Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Carder.
Hi Kristen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 21, I was given a prescription (which helped) and sent on my way. I knew absolutely nothing about ADHD – what it meant to have ADHD and how it impacted my life. Medication improved my life, for sure, but it didn’t solve every issue I was struggling with.
Fast-forward 10 years and I was tutoring students who struggled in school, and attracting many ADHD clients (with ADHD parents). In an effort to help them, I became obsessed with learning everything I could about ADHD, and finally began to understand how it impacted MY life. This was a pivotal moment.
I started the *I Have ADHD Podcast* simply to share what I was learning and to help other adults feel less alone. I had no idea it would grow into a community of millions of downloads and thousands of coaching clients around the world.
I invested deeply in my own growth through coaching, therapy, education, and treatment. Along the way, I earned two coaching certifications, including a trauma-informed coaching certification, because I wanted to support adults with ADHD in a way that was both evidence-informed and deeply compassionate.
Today, I’m the founder of FOCUSED, an ADHD coaching membership that has served more than 5,000 adults with ADHD. I’ve had the privilege of speaking at organizations like SpaceX, training therapists, and appearing on podcasts including *Harvard Business Review’s Women at Work*. But the work I’m most proud of is helping people with ADHD stop believing they’re broken and start building lives that actually work for their brains.
In May of 2025 I signed a book deal with DK (a division of Penguin Random House) and my forthcoming book You’re Not In Trouble: The ADHD Guide to Healthy, Connected Relationships will be released in October of this year. This book feels like the culmination of my journey. It’s less about “how to manage ADHD” and more about helping people build secure, connected lives. The central message is that ADHD explains a lot, but healing comes through acceptance, self-compassion, emotional maturity, and relational safety.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
How much time do you have?! Of course there were millions of small and large struggles along the way. Mostly, my own brain getting in my way. It’s hard to navigate life with ADHD, and even harder to work, be a business owner, create a company, be consistent in my podcasting, newsletters, and social posting, etc. The hardest challenges for me have been relational – figuring how to lead a team, work with people who are different from me, keep clients happy without people-pleasing, parent 3 kids while keeping my focus on work (balancing is tough) and working through lots of extended family drama while trying to stay sane at work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The I Have ADHD has consistently been the highest-rated podcast on Apple Podcasts for 6 years, with 2,900 ratings on both Apple and Spotify. I’ve published over 400 episodes since 2019 and in 2020 launched FOCUSED, an ADHD coaching membership for adults.
I am known for:
-A trauma-informed, shame-free approach to ADHD.
-Teaching emotional regulation as a foundational ADHD skill, not an optional add-on.
-Helping adults build self-trust instead of relying on shame, urgency, or self-criticism.
-Explaining ADHD through a neurological and relational lens rather than a moral one. It’s not about laziness or lack of character.
-Translating complex neuroscience and psychology into practical, actionable tools that ADHD brains can actually use.
-Talking openly about topics many ADHD educators overlook, including childhood trauma, masking, nervous system regulation, relationships, and self-compassion.
-Blending research-backed education with coaching that’s deeply empathetic, direct, and immediately applicable.
-Focusing on lasting behavior change rather than productivity hacks or “life hacks.”
What does success mean to you?
I define success as fulfilling the calling I have on my life to be a wife, mother, and advocate for adults with ADHD. Being able to use my time the way I want to, not being forced to clock into a job that feels meaningless. Changing the world through my relationships with adults with ADHD across the globe.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ihaveadhd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.have.adhd.podcast/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ihaveadhd.podcast
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@I.have.adhd.podcast
