🎧 New ADHD KC Conversations Episode: Parents Under Pressure — Why Caregiver Stress Matters

Our newest ADHD KC Conversations episode is live — and this one flips the script a little!

Instead of previewing an upcoming speaker, Kristen Stuppy, MD, FAAP, sits down with special guest Lindsey Lipsky, M.Ed, CNP, a longtime special education advocate and new ADHDKC Advisory Board member. Together, they talk about what families are really experiencing right now — the pressure, the chronic stress, and why supporting parents is just as important as supporting kids.

👉 You can:

* Watch the full video right here in this newsletter

* Watch on our YouTube channel

* Listen on your favorite podcast platform

💬 What You’ll Hear in This Episode

* Why community and connection matter so much for neurodivergent families

* The reality parents are facing right now — stress, burnout, and limited supports

* The science behind chronic stress and how it affects the body

* Why caring for yourself is not selfish — it’s foundational to supporting your kids

* A preview of the upcoming ADHDKC Parent Group talk:Parents Under Pressure: Strengthening Your Mental Health & Well-Being as a Caregiver

Lindsey also shares insights from her work supporting families and schools — and why spaces like ADHDKC are more important than ever.

📅 Join Us for the Upcoming ADHDKC Parent Group Event

Parents Under Pressure: Strengthening Your Mental Health & Well-Being as a CaregiverPresented by Dr. Kristen Stuppy

🗓 Tuesday, March 10🕡 6:30 PM📍 In person at the Jewish Community Center (the J) -OR- 💻 Online💲 Free & open to everyone — ADHDKC members, J members, and the general public in Kansas City and beyond

During this session, you’ll learn:

* What chronic stress actually does to your body

* Why basic self-care strategies matter more than you think

* Practical ways to reduce overwhelm and strengthen resilience

* How to make small changes that support your mental and physical well-being

No diagnosis is required — if you’re a caregiver feeling pressure, you belong here.

👉 RSVP Here https://www.adhdkc.org/event-details/parents-under-pressure-strengthening-your-mental-health-well-being-as-a-caregiver

🤝 Why This Conversation Matters

Parents often feel like they have to handle everything alone — juggling work, school systems, therapies, and everyday life. This episode is a reminder that:

* You are not alone

* Your health matters too

* And support is available in this community

Thanks for being part of ADHDKC.As always — take good care of yourselves. Parenting is hard, but you don’t have to do it alone.

This post is public so feel free to share it with someone you think needs it.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to ADHD KC Conversations

01:38 Lindsay Lipsky: Advocate for Neurodivergent Families

03:09 The Importance of Community Support

06:36 Collaboration Between ADHDKC and Lindsay’s Work

11:18 Understanding Parental Stress

16:01 Empowering Parents: Tools for Mental Health

17:28 Event Details and Conclusion

Transcript

Kristen Stuppy (00:16)

Welcome back to ADHD KC Conversations. I’m Kristen Stuppy and I’m so glad you’re joining us. Each month we sit down with experts, parents, and individuals in the ADHD community to explore topics that make a real difference for families in the Kansas City area and beyond. Today, we’re changing it up a bit. Usually my co-host, Sara Whalen, and I talk with the upcoming ADHD KC parent group speaker so you can get to know them ahead of time. This week, Sara couldn’t join us.

And since I’m actually the one doing the next ADHDKC parent group talk on March 10th, and you already know me from hosting this podcast and other talks, I thought we’d flip the script. Instead of interviewing a future speaker, I invited someone who’s become a really meaningful connection for me, Lindsay Lipsky. And Lindsay introduced herself to me at the International ADHD Conference back in November, and later invited me to speak at a parent group event at the Jewish Community Center, locally known as the J.

and I’m excited to use this wonderful space at the J for this upcoming talk. So just to be clear, all members of the Jewish Community Center and ADHDKC and just the general public are welcome. And this event will be both in person and online. And today I wanted to ask Lindsay about her work, and then I’ve asked her to turn the tables and ask me why I wanted to talk about something that so many parents are feeling right now, being under pressure, what chronic stress does to our bodies, and what parents can actually do about it.

So Lindsay, I’m really glad that you’re here and welcome to the podcast.

Lindsey (01:41)

Thank you, thank you for having me. It’s an honor to be here and Dr. Stuppy have known you for a long time and you’re famous to me, so thank you. Yeah, thanks, thanks.

Kristen Stuppy (01:54)

So to start us off, can you tell our listeners a little bit about who you are?

Lindsey (01:57)

Yeah, so I actually run a program in the Jewish community that helps support kids and families that have disabilities have access to our community. I’ve been a special education advocate for almost 20 years now and have worked in the field and more specifically now with ⁓ kiddos that are neurodivergent who have ADHD, autism, and other learning disabilities.

Kristen Stuppy (02:23)

So what kinds of things do you see coming up again and again when parents walk through your door?

Lindsey (02:27)

Yeah, so a lot of the parents that I work with, they are coming to me to seek community. So a lot of them, you know, the Jewish community is really small and our issues are no different than any other community. So oftentimes when they are coming through my door, they’re feeling really lost. And so often they are looking for just connection, resources and supports.

just another ear to hear what’s going on in their lives and to help troubleshoot issues that arise from parenting our neurodivergent kiddos. And it is a really humbling experience just to be on that journey helping them.

Kristen Stuppy (03:09)

That is wonderful. What kind of themes do you see when parents come in to your office again and again?

Lindsey (03:15)

So a lot of what I see is just parents that are looking for connection, parents that are looking for resources and supports, sometimes just to listen to them. As your talk, I’m sure, is gonna talk about parenting kids that are neurodivergent is not for the faint of heart. Oftentimes, it can be challenging.

And so I think really having the ability to talk to each other and problem solve is really the meat of what I see when I’m working with families.

Kristen Stuppy (03:47)

I think that’s very helpful and parents do need that support. I know you and I first officially met and talked at the International ADHD Conference in November in Kansas City. But since then, we’ve had several conversations and it’s been really clear how passionate you are about supporting families with neurodivergent children and the whole ADHD community. In fact, I’m so excited that you’re joining ADHDKC’s advisory board. What drew you to ADHDKC and what made you want to be involved?

Lindsey (04:14)

Well, I’ve again just been a lifelong advocate for individuals with disabilities. More recently, I have a personal connection with ADHD. It’s in our family system. so navigating that complex process has really brought me closer. I think it’s interesting that when you’re a special educator and I’ve worked on so many individual education plans, IEPs, 504 plans,

And then suddenly when you’re on the other side of that table, when you’re a parent, and suddenly, you know, the script has flipped a bit, and suddenly you realize that this is hard, this is really hard. And I really feel strongly that, you know, we’re better together, and I think the work that ADHDKC does is really important for our community.

Kristen Stuppy (05:02)

So of course the theme now is the script being flipped because we’re gonna have you interview me here flipping the script for the whole podcast. And then you just talking about how your personal life it’s been affected. And it is so very different as a professional who’s used to the system seeing how it works from the other side. So yeah, I think that’s very interesting for me as a parent of a child.

Lindsey (05:11)

There we go.

Kristen Stuppy (05:27)

now young adults with ADHD. I do remember those days of trying to get all of the knowledge I knew from the other side to work with what my own child needed. So how does the mission of ADHDKC align with the work you’re already doing?

Lindsey (05:41)

So a lot of the work that I do right now is supporting schools and systems and programs to just be more accepting and understanding. You know, the whole neurodiversity movement has been really impactful, I think, for the community and understanding that people that have ADHD really bring a wide array of strengths. So a lot of the work that I do now involves training and consulting with school teams and with programs.

⁓ just so that they understand that we are better with our individuals that have ADHD in our community. And I also work with families that of course are just running through situations that ⁓ are complicated. So I think especially because ADHD KC is such a strong chapter, was really drawn to this work and really

I’m really honored that I get to join and help support you guys in this important endeavor.

Kristen Stuppy (06:36)

think we’re excited to be able to join with your group as well and offer things to a larger community. I think, unfortunately, funding for many groups that provide services. know CHADD in general has lost some funding that was provided through the CDC in the past. And I feel like it’s harder to reach people due to some of these cuts. So it’s going to be really important to be able to support families where they are.

Lindsey (06:40)

Haha.

Kristen Stuppy (07:03)

with less. So I think that we’ll be able to help each other with both of our groups from there. So have you in the past or looking forward to the future worked with parent groups and how do you feel like those help your community?

Lindsey (07:17)

Yeah, so through the work I do, we actually used to have a parent support group that actually did lose funding and that isn’t a part of our program offerings. And I think it is really important and really impactful for people that are experiencing similar situations, are in similar life stages to come together and there’s really a beauty in bringing people that are struggling.

or that just are looking for, you know, have questions together. And in our community, I think what people tend to forget is that when we lose funding on things, it affects, it has reverberating effects. I think, you know, right now, especially, we’re gonna see just a lot more things coming down the pike in special education that people don’t.

don’t quite understand that, you know, if things are taken away today, what that’s gonna look like in a year from now, in three years from now, in 30 years from now. You know, like things that happen today impact our kids for the future. And so, you know, I know that like we’re not necessarily talking about funding, but it’s really important for spaces

like parent support groups, and just our general programs that are helping support our families and helping support kids that have disabilities that they still are able to access resources. I think it’s really important with even limited funding and limited support that these still happen.

Kristen Stuppy (08:45)

Yeah, have parents ever told you that they’re pieces when supports grow away?

Lindsey (08:52)

yeah. And I think actually what ends up happening is they don’t even realize that it’s gone away. And so that’s, know, for example, when we stopped our parent support group, I still had people reaching out and saying, hey, are we still, is this still happening? Is this something that we’re still doing? And it just goes away, right? And so I think that people don’t know.

People don’t necessarily recognize until it’s much later that these supports and services are not there. And there’s an impact with that.

Kristen Stuppy (09:22)

And I think it’s going to go beyond the families that use the services directly. It will affect the children who aren’t necessarily using any of these special education services because there will be time and energy that the teachers were no longer able to spend with them too. I think it will have ripple effects with all of the kids at schools. So that’s why I am excited that our two groups can come together and use resources shared.

Lindsey (09:43)

Yeah, I mean.

Yeah, and so much of the work that you guys do has no cost. And so that’s what’s really important. think sometimes people don’t even realize that when we ask parents to pay an additional fee to attend something, that’s a barrier in itself, right? So as a mom, I have three young kids that are under the age of eight. We’re doing lots of different supports. just dyslexia tutors.

occupational therapy, speech language therapy, those are all added costs that parents are absorbing, you know, and we’re not necessarily signing up for, you know, soccer after school or doing those things. We’re doing these supports and therapies for our families. And I feel like when we can offer things free of charge, we’re just, giving that benefit to our community in ways that maybe

you don’t realize.

Kristen Stuppy (10:39)

I a lot of families who have children with any kind of chronic condition, whether it’s like you mentioned, dyslexia, other learning disabilities, or health chronic conditions, they do need to spend more money doing things. So I don’t want to get this on a downer side. Maybe this is a good time to maybe flip some roles. Have you interviewed me about the talk because it’s not about finances. I want people to come and enjoy and learn and

Lindsey (10:57)

For sure. Yeah!

Kristen Stuppy (11:04)

not worry about the cost of living.

Lindsey (11:07)

I agree, yeah. Okay, so you titled this talk, Parents Under Pressure, Strengthening Your Mental Health and Well-being as a Caregiver. Why did you choose this topic? Why now?

Kristen Stuppy (11:19)

So this topic actually is a redo of something that I previously did after the former Surgeon General came out with a ⁓ guideline for stress and noting that Parents have more stress than other adults that do not have children. And then of course, in the ADHD KC space, parents of kids with neurodivergence have more stress -

there’s more things going on that they need to try to wrangle up and deal with and manage. And there’s just a lot. And I definitely remember as my children were growing up, how hard it was to juggle parenting and work and trying to do social things and other events. It’s just a lot. And so I want parents to know, number one, they’re not alone. And then also to...

learn that they can do some things that are maybe surface level obvious, but help them understand the importance of doing it and maybe motivate them to get some of this stuff done.

Lindsey (12:24)

I love that. So when parents hear the word stress, we often think of like emotions. But in this talk, you focus a lot on what stress does to the body. Why is that an important shift?

Kristen Stuppy (12:36)

I feel like a lot of times when physicians or therapists or other professionals tell people to do the basic things like get more sleep or eat healthy or get exercise, these are all foundational things that we all need that help our physical body manage stress. But I feel like people dismiss it because they don’t really understand the why behind it.

And if you understand the why, hope is that you will make it more of a priority. And our mind body is connected. Anyone who tells you otherwise just doesn’t really understand. There is a very strong mind body connection. So it’s not all about pills that will fix things.

Lindsey (13:14)

Yeah.

I couldn’t agree more. Well, and you’re a pediatrician, a great one, what made you want to talk to the parents about themselves rather than about kids?

Kristen Stuppy (13:25)

You know, this isn’t very much a shift for me, because even in my practice, when I’m working with families, I do talk to parents a lot about their own conditions and things that might impact their ability to parent. It is very prominent. If you’ve been to the doctor’s office in the last year or two, you have probably filled out what’s called a social determinant of health questionnaire because

All of us are supposed to be talking about, you afford your food? Can you afford your medication? Are you safe in the home? Do you have a home? All of these things, because these do impact the family’s safety, health, well-being. So it’s not too much of a stretch to consider this. And I want children to be in safe and supportive homes. And if parents are not in a mentally healthy place and they’re overstressed, overextended, they’re not going to be the

the best parents for their children. it really does all tie in. The family unit is important.

Lindsey (14:21)

Yeah, that’s so important. So many parents feel like they should be able to handle everything, myself included. How does that belief actually make stress worse?

Kristen Stuppy (14:31)

You know, I lived this. ⁓ I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD myself until I was in my fifties. And looking back, it was so very clear, but I think like many people who have ADHD, they have to always be doing something. And if they’re not doing something, they’re bored and boredom is not a good place to be when you have ADHD. So I have always from the time I was at least in high school.

Lindsey (14:33)

Yeah

Kristen Stuppy (14:56)

overextended myself. I wanted to stay busy and I got more done if I was busy. And I think to some extent, families, parents have to do that because kids are, they have to get to school, they have to be fed, they have to go to their activities, they need help with homework, whatever it is, parents want to do everything. And they always look at the other parents like, well, she’s able to be the volunteer for this and hold down a full-time job and do all these other things. So there’s that.

Well, if she can do it, I can do it mentality. And you’re laughing. feel like you appreciate this, right? Like we all.

Lindsey (15:27)

I understand, but they they say

comparison is the thief of joy. but it happens. Yes.

Kristen Stuppy (15:32)

Yes, that’s a great quote though. Comparison is the thief of joy. I like that.

So I do feel like parents feel like they should be able to do this, but we have to get out of the show to what it could is and be kind to ourself, practice self-care because that is not something that we can avoid. We need self-care. It’s not selfish to be good to ourselves.

Lindsey (15:53)

Yeah, I love that. So without giving away the whole talk, what are a few things parents will walk away with after attending this session?

Kristen Stuppy (16:01)

Well, I will warn everybody, the talk does start off with a lot of what we are seeing or what our bodies feel and how our bodies react. So there’s a lot of sciency kind of stuff, because I’m a science geek, about our heart, our lungs, our immune system, everything about how stress affects it. Because again, I want people to understand that. But then we’re going to talk about things that you can do to help with this stuff.

So I hope that parents leave feeling empowered and enlightened and wanting to make some changes.

Lindsey (16:33)

I love that. I’m really excited. For parents listening who are thinking, identify with this, but I’m just too exhausted and I don’t have time for one more thing. What do you want them to hear?

Kristen Stuppy (16:45)

you know, that might be the thing that you say no to. And it is okay to say no to one more thing if it’s not time for you to deal with this, but you do need to make time. You know, they always say if you don’t have time to do the things that are good for you, then you need to make the time to do them. So at some point you need to sit down and figure out what can you drop from all the things that you do that aren’t giving you joy, aren’t benefiting your

family or you personally because we are all overextended and we need to sometimes cut that back.

Lindsey (17:15)

but also try to come to see Dr. Steppi’s talk because it’s gonna be great. Just take out something else that you’re doing that you can say no to. No, I’m just kidding. Thank you, I loved interviewing you. That was super fun.

Kristen Stuppy (17:26)

Yeah, it was fun. Yeah,

So before we wrap up, just want to make sure everyone knows how to join us. We’ve been talking about this event. is Parents Under Pressure, Strengthening Your Mental Health and Well-being as a Caregiver. It’s going to be Tuesday, March 10th at 6.30, both in person at the J and online. Everyone is welcome. It’s free to attend. And you don’t have to have any sort of diagnosis or anything official. Just come.

Find details and registration at adhdkc.org under the events tab. And Lindsay, if listeners want to learn more about you and your work, where should they go?

Lindsey (18:02)

Well, they can email me anytime. Lindsay.Lipski at gmail.com. The work that we do in the Jewish community is listed ⁓ under Jewish Federation at sassown.org.

Kristen Stuppy (18:14)

All right, and I will also add that since Lindsay is joining the ADHDKC board, she is listed on the About Us page, and I believe that links to her LinkedIn so you can learn about her. right, so thank you so much for joining me today and being part of the reason this conversation is happening at all.

Lindsey (18:26)

Wow, thanks.

Thank you, we’re so excited to have you and I’m really looking forward to this discussion.

Kristen Stuppy (18:37)

And to all of our listeners, thank you for being here. If this episode resonated with you, consider joining us for the parent group talk. And as always, take good care of yourselves. Parenting is hard, but you don’t have to do it alone.