My Story
I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 25 and struggled with what it meant, what medication would help (if any) and how to manage it. A year later I was diagnosed with autism, which came with its own learning curve of how to understand its contradictions with ADHD and what I could do to try and make my life even a little bit easier. I tried lots of different things, jumped between jobs, tried new hobbies and passions, switched between coaching and therapy. I finally took the leap after a lot of deliberation and decided to become an ADHD Coach for two main reasons; to educate myself in a more formal setting, and to help other people like me.
I am also in the early stages of my career working as an Engineer and Project Manager in the energy industry, so I understand how hard it can feel to fit in when the world just doesn't seem quite right. I am on a mission to breakdown the negative stereotypes that surround ADHD and autism within the energy industry, and to make things better for everyone - for those that have ADHD and want to work with their strengths, and for those that work with or manage people who have ADHD and want to help them thrive. This passion has led me to presenting at conferences and being part of panel discussions in front of the top leaders of the energy industry, so that I can raise awareness and open the discussion on ADHD, autism, and neurodiversity.
I have experience of working in a very high-pressure industry and feeling like I don't fit in. I've been extremely bored in job roles that are meant to be "excellent", I get overwhelmed doing simple things that others find easy, yet I can produce work at a rate that nobody else can when it's something I'm interested in! My own experience with Access to Work means that I have been able to make small changes at work to make things easier - one of those changes being coaching.
As a Project Manager I need to be able to host meetings while taking notes, speaking, and listening to what's going on - something that I find excruciatingly challenging because of my ADHD! It's hard enough to manage a full-time job in the post-COVID world of overwhelm due to too many teams meetings, hybrid meetings, in-person meetings, being a woman in a male dominated industry and managing a personal life. Add ADHD and autism in there as well and suddenly it's an anxiety inducing, depression delivery, stressful situation to be in! But having coaching and learning strategies that suit my brain and way of working, building my confidence to speak up in these situations to be able to be honest about my challenges, combined with some assistive technologies, has made a massive difference, and allowed me to start thriving!
