ADHD Dude is Ryan Wexelblatt, LCSW
Meet Ryan Wexelblatt
Welcome! My name is Ryan, I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, School Social Worker and Certified Autism Specialist who has spent nearly 20 years working with kids and young adults who present with social learning and executive functioning challenges. I continue to work as a School Social Worker, Camp Director, Clinician and now “Coach”.
While I have worked with kids with ADHD since graduating from graduate school I became interested in social learning (social skills) because my son whom I adopted as an older child needed help with his social skills, executive functioning and emotional regulation skills.
Like many of you, I did not find any programs in the area that were a good fit for my son. All the social skills programs in the area were geared for kids with autism (which my son does not have). The people doing executive functioning work were only doing academic executive functioning work with highly academic kids and I could tell they would never be able to relate to my son who has learning disabilities. Because I could not find anything in the Philadelphia that fit for my son I took the learning process into my own hands.
I created the ADHD Dude Facebook group and YouTube channel in 2018 because I saw that parents were looking for practical information and strategies to help their children build their executive functioning and age-expected independence. From my private practice work I knew that many Moms were looking for a male approach to teaching social skills to their sons. The vast majority of people who teach social skills to boys are women (who often do not understand the nuances of male-male friendships or social communication).
Please note that while I am a licensed professional, I am not operating in a clinical capacity through ADHD Dude coaching and cannot provide psychotherapy. If you are seeking therapy for a mental health issue please consult with a licensed mental health professional in your area.
Please contact me below to discuss how we can work together to help your family. I look forward to connecting with you.
Ryan Wexelblatt, LCSW, CAS
ADHD Dude
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
- Certified New New Jersey School Social Worker
- Certified Autism Specialist
- Received Social Thinking® Clinical Training Level 1 Certificate of Completion
- Certificate in Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Youth from the Beck Institute
- Extensive training in executive functioning support strategies
- Training from Temple University Children & Teen Anxiety Clinic
- Training in sexuality and relationship education
Interested in online, individual sessions with Ryan? Visit our Coaching page to learn more or join our mailing list to be learn about online courses (all of which have a live, weekly meeting.
What’s ADHD Dude About?
ADHD can be defined as a continuum of lagging skills (executive functioning, social cognitive and emotional regulation). The vast majority of mental health professionals and education professionals (teachers, principals, etc.) receive little to no education or training in ADHD. As a result, they are at a loss as to help kids develop executive functioning and social cognitive skills. As many parents have learned traditional “talk therapy” and social skills groups are typically ineffective for kids with ADHD.
What complicates teaching kids these skills is our current child rearing culture (fear-based “helicopter parenting”, focusing on grades/standardized test scores instead of social/emotional learning and treating kids as physically and emotionally fragile) is extremely detrimental to the development of executive functioning, age-expected independence and for some, social skills. Furthermore, research has indicated the the current child rearing culture can be directly attributed to this decades rise in child anxiety.
ADHD Dude aims to counteract this unhelpful child rearing culture through parent education and coaching so kids with ADHD can develop their executive functioning, independence, social skills and resiliency in ways that will prepare them to be resilient, independent and socially competent adults.
Interested in online, individual sessions with Ryan? Visit our Coaching page to learn more or join our mailing list to be learn about online courses (all of which have a live, weekly meeting.
Join the ADHD Dude Community
Sign up for 5 days of free information to help your son improve his executive function and social skills. Your personal information will never be shared or sold.
