Matt: Let's let's just see what happens.

Let's see, let's see where we land
because it looks good so far anyway.

You know, Alison, this is
what I'm considering the

Session Zero of this podcast.

Alison: I love it.

Matt: Right?

The Session Zero of ADHd20
because we're testing things out.

We're trying to introduce ourselves.

We're trying to understand
the milieu, the campaign.

Alison: To that effect.

I don't know if you do, but I have a d20.

Ready to go.

Matt: Dang.

Alison: Should we have to
like roll off for anything?

Matt: Oh boy.

Oh boy.

Oh boy.

Pressure.

Alison: Not to put pressure…

Matt: No, I love it so much . Listen.

Oh, yeah, that's right there.

Cocked!

Um, there it is.

Yes.

Alison!

Gosh you know, are we going to get
into what this podcast is about first?

Or are we going to start
with introductions.

Alison: So here's what I propose.

I think you should give like the
quick little elevator pitch, and

then let's have a roll off to see
who goes first and introductions.

Matt: Gosh, you've already come up
with a fun way and implemented it.

I love it.

Okay.

Alison: Let's go.

Matt: So.

Welcome to ADHd20.

It is a podcast that we're, you
know, we're kind of gonna feel out.

And why are we going to
sort of feel out what it is?

Well, the two of us both have ADHD and
that's just kind of the way that we live.

But the idea came to me, number one,
because I play Dungeons & Dragons.

My friend Alison plays Dungeons & Dragons.

And we work together and
we both live with ADHD.

Which is a… just go look it up, man.

I mean, if you don't know what ADHD is.

You know, whatever, but, you know,

Alison: Yes.

Matt: We're gonna figure out
how those two things, those two

great tastes tastes together.

How they combine.

I expect there will be talk some weeks
about ADHD and then more about D&D.

You know, kind of, depending
on how we're feeling.

And then of course having ADHD,
we're going to probably you

know, also throw the script away.

And talk about whatever else.

Maybe.

Okay.

Alison: I want to point out that
we do have a rough, emphasis

on rough, outline for today.

And like, I think we both have
timers set to see how long

until those go out the window.

So get ready.

Matt: In fact, that has got
to be a part of this podcast.

Where are you?

There it is.

Yeah.

So the Time Timer is a fantastic
tool used for many things.

For me, I use it to have a very
visual representation of time

going by, because one thing that.

That's what it sounds like

Alison: Ah, that's that noise?

I love it.

Matt: Time Timer has started, Alison.

We're going to try to keep these
under an hour, the best we can.

So now we roll the d20 and
find out who introduces, first.

Alison: Yeah.

Yeah, let's do it here.

It goes.

Matt: Yep.

Alison: Did not do well on that rolly.

Matt: Nope.

What'd you got.

Alison: I got three.

Matt: Oh, I got an eight.

Alison: Ah, you beat me.

Matt: Right.

Well, my name is Matt Bivins.

And, that's it.

My name is Matt.

I am part founder of a web development,
digital design marketing shop

called Bivins Brothers Creative.

Where we work with Alison.

And let's see.

I have been in a rock band
for one huge chunk of my life.

And I have provided captioning
to live theater experiences

for a chunk of my life.

And I have had ADHD for
a huge chunk of my life.

Most of it.

Maybe all of it.

And then D&D is a different thing
because I'm not an obsessive kid.

I'm not as obsessive person, but
man, one thing that kind of stuck

for a good solid five formative
years was Dungeons & Dragons.

And I am old enough to remember.

The red box.

I don't think that's
actually first edition.

It is first edition.

And then I, you know, I guess I left.

Let life scrub away my dreams
and my, my enjoyment of fantasy.

I'm kidding.

I took a break.

I took a turn, took a turn.

I just, you know, put
my energies elsewhere.

Until 2020, where the pandemic
kind of forced us all inside.

And I had been talking, my brother
and I had been talking about.

You know, getting back to D&D.

You know, it has had
a resurgence for sure.

No one can deny that.

And so we kept talking about it and
talking about it, talking about it,

Alison was sick of us talking about it.

But I had so many different
things I was trying to do that.

I, I, I just never made it a priority.

And then the pandemic happened.

I was like, let's do it.

And I didn't really expect for it to be
as all encompassing as it has become.

I know for sure you didn't expect it,
that it would be, but for me it has

rekindled so many things, not just my
childhood joys of creating worlds and

characters and, and, and situations.

And then running my brother, I
only had one friend, my brother.

He has the only person I've played with.

Running Evan through
these, these situations.

Not only did it bring me back to that,
but you know, this is a performative joy

for me, it's a, it's the creative joy.

I've made really great friends doing this.

And I kind of imagine that moving
forward in life, I will continue

to make great friends doing this.

It really solved almost every pandemic
issue that I was experiencing, perfectly.

And that's and that's me, Matt Bivins.

Is that good?

I'm married.

I have dogs…

Alison: That was so lovely.

It was so good.

Wonderful.

Wonderful.

Matt: Next.

Alison: I don't want to follow that up.

I wish I'd rolled higher.

Made you go second.

I mean, I knew all of those things
about you and it was still an utter

delight to hear them professed out loud
for the audience that we will surely

have from day one of this podcast.

Matt: Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, there's one, one more thing,
which I think is relevant.

My ADHD type is the inattentive
type as you can probably already

guess by my halting voice.

Thank you, Alison.

Next.

Alison: My name is Alison Kendrick.

I also go by AK.

You can call me any of these
things or something else entirely.

I have the impulsive type of ADHD.

That will probably become even more
and more apparent as we go on and

also a little inattentive to o.

Let's see.

So I first started working with Matt
and Evan I don't know, at this point

five years ago, and now have just really
shot my way into the business and made

them hang out with me every day for work
and play, which is the best thing ever.

I consider Matt not only one of my best
friends, but also like the ultimate

influencer in my life as I think you
were actually one of, and we'll get to

this later in the episode, I'm sure.

But I think you were one of
the first people that made

me realize that I have ADHD.

Many, many, many years ago.

And you're the one who
got me into D&D really?

So these two big parts of my
life, you, you influenced.

Matt: I'm already learning things.

Alison: Yeah.

Matt: Amazing.

Okay.

Alison: So very similar
story to Matt's, you know?

Pandemic came.

I live alone with two wonderful
cats, Maggie and Coney Bear.

And I'm an extrovert and a
recovering actor, and suddenly

found myself alone in my house.

And in March 2020,
needed a creative outlet.

And, you know, so a friend of mine
had been trying to get together a

D&D you know, campaign for a while.

And all of her other friends
were like, nah, too nerdy.

And I was like, yes, please.

And then like, once we needed something
to do, I was like, hey friend, Jeff

is his name, do you want to do this?

And then, Hey, Matt and Evan,
you guys keep talking about

wanting to do this again?

Are you in?

And now it's turned into this
like all encompassing thing.

That is all I want to do,
all I want to think about.

And so it's like, I did realize a couple
of weeks ago and talking to somebody else

about this, I think Dungeons & Dragons
might be my first hobby in the like

very traditional sense of the word.

And so it's interesting.

Yeah.

Like I've never really had a
hobby before I have interests.

I have loves and passions.

But I don't have, you know, repetitious
things that I do for the sheer joy of

both doing them and improving at them.

But I think there's a little bit
of ADHD at play in there too.

Like maybe my ADHD is why I never
had a hobby until I found the hobby

that really complimented my ADHD.

Right.

It's weird.

Matt: That's that's really?

Yeah.

Sorry, we can get into that.

I want you to finish your story,
but that is fascinating because

I feel like I only have hobbies.

Alison: I don't and I never have, and
it's really funny because I, I come from

this very crafty, very artful family who…
They're very good at things with physical

outputs, like all of my grandmothers and
all of my, all two of my grandmothers,

but, both of my grandmothers, my mom.

My aunts.

You know, they, they my grandfather.

They all have these hobbies.

Like my grandfather did
stained glass and my mom and

grandma's knitted and crocheted.

And my mom does cross-stitch.

One of my grandmothers
was a beautiful painter.

A couple of my aunts
are beautiful painters.

And I was always just bad at these things
because there was a missing link that

like, I just, I didn't want to practice.

If I'm not immediately good at
something, I don't want to do it at all.

And I think that's how you get a
hobby as you start being bad and

then you gradually get better.

Yeah.

And so I didn't have that same, I mean,
I wasn't good at D&D at first, as we

can all attest, I had a lot to learn.

But yeah, it has become it's my
first hobby and I love that about it.

Matt: I love that.

And I'll say, I feel like D&D is
something that like improv, which

is, of course it is also improv.

It is the kind of thing that it is
both daunting, which was why some of

your friends didn't want to play, but
also there is a part where you can

always get better, but you can't win.

You can't beat it.

Arguably anyway.

Yeah.

Interesting.

Love that.

I think the difference in this hobby
is that it doesn't really matter

if you're bad at it, especially 5e.

Especially the fifth version of this game.

I think, I think that if you had
started in fourth edition, we wouldn't

be having this podcast right now.

And that is no, there's no real knock for
4e, I haven't played 3e or 3.5, but like

2, and, and definitely 4 the one time that
I've played it, it was like so many rules

so much, but 5e is just the kind of thing
where you don't have to know anything.

If you can sit around a table.

And have a conversation, carry on
a conversation with people, and

then your Dungeon Master's good,
or trying to be good, and therefore

can bring things out of you.

You don't have to be an
actor or an improviser.

You don't have to know rules.

Because people just tell you what to roll.

That doesn't matter.

So I think, I think that is,
that's interesting that you say

that because I feel like this game
even more recently, it's the most

accessible approachable version yet.

I mean, everyone says that,
but I really do believe it.

And I love that about it.

Alison: I already want to throw our
outline out of the window though, and

talk, kind of pull at that thread for a
second, because one of the most remarkable

things about D&D to me, it coupled with
ADHD is I don't do anything, and I'm

guessing you probably don't either, do
anything for long stretches of time.

Like I get bored easily or just
lose focus or need to like get

up and shake my sillies out.

And so it's comical to me that, that
D&D is a thing that I like can sit at.

And if you guys would play with me
for six hours at a time, I would.

Without question.

Again, you know, like I think, I
think our longest game was probably

around four hours in the beginning.

Again, when we had less
to do than we do now.

But like I play a Thursday night
game and I it's for it's about

four hours, you know, with a break.

And I like, and it ends almost midnight my
time and yet I always want to go longer.

Which is fascinating to me and I don't pay
attention to every second of every game.

Obviously there are times when I
get distracted by something shiny.

And that's fine.

You know, I can usually get reeled
back in pretty quickly though, but

it's the fact that I even desire to
sit in a place and do a thing without

doing other things at the same time.

I frustrate my friends, cause like,
when we like hang out and like watch

movies, I'm like playing on my phone
or like doing something in the kitchen.

Like there's always a, like at least
two things at once I have to be doing.

D&D is really one of the first
things that, yes, there are moments

of distraction, but for the most
part, I just want to do that thing.

Matt: But knowing you, I wonder how wild
it actually is, because it just really

touches on so many things that you do.

We're both, we're both former performers.

We're both performers stage
and music and, and whatnot.

So of course there's going to be that
part of it, you know, for the two of us.

That's that's understandable natural,
but I, but I think that the part that

really is the extra, you know, grabber
for you, is that it is so very social.

It's so very social.

So it isn't like television.

Because really watching television with
a group of people is only social in

that there's multiple people in a room.

It's not necessarily a social endeavor.

D&D has to be.

And so I think that anytime that
your focus does wane, you're brought

back in by a player, by the DM, by
something else that you've done.

And.

I don't know.

Alison: You're right.

Matt: Yeah.

I wonder if that's a big, a big extra
part of it for you, specifically.

Alison: Well, and I wonder too, if
you know, like, you know, as a former

performer, I think that that's why
I didn't like knitting or drawing

because they didn't give back to me.

They didn't, you know, feed me in any way.

Way, and yeah, maybe that's exactly
it, that just out of the gate, without

any knowledge or talent, you can
play D&D and it can instantly be this

immersive storytelling experience.

Matt: Yeah.

I love that.

It has been an unexpected joy.

Alison: For sure.

I thought we would do this, we
would hang out, you know, we'd

play a couple hours here and there.

It'd be fun and I'd add it to the
very long list I have of stuff I do.

Stuff I have done, stuff I'm mediocre at.

Cards on the table, I now play
currently right now, March 2022,

four sessions a week on average.

Three of those with you.

And our friend Fitz is, is the one that
is in all four of those sessions with me.

And I, you know, I was beginning to
wonder, is there a limit, is there,

is there a point, and so apparently
the limit is five days a week.

I was asked by some friends,
if I would DM for them.

And it's funny because I've been
begging them to get into D&D cause

I feel like they would love it.

And then, you know, finally they turned
it back on me and I said, okay, great.

Yeah, we'll do this.

If you'll DM.

Oh, crap.

And as you know, DM-ing is a whole
different battle map ball game,

whatever, than showing up as a player.

Matt: Yeah.

And that's important
to think about as well.

I personally, I prefer
being the Game Master.

It's what I was when I was little,
I like the work, I like to prep.

It's I mean, it's, it's hard to
call it work because it's, it's so

joyful for me to sit down and think.

And that's another ADHD thing for me.

Why I want to get so good at it.

Why I'm, I'm never un-
interested in any aspect of it.

There's no aspect of it that ends
up being something I'm like, yeah.

I'm not really into that part of it.

I like being a player, too.

I do, but I really I'm really,
really, really like that part of it.

Myself.

Now the interesting thing for me is
that you didn't grow up being a dark

fantasy or scifi fantasy person.

Alison: I mean, I have
a healthy appreciation.

I grew up loving Star Wars, you know,
for instance, but definitely not as

much fantasy though for, you know, that
it was just not that I didn't like it.

It was just something
I didn't touch as much.

And I mean, you know, growing up as a,
you know, adolescent of the nineties,

I vividly remember it, my junior
high and high school, within the nerd

camp, there were two groups of nerds.

There were the Magic, the
Gathering nerds and the D&D nerds.

And they were very different and
they did not cross pollinate.

And, and first of all, it was,
you know, Alabama in the nineties.

So I'll let you sit with your
own visualization of that.

And it was all dudes.

And so I was a nerdy, nerdy girl.

I mean, one of my favorite things
about becoming yours and Evan's

friends is that you have really
like pulled out my inner nerd.

I think that was the nerd
I was always meant to be.

I just didn't know how.

I needed my nerd Jedi master.

You know, I wonder if I had been friends
with different people, I guess is what I'm

trying to say, if maybe I would have felt
differently because I do love it so much.

And it does feel so like core to me now
that I'm like, how did I ever exist?

I just think in high school,
I was my own brand of nerd.

I was a theater nerd.

You know, I was the kid who
ran around the halls, you know,

singing every word of Rent.

You know, I was that of nerd.

Matt: Yup.

Alison: I was, I was one of
the, I was one of those girls.

And the band nerd and the choir nerd.

But not the fantasy gamer nerd.

I've never really been into video games.

I think I lacked some level of
hand-eye coordination there.

My brother was very into video games
and got every console as it dropped

and I was happy on the Atari because
I didn't have to learn new skills.

It always comes back to like, Alison
doesn't want to fail or be bad at things.

Which I guess we'll have to explore
if that's a component of ADHD.

Matt: I mean it's got to be.

And you know, we're very,
very different in that way.

Like we you've mentioned it
twice, you're not wanting to fail.

And I have the absolute opposite
where I used to go into auditions

and say, oh yeah, I can do that.

Can you do this?

Oh yeah, for sure.

I mean, I, and I couldn't do it.

But I was like, I'll figure it out.

I can always wing it and I
always end up winging it.

And so similarly, this is
very interesting for me.

This is your first hobby and for me,
this is something I really just ache

to be better and better at, right?

To achieve an effortlessness
that, that a Mercer does or.

Or a Brennan does, but for me, fantasy
and sci-fi was actually my first love.

So I think it's a very fair correlation
to go from theater nerd or a music

nerd to D&D and like how they match.

But for me, D&D was the way to
officially, with rules, act out these

fantastic things that I was digesting.

The stories and the Knights and dragons.

Horses.

I was like, wait a minute, there's a
game that you can get that you can,

you can then create whatever you want?

Which, oh, here's another topic for
the future: I want blank slates.

And I want to create them from scratch.

That's interesting.

Okay.

Side note.

But…

Alison: Are we writing these down?

Matt: I hope.

We should.

We should.

Oh boy.

Yeah, we should just have a to-do
list of things that we need.

Alison: I'll take a stab.

I'll start writing some things.

That's going to be new
and different for me.

Matt: Great.

Yeah, so, so that, that was my gateway.

And then I became a music nerd and
then I became a theater nerd and

then I became all those other things.

So again, really.

Really fantastic to find it again.

Alison: It's so funny to me, because, so
for those who don't know, Matt and Alison,

we are, you know, we have become very
good friends in recent years to the point

where I like don't remember a time when
you, weren't a massive part of my life.

In getting to know you, I have
found all of these wild ways

that we are very, very similar.

But then something like this,
like your love of a blank page.

My utter terror at a blank page.

Like our reactions to the same thing in
some ways couldn't be more different.

And especially funny, given
the conversation around

like, oh, we both have ADHD.

Like it's, it's to me how like wild
and different our brains work in

those ways, because I'm the opposite.

I see a blank page and I'm like, Nope.

And I I can't get out of
that space fast enough.

Matt: Like today, we were supposed
to sit down and talk about.

This was in my mind, the Session Zero.

And you, I mean, trust me,
I do love a good to-do list.

So, and I, and I really appreciate when
someone else does an outline for any kind

of talk, but it is interesting that you
said, I have an outline and here it is.

Because you don't, you don't want
to be looking at a blank page right

this minute, while we're just trying
to make stuff up, which is I get it.

I get it.

I a hundred percent get it.

But that is a good segue though.

Another thing that I really want this
podcast to delve into is the sciences and

the understandings of our different types.

And I think there used to be more
types of ADHD, but the main three are

inattentive, impulsive, and then combo.

Which I've met some combos.

And those people really, they really
are like the full on, you know,

television cliche version of ADHD.

We're relatively functional.

And I, and I feel like the, the
combined type, that's that's a lot.

But what I really want with this podcast
is to learn more, because apparently

the impulsive type of ADHD doesn't
necessarily happen that much in women.

That's the type that I should have.

I wasn't really a hyperactive kid.

I was never diagnosed as a kid.

And so I struggled in silence.

And I would cry when I had to you
know, write out dictionary words.

Oh my God.

Seriously.

I remember the tears.

It's so depressing.

yet it's so true.

So I suffered in silence and I
learned how to, you know, get by.

And, and it's funny when you talk
about your inability to watch TV.

So the way that I've had to cope is to
be like a iron fist, I have to be like a

fascist watching TV, because if they don't
pay attention, I can't pay attention.

So I've had to learn all these
different, I have all these weird

personal rules and regulations
to overcome these difficulties.

Alison: You found fun.

Matt: I am so fun.

I am so much fun.

I'm actually really fun for a lot of
things, but that is one that is one

example that, yes, that just, I can't.

I'm like, you can't watch your phone.

You can't do.

Cause I won't be able to.

I'll be, I'll be too focused
on what you're doing.

Yeah.

But anyway.

I was not officially diagnosed until 30.

Till I was 30, and an only then I
feel because I had just managed to

have jobs in my life that kind of
were conducive to that lifestyle.

I survived school.

I was not a great I though I
was very intelligent, I know.

So I had tons of difficulty there.

But, but yeah, I then just took jobs, i.e.

full-time musicians where you
put me in a van and tell me what

to do and get me there on time.

And, and then I know
what's next and la la la.

The only time that it became an
issue was when I wasn't on the road.

And then suddenly I was super
depressed because I could

not motivate to do anything.

I knew I had to do all of this
stuff, like go to the doctor

or post office or anything.

And I, I just thought I was broken.

If I ever had to live, you know, I've
tried to fit into the nine to five world.

And then luckily I had a roommate
that had a book on ADHD and I read it.

And I'm not joking, while I was
reading the book, I literally

dropped the book in shock.

I was like, Oh, my God.

There are other people that are like me.

I don't understand.

That's normal?

I mean that other people, what?

I mean, there were kids, there
were kids that had ADD but I

just, you know, these are the ones
bouncing off the walls, literally.

Alison: Yeah.

Matt: And then they had Ritalin and
and you know, so that was not a t hing.

And so, you know, finally, you
know, the first, first step was kind

of, you know, knowledge is power.

I think it's a yearly, monthly, daily
thing for me is to understand it.

And treat it and accept
it and so on and so forth.

But I'm glad I'm again,
I'm glad that I am.

I'm glad we're having this,
that we can talk about it.

So tell me about your ADHD, Alison.

Alison: Tell me about you.

What are your hobbies?

Yeah, so I grew up, I think a little bit
more as that poster child of, you know,

bouncing off the walls hyperactivity,
which probably surprises nobody.

Right.

And so I, I do remember being aware,
you know, throughout grade school

and especially into junior high
and high school, calls home to my

parents saying your girl has ADHD.

Like let's, let's diagnose and help.

And again, growing up in Alabama
and the nineties with, I think a

lot of misinformation and Ritalin
being really the only care plan

for people with ADHD at the time.

I have a cousin with some developmental
behavioral disorders that was on

Ritalin, and so I think that there
was just a lot of negative stigma

and misunderstanding around that.

So my parents opted not to medicate me.

And so then I just kind of like pushed
it down for a really long time for the

rest of junior high and high school and
coped and got horrible grades, even though

just like you, I was perfectly smart.

I just was not, you know,
challenged in all of the right ways.

Got through high school really
by the skin of my teeth.

I mean, I think I have like a, like
a 2.1 GPA graduating high school.

It's a wonder I got into college.

Thrived in college though, because
the setup was completely different.

I went to a very small college,
Queens University of Charlotte, that

was all discussion-based classes.

So now I'm sitting in a circle with
people on my level, talking about

the texts that I just read and I'm
interested in it, so I want to be

an active part of that conversation.

And you know, suddenly
I'm on the Dean's list.

You know, with my lousy
2.1 from high school.

And so I think that that was
when, you know, like I started

to realize I'm different.

You know, but there are other ways
to not just cope but thrive, you

know, with, or without medication.

But I mentioned at the start of this,
that you were actually one of the

people that made me have that same aha
moment that you had with your book.

You wrote a blog like at some
point when I was in college,

for the band.

And talked about your struggles with ADD.

And it was, it was definitely a
light bulb moment because all of

the different symptoms that you
were describing were like things

that I thought were wrong with me.

I especially didn't know
other women like me.

My only frame of reference for add was
the hyperactive boys who had nervous

ticks and couldn't sit still and people
blamed their sugar intake, you know?

Matt: Yeah.

Alison: And so I remember you writing
that blog, and, and suddenly like it all

clicking that it wasn't about, you know,
the hyperactivity, but it was about the,

like being distracted, being inattentive.

Not being able to control your impulses.

And, and, and so I, I didn't do anything
with that information, I'm sorry to

say, for another decade beyond that.

Again, I just kind of tucked
it down and pushed it away and

figured this is the way that I am.

And it really wasn't until I started
a more focused therapy practice

in my early thirties and began to
address some other issues in my life

that my therapist brought it up.

And that, you know, had me talking
to my doctor which, so it was.

It was, I was probably around 34
when I got officially diagnosed.

And then say, it's like, you know, okay,
now I'm now I'm part of this community.

And in the meantime, I think, you know,
somewhere between my mid twenties and

mid thirties I'm in my late thirties
now for anybody listening to this.

I, you know, I think that ADD and ADHD
and whatever we want to call it became

more talked about more publicized.

You know, more people started to come
forward and share memes about it.

And once something goes to like
meme state, like that's it, it's

no longer a stigma, which is great.

This is one of the
upsides of social media.

This is one of the reasons I will champion
various platforms is that it does help you

find and belong within your communities.

And so watching friends of mine, who I
would consider a successful by all counts,

talk about their mental health or their
ADHD struggles has been helpful for me.

And then I've tried to pay that
forward by being open and honest.

I have nothing to hide.

I have nothing to be ashamed of.

It's just a part of who I am and to a
similar, you know, a note that you made,

like I've, I'm now happy that I have ADHD.

It has led me to success
because of my abilities.

You know, it can be a super house,
super power when harnessed correctly.

Matt: Yeah.

Along those lines of, of community and.

I mean.

Even after I was diagnosed.

There are many times where I, I was
like, well, maybe I don't believe in it.

Because it has been, it has been a
very touchy, touchy subject since I

was little, since you were little,
and then, you know, only now, as you

said, it is coming to the forefront.

It's been, I feel like it isn't.

It, you know, it isn't used in
an ablest way as much people

don't talk about my ADHD.

Because they realize, okay, well,
this is actually a serious thing.

I didn't necessarily feel comfortable
calling it a disability until

somewhat recently when I was
involved in a disability community.

My wife is deaf.

And it was the the people with other
disabilities that, that kept urging

me to talk about ADHD as a disability.

And if I were to create a mind map,
which I often have to do just to get

something out of my head, I could easily
point to things where this disability has

you know, affected my day to day life.

Which is the definition of a disability.

Right.

So I'm, I'm on board with calling it that
I, I, you know, I, I certainly, I do have,

you know, full ability to hear things.

So my disability is very
different from my wife's.

If you were to talk to her, she would
say, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

He has a disability.

He has a disability.

And I think you're right, now more
than ever is the time to talk about

this because, you know, I am medicated.

I have been on and off of it since 30,
but I've been really trying to be super

diligent and learn about medication for
the last, you know, maybe five years.

There's a, there is a ton of full-on
ableism in the pharmaceutical

world when it comes to this.

And it's funny because you would never
not give a deaf person a cochlear implant

if they wanted one, but they, they
try very hard not to give me Vyvanse.

Really hard.

So I would love to talk about
some of those things coming up.

You know, whether or not you feel
comfortable identifying as this

disorder as being a disability or not,
that's not the important thing, but.

I think you're right.

The more people talk, the
better it's going to be.

The more comfortable people will be.

Nothing you could ever say to me
could mean more to me than the

stories that you just told me,
where I was honest about something.

And that something is
something that you heard.

And then you went on a personal journey.

That will make all those years,
all that time in a rock and roll

band be so worth it in my life.

And so I'm hoping maybe even
this podcast could be something

similar for other people.

It's funny when you mentioned that, I
don't necessarily want to talk about

that band too much, but one thing that I
discovered the last time I was on tour is

that there was a song that I had to learn.

And it was a song that I wrote
about a visit to Prague that

I took with an ex-girlfriend.

And I was learning these
lyrics again and going.

Whoa.

I had ADHD and I wrote about it.

I literally wrote about
it and I did not know.

Alison: I was sitting nexting next
to you… you were writing out the

lyrics at Footlight before that
show and you look up at me in the

middle of it and go, holy shit.

I was writing about ADHD you
know, however many years ago.

I did I watched the light
bulb go off in your eyes.

Matt: I love that stuff.

I love it so much.

Our human ability to become more wise.

That is one of the best ones for sure.

So yeah, I look forward to having
this podcast with you to share our

wisdom and to learn new things.

As much as we possibly can
about all those things.

Alison: Yeah.

I'm obviously looking forward to talk
to you about two of our subjects that

we talk about together a lot anyways.

But I hope it becomes a conversation,
I want to hear from other people.

I want you to chime in.

I have hope for the future.

I am a youth group adviser.

So I have the privilege of
working with with girls.

And when I see the things that
they post and the things that they

just don't care about that I cared
about so much as a high schooler.

It gives me hope.

And when I see people just kind of
leaning into these stigmas and pushing

on these boundaries, especially on
social media, I'm excited to kind

of get to be an active part of that.

Hopefully with this conversation.

And of course have another platform
to talk about Dungeons & Dragons.

Matt: Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing
how they actually do fit together,

but I think they fit together a lot.

I really do.

Alison: They do.

Matt: Well, how do you feel about
our Session Zero so far Alison?

Alison: I love it!

We're doing so good.

Matt: All right.

Alison: I'll sit here and roll dice now.

Matt: Okay.

Great.

Alison: I just rolled a natural
20, I think that was the Dice Gods

telling us that we crushed it.

Yay go us Session Zero, but also we've
opened the door for future talks.

Matt: And I second Alison, if anybody
ever hears this and wants to write us.

Maybe you should put a
survey out for this, too.

What kind of topics do you like?

If they have something
to do with ADD or D&D.

Alison: I will go ahead and go on
record and say we will welcome guests.

If you want to come talk
about your experience or just

fire questions off at us.

I think it's great that so many
people are talking about this and

we now get to be two more of them.

Matt: Well, I think it's a really good
place to be because it feels like the

end of a podcast, and we still have
five minutes left on the Time Timer.

Those are my best days.

Those are my best days.

Alison: I do want you to make the Time
Timer go off so everybody can hear it.

The magic.

I relax when I hear the Timer go off
now, like, you know, I don't know if

it's my, what is the, the bell, when
the, you know, the dog expects a treat?

What's that called?

Matt: Yes.

Pavlov.

Alison: Great.

There it is.

Matt: There it is.

Alison: That's it.

That's the whole show.

Matt: Okay.

Until next time.

Alison: Talk to you soon.

Matt: Okay.

Alison: Okay.