A Few More of My Favorite Things

I’m back!

Hello everyone! I, Melissa (Discord Mom), have been invited back to do one more installment of my favorite tech items for this week’s blog. But, before I get started, I thought I would share a little about how I landed where I am today, working for TCA.

I was diagnosed with ADHD about 5 years ago. I was actually waiting on an ADHD diagnosis for my son and while I was looking for all the research I could on ADHD, I started to notice myself in the symptoms I was reading about. So, I started doing more research on adult ADHD. That’s when I found Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast!

I binged as many episodes of the show as I could fit into each day. I just loved listening to Nikki and Pete. I felt like they were my old friends; talking directly to me. Eventually, they created the Patreon and Discord community. I was excited to be able to interact with other adults that understood what I was going through! When I got to Discord, it turns out Pete and Nikki were there too, talking to listeners! Talk about star struck—I was fan-girling pretty hard.

After a while of being a part of the community, I started creating events and meet-ups, on my own, within the community for support and accountability. Not long afterward, Pete and Nikki approached me about joining the team—basically turning what I was already doing into a job. I couldn’t believe my luck! Obviously I said “yes”, and I have enjoyed every minute of my time since that day. I love being a part of this amazing community of ADHD people—my people—growing and learning together.

OK—enough about me—now on to the topic du jour (of the day)!

I mentioned last week that I had a bit of a tough time coming up with recommendations, but it turns out this week’s podcast on home and health tech has been a bit more of a stretch. But, don’t worry, I still came up with a couple things I use regularly at home.

Google Home

Pete mentioned on the show this week that he was not a fan of the Google Nest home thermostat. I don’t have any experience with that, but I do have experience with Google Home. This has been a staple in our home for many years. We have the hubs installed all over the house. We probably use the one in our living room the most as we’re gathered together as a family and someone has a question we don’t know the answer to. Someone will just say, “Hey Google…” and in seconds we have the answer! I can also broadcast my voice to the home devices from the Home app on my phone. This is great if I’m outside and need to quickly get to someone inside the house. We also like the hub in the kitchen to bring up recipes or even video tutorials while we’re cooking. Overall, the Google Home as been very helpful.

Amazon Alexa

For some reason, we have ended up with two different home hubs in our house. However, the Alexa is used exclusively by my son. He uses this as his alarm to get up in the morning, sets reminders so he doesn’t forget something important or even to prompt him for a transition, or playing music. He also plays a popular sleep podcast every night to help him fall asleep. We have also had fun with the games on Alexa. Our favorite so far is the Escape Room. Alexa will explain a scenario, maybe you’re stuck in a jail cell, and describe your surroundings. Then you can tell Alexa what you want to do in the room, and she will either give you a new clue or tell you your search was not successful. It has been a lot of fun and a great bonding experience.

So, those are my two home tech recommendations this week. They are clearly similar services, but in our house, they are used in very different ways that have been a great benefit to our family.

I hope you have enjoyed these last two weeks with me as your blog host. I have had a blast! If you find yourself in the Taking Control Discord community, don’t be a stranger and say hello!

Thanks for your time and attention!

-Melissa (Discord Mom)