Education That Fits with Leslee Dirnberger

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Let’s be honest,  public school wasn’t designed for kids with ADHD. Too often, these kids are labeled, misunderstood, and pushed into systems that don’t fit how their brains learn best. But what if the problem isn’t your child, but the system itself? In this episode of The Soaring Child Podcast, host Dana Kay, ADHD health practitioner and founder of the ADHD Thrive Method for Kids speaks with Leslie Dernberger, founder of Aspire Education, mom of four, and one of the nation’s leading experts in K–12 education for neurodiverse learners. Drawing on her legal background and over...

info_outline 187: Is It Normal or Is It ADHD? with Dana Kay show art 187: Is It Normal or Is It ADHD? with Dana Kay

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Is it normal…or is it ADHD? That’s the question that keeps so many parents of neurodivergent kids up at night, especially when old behaviors resurface after months or years of progress.  In this episode of The Soaring Child podcast, Dana Kay, board certified holistic health and nutrition practitioner, 2X international bestselling author, and mom of a child with ADHD, opens up about the emotional whiplash that can come with raising a neurodiverse child.  She shares what it’s like to second-guess every behavior, even the ones that might just be typical childhood moments. Tune...

info_outline 186: Repairing Parent-Child Connections with Ashley Gobeil show art 186: Repairing Parent-Child Connections with Ashley Gobeil

Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

What if the words you speak in frustration are slowly eroding the relationship you most want to protect? In this deeply honest episode, Dana Kay welcomes back Ashley Gobeil, our resident child and family therapist, to explore how parents can repair, reconnect, and rebuild trust after conflict. Ashley shares why ADHD behaviors are rooted in nervous-system dysregulation and why healing begins when parents learn to co-regulate and model emotional accountability. Together, they unpack why traditional reward and punishment systems backfire, how to set firm yet compassionate boundaries, and what...

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Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD

Ultra-processed food isn’t just junk. It’s engineered to hijack kids’ brains, emotions, and habits. But what happens when kids themselves decide to fight back? In this powerful episode of The Soaring Child Podcast, host Dana Kay sits down with four inspiring brothers,  Abdullah, Zain, Emaad, and Qasim Ansari, known as The Holistic Kids. They are leading a wellness revolution for their generation. These young changemakers, ages 10 to 17, have ditched junk food, launched their own health podcast, and co-authored The Teen Health Revolution, a guidebook helping kids reclaim their...

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In this episode of The Soaring Child Podcast, host Dana Kay sits down with happiness expert Matt O’Neill to explore one of the most transformative—but often overlooked—tools in parenting: cultivating happiness from the inside out. As a father of four, author, and the creator of The Good Mood Revolution podcast, Matt shares actionable insights into how happiness isn't just a fleeting feeling, but a skill that can be built—even in the chaos of daily life with ADHD. From managing meltdowns to reframing negative emotions like fear, overwhelm, and guilt, Matt offers science-backed strategies to help parents shift their perspective and become the steady, joyful presence their children need.

Dana and Matt dive into real-world challenges many families face—from job loss and emotional exhaustion to the feeling of being stuck in a loop of negativity—and how small mindset shifts can create profound change. With personal stories, spiritual grounding, and practical techniques like emotional journaling and daily gratitude, this conversation will leave you empowered to embrace the beauty in the hard moments and lead your family with more love, compassion, and resilience. Dana Kay, founder of the ADHD Thrive Institute and a dedicated functional health practitioner, brings her signature warmth and wisdom to another heart-centered conversation that parents won’t want to miss.

Links Mentioned in the Show: 

Key Takeaways:

[2:20] Meet Matt O’Neill
[3:42] Is Happiness a Skill?
[5:20] The Role of Perspective in Parenting
[6:08] The Eight Core Negative Emotions
[8:22] How to Shift from Overwhelm to Acceptance
[10:55] Reframing Stories to Reduce Stress
[13:40] Daily Habits to Cultivate Joy
[36:37] The Power of Gratitude and Self-Love[37:50] Final Thoughts and Resources

Memorable Moments:

"Happiness is completely a skill."

"It's our happiness that changes their behavior, in my opinion."

"Acceptance heals all wounds—it’s not time."

"The story I’m telling myself is, this is really hard."

"Gratitude is the gateway drug to happiness."

"Overwhelm is just another word for hopelessness."

"My job is to fill my cup."

"Stress becomes toxic when we lose hope that the future is going to be bright."

"There’s no one else inside of you that’s making choices about how you feel."

"Rome was not built in a day. Let’s think about today."

How to Connect with Matt O’Neill

Dana Kay Resources:

🔗WEBSITES:

  • https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/

  • https://dana-kay.com/

👋SOCIALS:

  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADHDThriveInstitute/

  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/

  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adhd-thrive-institute/mycompany/

  • Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/adhdthriveinstitute/

  • Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute

📕INTERNATIONAL  BEST SELLING BOOK:

  • Thriving with ADHD – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/

💻FREE MASTERCLASS

  • Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass - https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl

⭐COURSES & PROGRAMS

  • ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd

  • ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/