03/22/2026
Staff Spotlight: Andee Warren, owner, Family Peer Support
I got my ADHD diagnosis at 28 years old, one year after having my first child. During the process my husband learned he is also neurodivergent. If you had asked me then how I felt about living in a Neurodivergent household? I would have screamed and cried, shaken my fist at the sky and wailed “Why me?”
I took several months to come to grips with my diagnosis. There were positives - at least now I knew why my brain works the way it does. That knowledge felt like power. My google searches turned from “daily cleaning routine” to “ADHD cleaning schedule”. I found groups online where I felt seen, and I finally had the language to describe what living in my world felt like.
There was also a lot of fear and worry. How would I do this mothering thing when I struggled with tasks that seemed so basic and easy for everyone else? How could I give my son the quality time and attention he deserves when my brain craves stimulation 24/7 and playing with a toddler can be so. Dang. BORING (iykyk). What about the genetic component? How on earth would I manage a neurodivergent kid on top of my own neurodivergence? I didn’t have years to figure out how to work with my brain. I have been learning adulting and parenting in one fell swoop.
All that being said, go ahead and ask me how I feel now about living in a neurodivergent household. I will tell anyone and everyone that it is the most wonderful, challenging, empowering, joyful experience of my life. My beautiful little boy is 5 now, with his very own diagnosis, and he is amazing. His brain works in the most wonderful way and it is such a joy to see it in action, even when it’s hard.
Sure, he has meltdowns, that comes with the territory. But in all my research I’ve learned how to help him through it. I’ve learned how to help MYSELF through it! Emotional regulation tools and coping mechanisms are such important strategies that I never needed to implement, and now we’re figuring it out together. The pride I felt in both of us when I helped him regulate mid-meltdown? Mindblowing. Knowing that I have the strategies and tools to head off overstimulation-induced meltdowns before they start? Incredible.
The joy is also in the small things. Like when I walk in from work and my husband and son are sitting on the couch, repeating verbal stims to each other. It’s so silly and fun, and I love that I can see it as stimming and connection instead of useless noise designed to drive me crazy. My son and I were stimming with each other and my husband’s response was “having fun?” and a smile instead of “what in the world?” and a frown.
So yeah. In a world not built for us, it can be really hard. But it’s completely worth it when I look at my little boy and see myself in him.
Photo Id: White woman wearing a black ball cap and clear glasses has a blond boy in baby carrier
