Whether your teenager has an ADHD diagnosis, you’re waiting for an assessment, or you’re beginning to wonder whether ADHD might explain some of the challenges you’re seeing, you’ve probably noticed there’s no shortage of information.
Books, podcasts, social media, experts and influencers. Every day there seems to be another post telling you what ADHD is, what it isn’t, what you should be doing and what you’re doing wrong.
Some of it is excellent. Some of it is based on one person’s experience and shared as though it’s the answer for everyone.
It’s no wonder so many parents tell me they feel overwhelmed.
When you’re trying to make sense of it all
Every day, I work alongside teenagers and their families, helping them navigate the challenges that adolescence and ADHD can bring. Spending so much time listening to young people and parents means I see, first hand, how different every ADHD journey can be.
That’s because ADHD isn’t simple.
There isn’t one way that ADHD looks. There isn’t one strategy that works for every young person, and there certainly isn’t one way to support a teenager with ADHD.
There is no one size fits all ADHD teenager.
So there can’t be a one size fits all approach to supporting them.
ADHD and the teenage years
Teenage years are complicated enough without ADHD.
As parents, we’re trying to work out what’s part of normal adolescent development, what’s influenced by ADHD and what’s simply unique to our child.
Sometimes it’s obvious. Often it isn’t.
That’s what makes parenting a teenager with ADHD, or one you suspect may have ADHD, so challenging.
You’re not just trying to understand ADHD. You’re trying to understand your teenager.
Not somebody else’s teenager.
Not the teenager described in a book, a podcast or on social media.
Your teenager.
Their strengths.
Their challenges.
Their personality.
Their way of experiencing the world.
Because understanding your teenager is very different from simply understanding ADHD.
Understanding comes before strategies
When parents come to see me, they’re often hoping for practical strategies that will make life easier.
Strategies absolutely have their place, but I’ve learnt that they work best when they’re built on understanding.
When we understand what’s happening beneath the behaviour, we stop asking, “Why won’t they?” and begin asking, “What’s making this difficult?”
That small shift can change everything.
It helps us respond with curiosity instead of frustration. It helps our teenagers feel understood instead of judged. It reminds us that many young people with ADHD are already trying much harder than we realise.
Understanding comes before strategies.
Why Vicki and I created these workshops
That’s why I’ve teamed up with Vicki Clark from Neon Mind to create two workshops for parents of teenagers with ADHD, and for those who are beginning to wonder whether ADHD might explain the challenges they’re seeing.
Between us, we bring two different but complementary perspectives.
I spend my days working alongside teenagers and their families, helping them make sense of adolescence and the additional challenges that ADHD can bring.
Vicki is an ADHD coach, and the parent of neurodivergent teenagers. She brings both professional knowledge and lived experience of supporting ADHD every day.
Together, we combine professional expertise with lived experience to help parents cut through the noise and better understand their teenagers.
We’re not here to tell you how to parent your teenager.
We’re here to help you understand them.
Because when understanding changes, everything else can begin to change too.
Our workshops can be attended individually, or together if you’d like to build a deeper understanding over both evenings.
If you’d like to join us, we’d love to welcome you.
Find out more and book your place here.