How we made ADHD Works work in year 2 ??

Having ADHD can impact our trust in ourselves, resulting in self-sabotage as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is especially so when the novelty and hyper-focus wears off, and we fear 'following through'.

There was once a point where I couldn't imagine staying with any idea (or job!) for more than a few weeks, but as ADHD Works turns 2 today, I genuinely couldn't imagine doing anything else.

It's been a privilege to grow alongside the company, and above all, to be able to connect with so many extraordinary people around the world. To be part of their journey in some way, and to help create solutions within a broken system.

The ripple effect of this work is that the world is a slightly more neuro-inclusive place, and that's something I could never give up on.

So, please feel free to join the celebration of what we've been up to in our 2nd year:

1)Training ADHD Coaches

We've now trained over 250 ADHD Coaches, all over the world - including in China, America, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Spain, Denmark, South Africa, and the UK.

These people are some of the most passionate, inspiring, innovative and dedicated I've met. There's been moments of absolute awe in seeing the connection and healing of like-minded people supporting each other in pursuit of empowering others.

It's said that 'great leaders create more leaders, not followers', and although leadership skills are something I've had to work on a lot, I do feel very proud of the brilliant ADHD Coaches we've trained.

They're all leading the way in their own right: from bringing executive functioning skills to schools, creating communities, supporting parents, changing workplaces, starting conversations and facilitating individual change - the list is endless. Every day I log onto LinkedIn to see their client testimonials, words about how they've changed people's lives, and feel so grateful to have been a small part of their journey.

In contrast to the years-long waiting lists for assessments, ADHD medication shortages, and millions of people that need help, 250 people doesn't sound like a lot - but it's a start!

It's also been amazing to add in my own learning over time, as I'm constantly learning myself. We've now got new lessons on everything from ADHD & hormones to Autism, and the course has developed so much from when I started it 1.5 years ago (after 7 cohorts!).

2) Becoming CPD Certified

A huge reason for creating the ADHD Coaching training was the unregulated market for coaching, vulnerability of the people needing support, and knowledge that neurotypical coaching styles didn't seem to work for neurodivergent people.

I created the Executive Functioning Coaching Framework as an optional menu of choices, so there's no pressure within sessions and people can fully unmask whilst learning about how ADHD impacts them, taking charge of their brain. If you've met 1 person with ADHD, you've met 1 person with ADHD!

However, this made external certification and accreditation challenging, as coaching is traditionally based on clients bringing the agenda. I was also defensive about meeting neurotypical standards or checkboxes, and having to change what I knew already worked. However, the realisation that this wasn't 'all or nothing', and the benefits that objective, external feedback could provide, outweighed my own Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria.

So ironically, the course then became the first and only ADHD coaching course to be certified by The CPD Certification Service . It was a painful process, with lots of administration, but also an extremely helpful one in ensuring the course was the best it could possibly be.

We then also had our ADHD Champions course certified, after seeing how many people have benefitted from learning how to support people with ADHD in their workplace. If someone had told me this could be 'official' continuing professional development when I was employed, I would have burst out laughing (before immediately signing up!).

3) ADHD Coaching

I don't know any other coaching training providers that also offer coaching themselves, but ADHD coaching will always be at the heart of what we do. We practice what we preach!

Empowering people who are navigating a life-changing experience to make sense of this, and decide what to do with it, is indescribably rewarding. I'll never take for granted the trust of those who share their experiences, or their bravery to step out of their comfort zones and 'do what they know' in coaching.

Community is at the core of ADHD Works, and creating spaces where people can connect with one another whilst understanding themselves as individuals was amazing to be able to do with group coaching within our Make ADHD Work For You course.

We've been extremely fortunate to have had many exceptionally talented ADHD coaches working 'in house' with our clients this year, and to be able to actively oversee the ripple effect. Every person will have their own unique needs in an ADHD Coach based on their own experiences, so being able to find people that 'get' you is extremely important.

It's been a lot of work (and stress!) to ensure this is as effective as possible (especially helping people through the Access to Work process!), but has also seen major milestones like taking on our first full time employee as a Client Manager, the wonderful Charlie Champion . I'm very excited to have the brilliant neurodivergent therapist Polly Miskiewicz joining us as our Clinical Advisor to help us develop even more into providing the best possible support.

4) Training Organisations on ADHD

It's been amazing to train companies like 谷歌 , Mind , and Keel this year, especially in equipping employees with tools to continue these conversations.

Training people as ADHD Champions means they're able to share their logo with others, sparking support which is especially needed for those who don't want to talk to their manager or HR, but are curious to learn more.

This training additionally resulted in a self-paced course for managers with ADHD and managers of ADHD-ers, helping them to set clear foundations and communication for working effectively with ADHD at work.

We also talked about ADHD in schools for the first time this year. I decided to offer this for free after seeing the immense struggles that parents, children, and teachers are navigating in a post-pandemic world.

Talking to a room filled with primary school children was far more intimidating than talking to professionals - they were far more straight forward! One little girl asked me how to get rid of ADHD, and it was very meaningful to hopefully help her reframe this as NOT a bad thing (or something I'd want to get rid of), but just part of who a person is.

5) Publishing the ADHD Works at Work book

I often hear how neurodiversity trainings focus on the negatives and 'solutions', instead of the strengths and positives. This is missing such an important part of neuro-inclusivity, including the endless opportunities to harness our differences.

As I worked in mental health and disability law before becoming an ADHD Coach, I also understand the significance and challenges of the Equality Act when talking about neurodiversity.

Accommodations aren't a 'nice to have' - they're often legally required. This is a huge grey area for employers and employees who don't have any training on neurodiversity, disabilities, or reasonable adjustments.

As 1 in 5 neurodivergent employees have experienced harassment or discrimination at work, this book felt extremely needed. I also saw this on a daily basis through training and coaching, especially as we support so many employers in helping them to engage with Access to Work.

So I decided to write down everything that was in my head on how to understand, support, and harness ADHD at work, and asked the brilliant Ellie Perkins to design a cover! Gina Cory published it and Sarah H. figured out how to record an audiobook for it (to lots of demand!) - and it became a reality.

Lisette Schipper , Neurodiversity Advocacy Lead at Google, also did the huge honour of writing the most inspirational foreword and testimonial I could hope for. As such a role model and leader, having someone like Lisette call this book a masterpiece was one of those 'maybe I'm doing something right after all' moments!

It's been amazing to see how many people this book has resonated with. I didn't want to write it just for one group of people, but wanted to share as much resources and support as possible for employers and employees alike. Neuro-inclusion is about everybody.

6) ADHD Advocacy

Whilst we've done everything we can to help make the world a more ADHD-friendly place, this has been within a broken and worsening system. The waiting lists for assessments have grown, ADHD has been politicised within the media, and there's been months of ongoing national medication shortages.

I spoke about the life-threatening danger of these shortages on national BBC breakfast television, alongside creating content to hopefully help others, such as with templates to tell employers and track symptoms.

We also ran a petition calling for a public inquiry into pre and post diagnostic ADHD support, which received over 11,000 signatures. The response from the Government was essentially ‘we don’t care’, but they did establish an NHS England ADHD Taskforce to review the years long waiting lists a couple of months later.

It was also extremely inspiring to visit Parliament for the Neurodivergent Conditions screening bill and to meet so many inspirational neurodiversity advocates at one time. This world has felt increasingly divided, but this was an important reminder of the power of collaboration in pursuit of our common purpose.

Alongside the negatives of ADHD being talked about more widely in society, there's also been positives. It was great to speak on Alex Partridge 's podcast ADHD Chatter, and Ben Branson 's, The Hidden 20% - there's so many amazing conversations that are being had around neurodivergence now, so it's just about being conscious of what we consume!

7) Being awarded the ‘most diverse and inclusive brand’

It was a very 'full circle' moment for Soho Works to award ADHD Works the Future 50 award for being the most diverse and inclusive brand, because this is where it all started.

Working in a creative space like Soho House inspired me to see a world where I could do things differently, and be the change I wanted to see. The name Soho Works inspired me to see how 'ADHD Works' - literally!

It was very surreal to be invited to the awards ceremony and to give a speech (with lots of champagne & terrible jokes), but even more so to find myself in Soho House magazine when I went to Barcelona!

Having grown up feeling like I didn't belong anywhere, the one thing I wanted to do with ADHD Works was create an environment where everybody feels welcome. To create a space where no one feels left out, 'too much', or 'not enough'. To connect over our differences and celebrate each other, in a world where so many of us have felt so alone.

This has only been possible with our wonderful team, who have made ADHD Works work behind the scenes with their tireless effort, passion, and determination.

It's been unimaginably stressful at times, with intense pressure (usually from myself!) and has been very challenging for me to navigate alongside ADHD medication shortages. It's really thanks to Sarah H. , Beth Huntingdon , Charlie Champion , Gina Cory , Ellie Perkins , Georgia Fitzgerald , Saskia Mardi and Sam Bramwell (She/Her) that ADHD Works has made it to this point!

Thank you so much to everybody else who has chosen to trust and work with us, who have kept this dream alive. I might have started ADHD Works, but it's really a collaborative effort: it would be nothing without the people who turn it from an idea into reality.

I'm so excited to see what year 3 has in store, starting with our ADHD ideas retreat this August and kicking off September with training our next cohort of ADHD coaches. If you have any ideas for us or things you'd like to see, feel free to drop us a message - we're always learning!