Podcast Summary: Translating ADHD

Episode: Wired for Context: How ADHD Thinks in Meaning, Not Lists
Hosts: Asher Collins & Dusty Chipura
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the central idea that ADHD brains are "wired for context" rather than for linear, list-based thinking. Ash and Dusty—both ADHD coaches—share personal anecdotes, client stories, and practical insights to illustrate the strengths and challenges of contextual thinking. The discussion highlights why linear tools (such as outlines and step-by-step instructions) often fail for ADHD adults and why a dialogic, meaning-based approach is more successful. The hosts also touch on the way ADHD context-wiring can manifest as both challenges (e.g., difficulty with task breakdown or self-directed learning) and major strengths (e.g., creativity, crisis problem-solving, and empathetic communication).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. ADHD Brains Are Contextual, Not Linear

• What Does “Wired for Context” Mean?

  • Ash defines this as "not being linear thinkers," noting that people with ADHD process information contextually, struggling with conventional outlines and linear instructions.
    • Quote: “We are not linear thinkers. We think contextually, not linearly…We are so often the children that wrote the outline last.” – Ash (01:19)
  • Both hosts share that they often need to be in the midst of a conversation or project to start collecting their thoughts and understanding structure.

• Personal School Experiences

  • Ash describes always turning in outlines last in school, finding it impossible to create structure before understanding the content.
    • Quote: "If I had to submit an outline for a paper before I had started writing the paper, chances are I either wasn't going to do that assignment at all or that I would find it really difficult..." – Ash (02:23)
  • Dusty shares that classroom learning worked well largely because it allowed for asking questions—something key for contextual thinkers.

2. The Challenge of Self-Directed Work and Task Initiation

• Struggles With Task Breakdown & Lists
  • Dusty describes being unable to act on vague to-dos (“fix problem with X”) and needing detailed, stepwise prompts.
    • Quote: "If I just write fix problem with X when the time comes, I'm like, huh?... as soon as I'm having a meeting…the door just opens…that’s my kind of context." – Dusty (04:10-05:01)
  • Both hosts discuss how action often only sparks in collaborative or conversational contexts, not in isolation.

3. Making Meaning Through Dialogue, Not Documents

• Why Documents and Videos Often Fail

  • Ash recounts consulting with an ADHD-heavy workplace, where a non-ADHD coworker is frustrated people don’t read documentation. Ash explains that lists don’t provide necessary context for many ADHDers.
    • Quote: "A list is the worst way for me to understand something." – Ash quoting a client (06:41)
  • Dusty identifies as a poor “autodidact,” unable to learn effectively from videos or documents because vital clarifications are always missing.
    • Quote: "I'm not autodidactic at all…I always have questions that are never answered in a video, in a script, in a document." – Dusty (07:32)

• Learning by Doing, Together

  • Ash describes preferring to learn new skills with a knowledgeable friend present, to answer questions and provide immediate context.
    • Quote: "I want you there to answer my questions, to give me the context, to fill in whatever gaps I need filled in." – Ash (09:29)
  • Both hosts discuss messages of being “overcomplicated” or “stupid” for needing this roundabout way to make meaning.

4. Strengths Born from Contextual Wiring

• Crisis Management and Creative Problem Solving

  • Ash notes that ADHD individuals excel in crisis: “Crisis can be a real clarifier. Because we absorb so much information…we are often able to see solutions that other folks can't see.” (15:39)
  • Dusty likens ADHDers to “little squirrels…always squirreling away nuts of information and little bits of skills.” In moments of context, these scattered insights coalesce into unique solutions.
    • Quote: “…our tendency to flip from thing to thing becomes a strength in context of problem solving.” – Dusty (17:50)

• Bridging Between Worlds

  • Ash highlights that many ADHD people act as liaisons—connecting perspectives between different groups (engineers and business, for example).
    • Quote: “…she’s able to kind of see the context from both sides and talk across aisles to both sets of people.” – Ash (18:31)
  • Empathy and point-of-view shifting can be weaknesses in self-esteem, but vital strengths in collaborative work.

5. Coaching as a Tool for Uncovering Context

• Searchable But Not Indexable

  • Ash describes ADHD brains as “searchable but not indexable”—information is present but hard to access without proper context.
    • Quote: “Sometimes we don't know what we don't know. And coaching conversations can be a great mechanism to bring this out…” – Ash (11:41)

• Rewriting Motivation and Expectations

  • Example: Ash’s client stuck in a loop of avoidance and despair around dating, motivated by others’ expectations. Coaching helped her rediscover her own values and recontextualize goals.
    • “She was carrying around somebody else’s context...” – Ash (20:00)

6. Key Takeaways for ADHD Listeners

• Awareness Precedes Change
  • The hosts emphasize that making meaningful change starts with understanding one's own context and motivations.
    • Quote: “…with ADHD, simple and easy are not necessarily the same thing.” – Ash (20:23)
• “It All Comes Down to Context”
  • Tools, solutions, and strategies for ADHD must honor the reality that contextual meaning-making—not checklist following—is the key to authenticity and success.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Ash (01:19): “We are not linear thinkers. We think contextually, not linearly.”
• Dusty (04:10): “If I just write fix problem with X when the time comes, I'm like, huh?…the door just opens at the magical hour when everyone else arrives for the meeting.”
• Ash (06:41): “A list is the worst way for me to understand something.”
• Dusty (07:32): “I've always been a terrible self learner…I always have questions that are never answered in a video, in a script, in a document.”
• Ash (09:29): “I want you there to answer my questions, to give me the context, to fill in whatever gaps I need filled in.”
• Ash (15:39): “ADHD people are almost universally good in a crisis…we are often able to see solutions that other folks can't see.”
• Dusty (17:50): “…our natural curiosity and our tendency to flip from thing to thing becomes a strength in context of problem solving.”
• Ash (18:31): “We're great bridges between people...able to kind of see the context from both sides and talk across aisles to both sets of people.”
• Ash (20:23): “With ADHD, simple and easy are not necessarily the same thing.”

Additional Resources & Events Mentioned

(for reference; not part of main content)

• Ash’s live coaching demo for Patreon members
• Dusty's group coaching program openings

Episode Flow (with Major Timestamps)

• [01:19] Intro to "wired for context"
• [03:40] Task initiation and need for detailed lists
• [06:41] Struggles with written documentation and self-teaching
• [09:29] Learning by doing, and experiencing context as making meaning
• [11:41] Coaching tools for uncovering context and self-motivation
• [15:39] Strengths: crisis management, creativity, and connection-making
• [18:31] Being a bridge: empathy as strength
• [20:00] Implications for managing ADHD and sustainable change

Conclusion

This episode offers an enlightening reframing of how ADHD brains approach the world—arguing for honoring contextual, dialogic, and curiosity-driven ways of making meaning. Ash and Dusty challenge the deficit-based lens and highlight the creative, bridging, problem-solving advantages that come with ADHD’s unique wiring. The key message: understanding and embracing your need for context can unlock new pathways for success and authenticity.