The Effects of ADHD on Executive Function

Through a series of fortunate events, I was connected with Nancy Armstrong, who is the Emmy-nominated Executive Producer of "The Disruptors," the first comprehensive documentary about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its effect on kids, adults, and their families. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Nancy to have a conversation about her experience raising her own children who have ADHD and why she wanted to create a comprehensive film to help dispel the myths around ADHD and show the world that ADHD is about so much more than deficits.

When you view the film, you may notice a star-studded cast of actors and other talented individuals. Astronaut Scott Kelly, musician Will.i.am, Paris Hilton, and more share the challenges and successes of living with ADHD. The film also features Dr. Ned Hallowell, a renowned ADHD expert and New York Times best-selling author, who's helped lead the charge on ADHD awareness for decades.

If you’re listening before January 26, 2023, you can watch The Disruptors for free! (Info in the show notes)

Show Notes:

Learn more about “The Disruptors”

Watch “The Disruptors” for free! Use code TDB-BBS. Available from 1/19/23 - 1/26/23.

If you're reading this after January 26th, 2023, click here to find out how to watch.

Learn more about Nancy Armstrong

Download our free ADHD success kit

Contact us!

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Transcript

Hannah Choi 00:04

Hi everyone and welcome to Focus Forward, an executive function Podcast where we explore the challenges and celebrate the wins you'll experience as you change your life by working on improving your executive function skills. I'm your host, Hannah Choi.

Hannah Choi 00:20

Through a series of fortunate events, I was connected with Nancy Armstrong, who is the Emmy-nominated executive producer of a documentary film called The Disruptors. This film is all about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and how it can affect kids, adults and their families. I got to sit down with Nancy and have a conversation about her experience raising her own children who have ADHD, and about why she wanted to do something to help people learn about it, dispel myths about it and show the world that ADHD is about so much more than deficits, even though the name might make you think otherwise. When you view the film, you'll see a star studded cast of actors and other talented individuals. Astronaut Scott Kelly, musician will.i.am, Paris Hilton, and more share the challenges and successes of living with ADHD. Ned Hallowell, a renowned ADHD expert and author shares both his expertise on ADHD and also his personal experience living with it. Even though these people are all famous, their stories are presented in a way that is just so relatable and real to the rest of us. Gosh, you guys, this documentary is really special. Even before I talked with Nancy, I could tell that it was made with the love and attention a topic like this deserves and just hadn't been given yet. Our Podcast Producer, Sean Potts, says he deeply wishes that he had had the opportunity to watch this when he was younger. That film is powerful message is that yes, having ADHD creates challenges and frustration for people. But ADHD is much more than those challenges and frustrations. Many of the very good things in our world are here because of people with ADHD, who had the creativity, the curiosity and the energy to create them. Watching the film. And hearing this message throughout, it reminded me so much of the clients that I've worked with, who have ADHD, and who have created systems to manage the challenges and work to discover the positive sides. So I am so proud and happy to share Nancy's work with you. And I hope you get a chance to watch after listening to our conversation today. And guess what? If you're listening before January 26, 2023, go to the show notes and click on the link to register for access to view The Disruptors for free. There's a code that you'll need to enter to watch. So make sure you get that you can find that listed in the show notes too. If you're listening after January 26. Keep listening to the episode to hear Nancy share where you can find the film or just look in the show notes for those links. Okay, here we go.

Hannah Choi 03:19

Hi, Nancy. Thanks so much for joining me today. My thanks for having me. Could you introduce yourself to our listeners?

Nancy Armstrong 03:26

Sure. I'm Nancy Armstrong. I'm the executive producer of the disruptors.

Hannah Choi 03:30

I just want to tell all of our listeners that you should absolutely watch this documentary, it was just excellent. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It brought tears to my eyes. And it just made me feel so much hope for people with ADHD and their parents. So thank you for for making it.

Nancy Armstrong 03:50

Thank you for saying that. That means the world to me.

Hannah Choi 03:52

Oh, good. So tell me the story of how did you end up being the executive producer of an ADHD documentary?

Nancy Armstrong 04:00

Well, I have three children with ADHD. And my son was definitely my firstborn. And the most challenging. We sort of figured out very early on something unusual was going on with him. We couldn't figure out what it was. He seemed normal, but also incredibly active to the point of us getting kicked out of Mommy and Me class at when he was a toddler. So there were a bunch of signs in the beginning, and we couldn't quite figure out what it was. And then finally, at age eight, he was diagnosed after going through a round of tests, he was diagnosed with ADHD. And that was great that we understood it finally, but that was kind of the beginning of our journey, learning how to manage it, learning how to treat it. Also in that same office, my husband raised his hand and said I have all those symptoms. And the doctor said well, it's genetic. So that was the beginning of our journey and and it was just incredibly difficult going through the K through 12 system and also I had this idea that well, my husband has it. And he was very successful. He had all of the challenges of ADHD. But he also had some pretty impressive, impressive strengths that I didn't even tie to ADHD until I met Ned Hallowell, and talked to him about my son. And he also met my husband, Tim. And he said, Well, you know, all those strings are ADHD too. And we just kind of went, what that's there, everything is tied together. So that was the beginning. And I thought, Man, there should be a documentary on this. And so for 10 years, I waited for someone to make this documentary, and they never made it. And so finally, in 2018, I quit my job and decided to make the film because I knew it could help so many people, not only in this country, but around the world. And that we finally had to reframe ADHD from this deficit disorder model, to something that is two sides of a coin, on the one hand challenges but on the other hand, incredible strengths. And if you can maximize those, it can be a huge asset.

Hannah Choi 06:00

I really loved how, how Ned in in the documentary talked about how, like, let's look at the challenges and then flip them over and see what the what the positive of all of those challenges are. And, and I really loved how he worded that I love him. He's so great. Yeah.

Nancy Armstrong 06:19

Symptoms, you know, it's like every, for every symptom, that is an impediment. Distractibility, impulsivity and hyperactivity, you know, with Ned's analysis is you flip each one of those on its head, and you get a positive. And if you can learn to accelerate those positives, then the negatives will be less prominent, you'll you'll be motivated to be on time to get organized and to do all those things, because you'll want to accelerate your gifts.

Hannah Choi 06:48

Yes, yes, absolutely. And I see that a lot in the clients that I work with as, as an executive function coach, not not all of my clients have ADHD, but the ones that that do, I do notice that when they start to figure that out, they are much more motivated to start using tools and strategies, because they're excited about all these other things that I that I can take advantage of and make happen, it becomes maybe easier to do that. And then it's more, it's less challenging and more rewarding.

Nancy Armstrong 07:18

Yeah, and the more the world understands it that way, rather than looking at a child with ADHD and saying, Oh, you're disorganized, your homeworks not turned in, you're late, you know, all the all of these challenges to be to be addressed in a different way of, Oh, you're very curious, you're very creative, you have a lot of ideas, you have boundless energy, and to sort of approach it that way, and will work on your challenges is much more positive way to go through your formative years, and I think can make a huge difference in outcomes.

Hannah Choi 07:49

Absolutely. And with that confidence, it bringing that confidence piece in if you can not look at it, like from a deficit viewpoint, then that confident you're able to build that confidence back and, and or maybe not build it back, but just build it. And, and then, and then they can go so much farther with that. Yeah, I really like how, how it was addressed in the documentary that unfortunately, it ADHD is named, it brings up the deficit within the name, which is a shame, it's too bad to can't be named something else with the positive in there instead.

Nancy Armstrong 08:26

And we haven't figured that out yet. Yeah, I really tried. Why the will, I am said, Ada. I have my friend Kenny Dichter, who's in the film calls it a 10 Attention Deficit advantage, but really, it's not an it's a deficit of attention. It's really an abundance of attention going in too many directions. So the name is, you know, not only trivializes the diagnosis, but it's also kind of incorrect.

Hannah Choi 08:51

Yeah, I feel like it kind of has, its what typical society, the systems within the society needs, it needs you to in order to function smoothly and properly, it needs you to be able to focus with the appropriate amount on one thing at a time. And so it's it's harder to fit into that system that's, that's built. My family and I were talking about it about it yesterday, and we were saying, and one of my clients said this, too, he you know, he said people with ADHD, and I think it came up with the the son of the boy who likes to go fishing. I can't remember his injuries, maybe a Hogan. Yeah. You know, he, like he they were saying like if he didn't he wasn't living in today's world, then it wouldn't have been a problem. It would have been like a really great benefit. Because and that's what my clients said. He's like, if you're out in the, you know, in the bush, you want someone with ADHD because they're going to notice everything, and they're going to be able to pay attention.

Nancy Armstrong 09:54

Well, that's why people with ADHD are more suited to certain kinds of careers, you know? With high stimulation, so firefighters, ER doctors, you know, newsroom producers, they need environments with a ton of stimulation. It doesn't stress them out, like it might stress out a neurotypical person, it turns them on. So we tried to get as many people in the film in those kinds of careers, you know that we have many, many, well known people from different walks of life, that have used ADHD to their advantage while still managing the downsides. And they all talked about how tough it was going through school growing up. But then they've kind of turned that corner and realized what they were good at. And we're able to accelerate that into an incredible career.

Hannah Choi 10:42

Yeah, I love the variety of people that you had, how did you connect well, with all of them?

Nancy Armstrong 10:46

Some of them we knew. As soon as we got, you know, Hall of Fame astronaut, Scott Kelly on board, you know, everyone wants to be part of that group. So it was extremely helpful when he said yes, and will.i.am said yes right away. So that was incredible and a lot of people. Honestly, Howie Mandel just said, I think it's important. I think this is an important film. So I was surprised at how many people said yes, but I think it was because they knew what the mission of the film was. And they want to reframe ADHD once and for all, and because the world has it wrong, and we need to get it right.

Hannah Choi 11:22

Yes, yes, I agree. I interviewed Bob Shea, who's a children's author who has ADHD. And he felt the same way. He was really happy to talk about his challenges. He was diagnosed as an adult, he was really happy to talk about his challenges, because he is for the same reason. Yeah. So did creating the documentary change anything for ADHD, about ADHD? For you, I mean, your experience change?

Nancy Armstrong 11:46

Well, I think it's funny. First of all, I will say the experiences are all universal. And that was really surprising to me that as we interviewed all of these families, it was the same story of our family. So it is interesting, it's a real community and the same story of all the public personalities that spoke so everyone has had this sort of shared universal experience that they don't know, it feels very isolating, like, you're the only one going through it. And you're the only one having this experience. But it's actually very universal among 10% of the population. So you're not alone. But also how difficult it is, even when you know, what it is and how it works and what you can do to help you still, as a parent, fall down every once in a while, and there's a lot of parental guilt. You know, in fact, while I was in the middle of making the film, my 16 year old daughter said to me, "You're making a film on this, and you still don't get it". And I thought, Oh, interesting. Wow, every day, and I'll still say, the dumb thing of like, What do you mean you missed 10 homework assignments, you didn't turn it? What are you doing, like, you know, it's not intentional, it's just, that's what happens. And you have to put systems in place to help them and, you know, try to avoid situations like that, but they're going to happen, that's just the nature of growing up with ADHD.

Hannah Choi 13:04

And, and that brings back the how important it is for parents and people to learn about ADHD so that they can recognize maybe something is going on, that their child could get help with earlier than later. The the story of Zara really just broke my heart, my heart went out to her mother, she, she's seems like it was really painful for her to remember back to before she knew that her daughter had ADHD. And just thinking, you know, there's so many families out there that are going through or have gone through that.

Nancy Armstrong 13:37

Oh, yeah, the story is so relatable. I mean, people have told me they watch the film, and they cry through the whole thing. Which is, means it's hitting a nerve, a very universal corner, particularly of parental guilt. And same things I should say, because these kids will really push you to the brink of your sanity and patience. Because there really, there's a relentlessness about so many kids with ADHD that is hard to parent. But I think it's so healing for parents to watch the film. And so healing for kids to watch the film to know that it's not just them. And this is the way your brain is wired. And it's okay. It will be challenging growing up, but you can harness it and make a great life for yourself.

Hannah Choi 14:20

Yeah, it's yeah, it's beautiful. It really is a beautiful message in there. And you brought up the brain. I love that you had an explanation of the brain and how that works. And I've noticed in my work with people, when they find out how their brain works and how their brain causes them to do or not do things really, really helps. It really helps to just understand and feel better about it.

Nancy Armstrong 14:44

I thought it was important to show the brain science behind this because there is so much confusion, particularly this myth that ADHD doesn't exist. So I wanted to blow right through that with the brain science showing exactly how the brain works. Where ADHD is, you know In the brain, and you know how it's working in the brain, and also to show if people decide to use stimulant medication as one of the tools, what that's actually doing in the brain and how for people with ADHD, if there's no high that they get, it only calms them down. I mean, that's a critical thing to understand is that people with ADHD takes stimulant medication, there's no euphoria, it just brings them there, their dopamine is here, and it brings it to here. You know, with a person who is not ADHD, they're no normal dopamine level then shoots up. That's why they're getting a high because they're having something unnaturally high in their brain. So that's important to understand. And I understand there's, you know, there's an Adderall shortage, it probably it's either supply chain, or it has to do with the fact that too many doctors, regular doctors, like primary care physicians, or pediatricians are just writing prescriptions for pushy parents of kids who haven't been properly diagnosed. And that's a problem we need to solve. But that has no relationship to people who have been diagnosed properly with ADHD and need that medication because it's making a huge difference in helping them live a better life.

Hannah Choi 16:13

Yeah, and that's another reason why understanding that brain science is so important to help people understand that the medication is not you know, like how the medication works. Once you understand how it works, it's a lot easier to understand why someone would take it because it really does sound like quite contradictory. Why would I give stimulant medication to someone who already has a lot of energy? So but when you understand how the brain works, then it makes sense. Yeah. So in addition to that, which what are some key takeaways that you feel are really important for parents to and parents and educators? Right, and just people in the world that interact with other people that might have ADHD? What can they take away from your film?

Nancy Armstrong 16:56

Well, one of the messages of the film is if we could just help people understand in broader society, that these are imaginative, creative beings, that just need a little more support to get on the right track. And I'm talking mostly about children who really struggle because, you know, the very nature of a sort of assembly line, rote approach to education is anathema to the ADHD brain. So if you have children in your class that are late that are not turning in homework, it might make sense to investigate what's going on, rather than just writing them off as a bad kid. Maybe this is a child with ADHD, maybe the parents, no, maybe they don't. But as soon as you understand those children in your class that have ADHD, you can approach them differently. And there's a relationship that can happen between a teacher and a child that makes a world of difference. If the teacher writes the child off, the child knows, and they give up, and there's, that's the end of that, that's the end of eighth grade science. That's it. Or if the child can have understanding from the teacher, if the teacher can say, Okay, I know you have ADHD, so I know these things are going to be difficult for you. But these things are going to be easier for you. So let's make sure we're focusing on your strengths and some of your challenges. And that's a that creates a relationship. And, you know, I remember my son had a Spanish teacher freshman year in high school, who was so determined for him to succeed. He just said, I know you can do it, I know you can do it. And my son felt sort of an obligation to that teacher, to prove him not prove him wrong, you know, so the teachers can have an incredibly positive impact on children. And I think to empower teachers with that knowledge is a huge takeaway. And then I think for parents, you also have an incredible responsibility and ability to have such a positive impact on your child, if you can control your response to them, which is incredibly difficult day in and day out. Everyday is Groundhog Day, what we just talked about yesterday is now happening again today, as if yesterday never happened. So it does require Herculean patience, and that's a good thing to develop in life anyway for an adult way. But, you know, just love your child, even when they're, you know, really behaving badly is to just love them through those moments. You'll feel like a better person, you'll feel like a superstar person if you can do that. And your child will fare so much better under those circumstances. So I think that the the message is like parents are kind of the childhood cure for ADHD because without parents by your side fighting for you advocating for you, loving you, it's really hard to get through.

Hannah Choi 19:39

And I love that that message came through really strongly with the families that you interviewed the parents. You could tell they they just love their children so much and just we're trying so hard to to help them and and their hearts are just breaking for them. It was it was very moving. It was very, very moving to watch that.

Nancy Armstrong 20:01

Oh, thank you. And I see that in school, we do screenings, we've done screenings all over the country. And the parents, we do q&a, usually afterwards. And parents cry through that q&a. I mean, it's the same pain. It's so universal. And you know, it's interesting, they're doing, I just read, they're doing a screening in Ireland, they, so there's a screening in Ireland, and they're doing a q&a Afterward, I won't be there. But it's just amazing that all over the world, the screenings are happening, and people are having this new conversation about ADHD and, and finding community, which I think is so important. I've never had one public conversation about it, until I made the film. And, you know, the film was like a forum for those conversations.

Hannah Choi 20:44

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, that's, that is exactly why I'm doing this conversation. This, that's exactly why I'm doing this podcast is to have more of these conversations. And hopefully, even just one person hears the conversation and recognizes that it's okay to talk about and that it's helpful to talk about it. And it's helpful to find the community and, and, actually, that's something that that that you guys brought up in the documentary was how important it is to try to reach people because there are services and there are support supports and information and knowledge and, you know, family support and child support and medication support. But helping people learn about that and get access to that is, is the hard part. And so thank you for doing the work that you're doing and why I do what I do.

Nancy Armstrong 21:36

So, yeah, yeah, that's another thing that's really concerns me is that there, there's a dearth of ADHD experts in the country and around the world. So one of the things I think we really need to do is have more training for primary care physicians, more training for pediatricians, because they don't have the requisite amount of training to really deal with this. And they're going to have to because there won't, in the absence of experts, it will fall to them. And we saw in the film, you know, Bear's pediatrician told his mother to cut Concerta in half. And Concerta is a time release medication. So you can't cut time release medication in half. Bear was given a whole day's worth of, of a methylphenidate because of cutting that in one shot because of cutting that medication in half. So that's unacceptable, you know, primary care physicians prescribing this medication need to know how to prescribe it, and how to tell parents to use it because they don't know it's up to the doctors, and they're obviously under trained.

Hannah Choi 22:43

Yeah. And Bear's mom was, you know, had the, the, the knowledge that there was someone else she could ask that she, you know, could get more information, but not everybody realizes that a lot of people, you know, have the experience, you know, where they, they either don't trust the doctor, so they don't look for more help. Or they, they just take the doctors word for it. And they don't realize like, oh, you can ask for more you can if it doesn't feel right, you can look for help elsewhere.

Nancy Armstrong 23:14

So I'm glad, or if one medication doesn't work, and that is a painful process is that trial and error process. If one doesn't work, there's another one that might and, you know, good for her for sticking it out and finding I think it was focalin that finally, like, just gave bare target symptom relief with no side effects. And he, you know, his life just got so much better because he was happier. You know, no child wants to be disruptive in class. They're not doing it on purpose. Their brains are wired differently. And they're telling them to move when they're supposed to sit still. They're telling them to speak when they're supposed to be quiet. So getting that support is incredibly valuable to child because children just want to go to school every day and fit in. It's like going to school every day where everyone has blue paint, and you show up with yellow paint. It's a horrible feeling. I mean, you know, my son now is 21. But he just recalls how despairing he was how bereft he was at having that experience every day and how hopeless it made him feel. Even though we were on top of it, even though we were supporting him. It's still like they're going there for eight hours a day. And if they feel that they're out of step the entire time. That's got to be a terrible feeling.

Hannah Choi 24:29

Yeah, and that early, early, early experience of that, you know, all those experiences that we have, create those connections in our brains and then to unlearn those feelings about yourself and to unlearn the your expectations of how people are going to react to you. And that's that is a lifelong process. I mean, regardless of your if whether you have ADHD or not like the things that happen to us as children, you know, it's stuff we have to deal with for the rest of our lives.

Nancy Armstrong 25:00

They make lasting, you know, they make indelible marks on your psyche. And, you know, the other thing with kids is because they miss social cues because they're a little out of step socially. They get bullied, kids with ADHD are bullied two times more than kids without ADHD, and more than half of kids with ADHD are bullied. And that is a terrible thing to have to overcome, you know, and leaves lasting damage. And so even though I was a parent who was pretty on top of it, I mean, it was very unpopular in my town, because just golf parents up, I mean, I was pretty relentless. Trying to stop it, and you know, why would stop one and another one would pop up. But, you know, it's still it still leaves a lasting mark on their emotional development.

Hannah Choi 25:46

Yeah. And that brings up the importance of, of, you know, reaching out if, and getting therapy and therapy to help develop strategies to get you through your day, but also therapy to help, you know, with those emotions that come along with, like, not fitting in to, to what society expects people to, to act like. I imagined that that's really helpful. I was glad that you guys address that in the document in the documentary, and coaching as well. Is that

Nancy Armstrong 26:16

Yeah, very important. I mean, there's a toolbox of things that can really help manage ADHD. And I don't think the film doesn't advocate for any one of them. More specifically, it's really a multi pronged approach that is, is, you know, the best prescription for managing ADHD.

Hannah Choi 26:33

Yeah, absolutely. So, as an executive function, coach, I'm, you know, always curious about how you have challenges affect different people, what areas of executive function challenge you?

Nancy Armstrong 26:46

Well, I don't have ADHD, I think I grew up with it, I think I'm one of there's like, 25, there's 25%, or 30% of people who have symptoms in childhood, but outgrow them when their brain reaches full maturity. And my brain didn't really reach full maturity until I was 30. So that's kind of another sign of ADHD or we lag behind. But my husband definitely still has it, both the positives and the negatives. And, as do my children, and I think the biggest one for adults, that is, details. It's those details and time management and, you know, those kinds of things. So I'm a compulsive list maker, you know, which is probably my way of overcompensating for, you know, the challenges I had in my, you know, childhood and 20s. Super organized now, like psychotically, organized basically swung the pendulum from total disorganization to militant organization. So I'm probably more regimented now as a as a reaction to being so unregimented.

Hannah Choi 27:55

Yeah, right. Right.

Nancy Armstrong 27:57

It's a coping. It's a coping skill.

Hannah Choi 27:59

Yeah, absolutely. I, I have a terrible my working memory is, is pretty atrocious. And so I am like, crazy about writing things down and making lists and resetting reminders. And it's still forget things here and there. But yeah, I think you have to, you kind of have to go to the other side. And with that comes, that comes with maturity, right? As we get older, we can recognize the value of doing those things. And it's harder when you're little. But I loved how the kids started to say it, like, especially Zara, she mentioned that she realized that, that working a little harder and try and doing different things to make things better for herself, really, really paying off in the long run, which I loved.

Nancy Armstrong 28:40

And, I think for adults, too. We had an adult female in the film, and I think it was really great to see how it affects an adult's life. You know, I think a lot of adults weren't diagnosed as children and then figure it out when they have children. Because otherwise I wouldn't figure it out. You know, if you're, if your children are, it's kind of when your kids get diagnosed, that you go, "Oh, that's exactly me, too". You know, my mother, I think had a pretty serious case of ADHD. We never understood what it was. And I think she felt bad about it for so much of her life, not knowing exactly why she was the way she was, but knowing she was different. And it was, you know, just it was what it was. So I think it's super helpful for people who think they may have ADHD. And it's to the degree to which it's really causing impairment in your life. Everyone forgets who he is, and, you know, forgets things every once in a while, but it's the degree to which it becomes untenable in your life and starts to really interfere with being successful.

Hannah Choi 29:37

Right? Yeah, I used to work at an office for students with disabilities at a community college. And so often, like our kids would come in to get tested for learning disabilities, or they would go to an outside source to get tested for ADHD. And their parents who would always come in or call or somebody say, oh, my gosh, I realize now that that's me, like I I finally have an explanation for why I have had challenges in my life. And so, yeah, it's it's wonderful to see adults figuring that out.

Nancy Armstrong 30:07

Yeah, I think it's a huge relief. Absolutely. You know, you know, as Eliza said, In the film, before she found out, you know, she, where she was diagnosed, she just thought she was terrible at adulthood. Yeah. And that's, you know, it's heartbreaking, very successful. She's very successful entrepreneur, but, you know, keeping all the details and time management and all those things were really a challenge for her but big picture thinking, and, you know, creating things she was great at.

Hannah Choi 30:36

Yeah, yeah, one of my clients. He's an adult who actually has graduated from coaching, but he was diagnosed at 33. And he's the same way, you know, just really great at the big, the big picture and harder with the details. And, and he said, it just explained everything for him in his life. And now he's just doing so great. And he, it's really wonderful to see the progress that he's made, figuring out how his brain works, and what works and what doesn't so. So is there anything else that you want to mention?

Nancy Armstrong 31:17

I want to tell people where to find the film. You can find the film on iTunes, Apple TV, Google Play YouTube, Amazon Prime and Vudu.

Hannah Choi 31:26

Yeah, I've watched it on Amazon.

Nancy Armstrong 31:28

We can screen it at your schools. You know, I think we, we need to get this film in schools.

Hannah Choi 31:35

Absolutely. Yes, I will put all the information in the show notes for how they can find out more about screenings, and about the film itself, and the important message that it's sharing with everybody. Really appreciate it. Is there anything else that you're working on? Is this inspired you to do something else?

Nancy Armstrong 31:59

Right now I'm focusing on promoting the film. Whenever we, you know, reach the tipping point. It's not we're not there yet. So I want it to be ubiquitous. And I think it will be a sort of an evergreen film. I mean, we have the world's we follow a diverse number of families and, and have all these, you know, well known people speaking in the film, so I think this will be the film. And until it's out there everywhere. My work is not done.

Hannah Choi 32:27

Yeah. Oh, good. Great. Yes. It's, I just tell everyone, please go watch this movie, this documentary. It's, first of all, it's just so well made. It's so easy and enjoyable to watch. Heartbreaking at times. And so uplifting and full of hope at the end, and actually not even just at the end throughout. And I just, I loved it. I loved every minute of it. So thank you for that work.

Nancy Armstrong 32:55

Oh, well, I made the film with Atlas films. Director is Stephanie Soechtig and another producer, Kristen Lazar, and they are brilliant documentary filmmakers. And they've done, you know, a number of documentaries that have really taken a subject and turned it on its head, like, set up the Devil We Know, Under the Gun. So I was extremely excited when they said yes to working with me on this. And I think the film is is good as it is, in large part because of working with them.

Hannah Choi 33:24

Well, thank you so much, Nancy, for joining me today and sharing about your film and for continuing to do the work that you're doing to help people understand ADHD and understand people with ADHD it's so important to so thank you for doing it.

Nancy Armstrong 33:38

Oh, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Hannah Choi 33:43

And that's our show for today. Be sure to check out the show notes for links to learn more about The Disruptors. And as I mentioned before, beyond booksmart is offering free access to view the film through January 26 2023. So I really hope you get to take advantage of that. Thank you for taking time out of your day to listen, I hope you found my conversation with Nancy inspiring, and that you get a chance to view the film. As Nancy aims to do with The Disruptors. We here at focus forward. I also hope to help as many people as we can with each episode. So please share our podcast with your colleagues and your friends and your family. You can subscribe to focus forward on Apple and Google podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen. And if you listen on Apple podcasts or Spotify, you can give us a boost by sharing that five star rating. Sign up for our newsletter at beyond booksmart.com/podcasts. We'll let you know when new episodes drop and we'll share information related to the topic. Thanks for listening