ADHDaptive

04/06/2026

Awareness is fine.

But it’s not enough.

You can know autism exists and still treat autistic people as difficult, awkward, too direct, too sensitive, too much, or not trying hard enough.

That is the bit we need to move past.

Acceptance means changing how we behave. At work. At home. In public spaces. In the way we respond when someone’s needs are different from ours.

I’ve written a short piece on autism awareness vs autism acceptance here:

Why autism awareness is only the starting point, and why real acceptance means access, inclusion and changing how autistic people are treated.

03/06/2026

Digital ID is back in the news.

The King’s Speech confirmed plans to take it forward through the Digital Access to Services Bill.

For ADHD and neurodivergent people, this is not just about privacy.

It is about access.

Any system gets things wrong sometimes. Digital systems get things wrong too, frequently, and they are harder to put right.

Names do not match. Codes time out. Passwords magically don't work. Phones get lost. Forms reject people for reasons nobody can explain.

And when that happens, people can get locked out of things they need.

Work checks.

Public services.

Benefits.

Healthcare.

Tax.

Housing support.

Then the blame lands on the person for “not keeping up”, when the system was hard to use in the first place.

For ADHD brains, add working memory, admin fatigue, missed emails, anxiety, form overwhelm and the joyless nonsense of two-factor codes expiring while you are still trying to find your glasses.

“Not mandatory” sounds nice.

But if everyday life starts depending on it, we need to talk about who gets left outside.

I wrote about it here:

The UK government has responded to the 2.7M-signature petition against Digital ID. They claim it’s “not mandatory,” yet link it to Right to Work checks. That

01/06/2026

New on the ADHDaptive blog.

A lot of ADHD challenges get treated with the same old advice:

Set a reminder.
Use a planner.
Make a list.
Try harder next time.

Sometimes that helps.

A lot of the time, it misses what is actually happening.

One thing ADHD brains can often do well is spot patterns. So the post is about using that properly.

Spot the pattern.
Name what is happening.
Make changes that fit.

That is much closer to the work I do with people.

Because if the same thing keeps going wrong, the answer is not always another reminder. Sometimes the real work is finding the point where the system breaks.

Read it here:

Many ADHD challenges are treated with more reminders. This post explains why pattern spotting works better and how to make changes that fit.

28/05/2026

You know they’re capable.

That’s why it hurts.

When your young adult has ADHD, it can be hard to watch them struggle with things that look simple from the outside. Adulting is hard...

University work.

Study routines.

Friendships.

Social plans.

Replying to messages.

Turning up on time.

Starting things before the panic kicks in.

Keeping their room somewhere between “normal mess” and “archaeological site.”

You remind them because you care.

They hear criticism because they’ve heard years of advice already.

Then you feel guilty.

They feel judged.

And the same argument starts again, wearing a slightly different coat.

I’ve written a blog post about how parents and carers can support a young adult with ADHD without falling into nagging, rescuing, or stepping back so far that it feels like giving up.

It’s here:

How parents can support a young adult with ADHD without nagging, taking over, or turning every conversation into another instruction.

28/05/2026

I’ve had this come up a few times now.

A parent or carer gets in touch because they’re worried about a young adult with ADHD.

Not a child. A young adult who is suddenly expected to do "Adulting" - manage work, study, money, appointments, messages, sleep, food, routines… all the grown-up admin nonsense that quietly piles up and starts biting ankles.

The parent wants to help.

The young adult hears criticism.

A reminder becomes nagging.

Advice becomes pressure.

Everyone ends up frustrated, and nobody is actually wrong.

So I’ve made this clearer on ADHDaptive.

I offer ADHD coaching for young adults, and separate support sessions for parents and carers who want to understand what is going on and help without taking over.

Practical support for real homes, where people care about each other but keep getting stuck in the same loop.

ADHD coaching for young adults and parent support sessions for families who need calm, practical help with overwhelm, routines and independence.

28/04/2026

This is how I ended up debugging an accessibility tool at 4:55am.

Ran a check on my site.

It told me I had no headings. I built it. I know it has headings.

Told me the page was force reloading. It isn’t.

Then I noticed the preview it was analysing…

Half the page missing.

So it’s scanning something that doesn’t exist, and still giving me a score and a list of fixes.

And now I’m sat there wondering if I’ve broken something, going back over work that was already fine.

That’s the bit people don’t see.

You don’t just lose time. You start doubting what you’re looking at.

If it can’t load the page properly, just say that. Stop there.

Don’t guess.

I wrote it up properly here if you want it:

Accessibility tools should be accessible. When website accessibility checkers get things wrong, they create more friction.

24/04/2026

I talk a lot about “Powered by ADHD”.

People often think it’s just a nice phrase.
Something positive to make things sound better.

It isn’t.

It’s about working with how your brain actually functions, instead of forcing yourself into systems that keep breaking.

I’ve put together 5 simple strategies that I keep coming back to.
Nothing complicated. Just things that actually help in real life.

– Stop relying on memory
– Make things visible
– Work with your energy
– Lower the barrier to starting
– Create clarity where it doesn’t exist

If you’ve ever felt like you “should” be able to do things the way everyone else does… this is probably for you.

Full post here:

Five ADHD coping strategies based on the Powered by ADHD approach. Simple ways to work with memory, energy, starting tasks and clarity.

23/04/2026

Powered by ADHD?

What if ADHD isn’t the problem…

What if it’s actually the thing driving how we think, work, and build?

It's not neat or conventional but can be incredibly powerful when you stop fighting it.

I wrote something about it

Powered by ADHD is a different way of thinking and working to get the most from your brain. Here’s what it means in practice.

22/04/2026

Bit of a strange one this, I discovered something yesterday, just had to share it!

There is this thing I can do, making a rumbling noise in my ears on demand, it's not something everyone can do.

Apparently, it happens when you voluntarily contract a tiny muscle in your middle ear called the tensor tympani muscle.

Not everyone can control that muscle voluntarily. Only about 10-20% of the population. Who would have thought it.

If you are in the 80% who can't do it, you will wonder what on earth I am talking about, and think I am a little crazy. The 20% that can will know exactly what I mean!

It turns out that things like ear rumbling, tend to occur in a group of people who have higher internal awareness and finer motor control. Most people have the same systems, but there is no conscious control. Some brains keep those controls a bit more accessible.

Sounds like neurodiversity in action! Isn't the human body a wonderful and strange thing!

22/04/2026

Bit of a strange one this, I discovered something yesterday, just had to share it!

There is this thing I can do, making a rumbling noise in my ears on demand, it's not something everyone can do.

Apparently, it happens when you voluntarily contract a tiny muscle in your middle ear called the tensor tympani muscle.

Not everyone can control that muscle voluntarily. Only about 10-20% of the population. Who would have thought it.

If you are in the 80% who can't do it, you will wonder what on earth I am talking about, and think I am a little crazy. The 20% that can will know exactly what I mean!

It turns out that things like ear rumbling, tend to occur in a group of people who have higher internal awareness and finer motor control. Most people have the same systems, but there is no conscious control. Some brains keep those controls a bit more accessible.

Sounds like neurodiversity in action! Isn't the human body a wonderful and strange thing!

For more of my neurodivergent ramblings, check out my blog

Practical articles on ADHD, autism, neurodivergence, work, burnout, emotional wellbeing and everyday life.