A Neurodivergent Journey

A list of resources that helped me understand my ADHD brain.

“Could be the top of the class, if she put her mind to it.”

“Finishes her work quickly, but then gets up to move around the classroom chatting and distracting others.”

“A pleasure to teach, but would get more done if she weren’t daydreaming out of the window.”

“Highly creative with huge potential, when she applies herself.”

“Talks too much, but excels under her own direction.”

Extracts from my school reports.

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Me messing about in my happy place, my childhood garden with my cat, Tiger. Note how much he looks like my current cat, Bill.

There’s a grieving period with a late diagnosis, of what life could have been had you had the knowledge or the guidance that is available now.

I don’t linger on this, but back in October after becoming official, there was a month or two when I was reeling with the information. My coping mechanism is always to learn as much as possible about whatever *it* is, in this case, ADHD.

Allow me to present to you, the best (in my opinion) places for information and validation.

Listicles aren’t the done thing here on Substack but sometimes it’s an easier way to digest information quickly.

Additionally, this is a post about ADHD so it would be remiss of me to try and write something too long when the experience of ADHD symptoms manifest differently depending on your own life.

Just gimme the goods, I hear you say!

The following helped me open my mind to neurodiversity after learning more about it due to one of my kids. Like many women my age, I recognise myself in much of what is going on for her.

Some of the resources below are from autistic folk. I’ve included them because, apart from being brilliant, they helped me to recognise the spectrum element and the crossover of some symptoms.

Think of this list as a jumping-off point for your own investigations, if you feel the need.

Side note- most of the resources below are from women because that is where I recognise my experience.

Books

• Better Late Than Never by Emma Mahony. This book had me in tears at several points. The list of jobs was like reading much of my employment history, also helpful that it’s from a writer in the UK.

• Scattered Minds by Gabor Maté. This book helped me, but I have complex feelings about some of his theories

Articles

• This is what it's really like to live with ADHD

• ADHD and an Unusual Sense of Fairness

• The ADHD theory of "Everything Everywhere All at Once." I saw this film without knowing the backstory about the writers and the plot- I said to my husband within ten minutes of watching, “This is what the inside of my head is like,” and then I found this article.

Instagram

• ADHD_love_ - Hugely relatable content from a couple who recently published a book I’ve yet to get to.

• neurodivergent_lou - Possibly the wisest 21-year-old ever?

• amandaperry - ADHD business strategist.

• adhd_girls - ADHD advocacy, also a WhatsApp group.

• dt.perry - Over the pond is somewhat ahead of us with regards to ADHD, this is information with the science behind it.

• myladyadhd - Another USA-based source here, Trina posts relatable and helpful content.

• weareunmasked - A community for autism, ADHD & neurodivergents

Podcasts

• This recent Mel Robbins episode

• For general information and expert interviews ADHD Women’s Wellbeing podcast

Tiktok

• Dr Sam Zoranovich The Neuroqueer Chiropractor blew my mind because he accurately named lots of the things I’ve had going on with my physical body, all my life. It turns out that there are commonalities of comorbidities (things that often occur) that are associated with ND’s. He is on other platforms and obviously has his own practice, but TikTok is where I found him.

Substack

• Susannah Conway - I’ve followed Susannah for years, we got our ADHD diagnoses within a month of each other.

• Charlie Rewilding - Charlie is a more recent discovery, she has a YouTube account where she powerfully shares the depth of her experiences.

Let me know if this is helpful.