Blended Families and ADHD: Meet the People Behind Anchored Coaching

Alright, before I go off on tangents about ADHD, messy relationships, or the absolute circus that is stepfamily life, let’s get the “about me” bit out of the way. I’m Jo. I live in Ferntree Gully with Ben, my partner, main support, emergency chippie supplier, and basically the human version of a warm blanket. We wrangle this gloriously chaotic blended family: his boys, Will who is 17 and Patrick who is 11, each with enough personality to fill a sitcom.

Home? It’s…home, it’s ours—shouting at games, cups everywhere, overwhelm over lose hair on our shoulders, meltdowns, and, on the many good days, a shared sense that we’re all in this together. Ben’s my anchor. The dude can crack a joke mid-meltdown and, wild as it sounds, he’s the one who made me believe I deserve a little kindness (even when my brain’s running a thousand tabs).

Will, my stepson, is basically a Year 11 veteran with a ridiculous memory for facts and a built-in radar for random games, never a dull day. Patrick is here part-time, but he’s very much part of the furniture when he is. He’s unpredictable and random in the best way, always making us laugh and raise eyebrows.

Look, nothing about blending families is smooth sailing. ADHD in the mix? Autism in the mix? Bipolar and schizophrenia in the mix? PTSD in the mix? Depression? Anxiety? Add a few emotional thunderstorms, too many open cereal boxes, and you start to get the picture. We’ve all had rough patches and worse. There are weeks when just surviving deserves a medal. Every mess, every epic screw-up, honestly, it teaches me more than any textbook ever could. And that’s the stuff I draw from when I coach, because no one wants advice from someone who acts like they’ve already nailed it, right?

I’m not sharing all this because I’ve solved some stepfamily or mental health puzzle. I share it because I know what it’s like to want more, more peace, more real connection, more moments where things just “click.” If you’re even glancing at this, you probably know the feeling.

Anyway! welcome. I’ll be tossing out real stories, sharing the hard bits (and the weirdly funny ones), plus stuff that’s actually worked for us. If nothing else, I hope you walk away with a little hope and a laugh or two. Maybe even a tiny spark that says, “Alright, I’m not alone in this mess.”