05/05/2026
For those who discovered ADHD later in life: when did you start thinking... “Maybe this explains things?”
For me it was a gentle unfolding. It was actually my clients that began to bring pieces of knowledge and experience into my therapy sessions.
Around four to five years ago I started to get a steady stream of ADHD and undiagnosed ADHD clients seeking therapy for a collection of symptoms I would then have simply recognised as anxiety, low mood and motivation and oftentimes guilt and shame.
The stories and presentations were familiar as was the search for answers and understanding of their patterns and experiences. I noticed some of these patterns mirrored my own experiences and over time I kept hearing about ADHD (particularly from my diagnosed clients) and how it was missed or not fully understood in women or in later life.
Curiosity and a passion to genuinely support these clients took me to a place of learning, and that learning and the experience I have since gained led me to my own diagnosis and my daughter’s.
Interestingly, prior to all of this, when my daughter was seven, she had an autism assessment, and I clearly remember feeling misunderstood and not fully heard in my concerns. What I was seeing (meltdowns, overwhelm, overthinking, poor sleep, sensory issues) only landed with an educational psychologist who specialised in female neurodivergence. Her views were overridden by the psychiatrist at the time (little did I know I was close but not looking in the right place) and the advice was to wait until secondary school where if she is autistic her traits would become more evident and she’d essentially struggle and fail at school!!
For her we addressed her needs at home and where we could made accommodations at school- I simply thought I was employing my OT skills as a mum and yet with the wisdom of hindsight I can see that my coaching and therapy expertise were already blossoming and forming what would become my passion.
As a neurodivergent family, we benefit from intentional and purposeful layers of support built into our home life. This is also reflected in our therapy room where we have additional sensory items that my clients can freely experiment with (weighted blankets, sensory/fidget toys).
If you want to find out more about ADHD coaching, so you too can find practical and functional solutions to your neurodivergence then make your way to my website at Black Dog Coaching.
