Last week was Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
And yes – there is a lot to celebrate.
But if we’re serious about being people-first, we also need to be honest about what that actually means in practice.
Over the past year, I’ve started to share more openly that I have ADHD.
Sometimes intentionally.
Sometimes… less so.
There’s nothing quite like telling someone within the first five minutes of meeting them, then immediately wondering if you’ve over-shared… then overthinking the over-sharing… then replaying it later that evening.
And the more I’ve understood ADHD, the more I’ve realised something important:
It isn’t one thing.
On a good day, ADHD looks like:
- Energy. A lot of it.
- Ideas coming from everywhere
- Making connections quickly
- Seeing things others might miss
And yes — I absolutely celebrate that.
But on other days, it looks like:
- Overthinking everything
- Second-guessing decisions (or avoiding them entirely)
- Imposter syndrome that feels louder than it should
- Saying too much, too soon — then replaying it on a loop
- A level of anxiety that’s been a fairly constant companion
And this is the part we don’t talk about enough.
The problem with the “superpower” narrative
Somewhere along the way, neurodiversity, and ADHD in particular, has been reframed as a superpower.
And while that can feel empowering, it can also be…incomplete.
Because the reality is more nuanced.
Sometimes it does feel like a strength.
Other times, it really doesn’t.
And when we only tell the positive version, we unintentionally make it harder for people to talk about the parts that are difficult.
Why ADHD in women often goes unseen
Something I’ve been reflecting on more recently is how differently ADHD can present in women.
I was “well behaved” at school.
I did well. I got on with things.
From the outside, everything looked fine.
But internally, it often looked like:
- Overthinking
- People-pleasing
- Masking
- Working incredibly hard to hold things together
I didn’t disrupt the classroom.
But ADHD disrupted my head.
And that’s why it can go unnoticed for so long — because it doesn’t always look like what people expect.
What this means for organisations
If we take neurodiversity seriously — not just as a concept, but as a lived reality — it has implications for how we design work.
Because being people-first isn’t about designing for the idealised version of people.
It’s about designing for the real version.
The one that includes:
- strengths and struggles
- confidence and doubt
- clarity and overthinking
Often all in the same day.
So what does “people-first” look like in practice?
It means:
- Designing communication that reduces ambiguity, not adds to it
- Creating space for different thinking styles and processing speeds
- Recognising that confidence isn’t always visible
- Avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches to performance, feedback and participation
- Building environments where people don’t have to mask to succeed
Because when we design for the edges, we improve the experience for everyone.
What I do celebrate
For me, the most powerful shift hasn’t been a list of “strengths”.
It’s been:
- Understanding why I am the way I am
- Having language for things I couldn’t explain before
- Being able to spot patterns — and occasionally catch myself in them
That understanding changes how you show up.
And it changes how you design for others.
So yes — let’s celebrate Neurodiversity Week.
But not by simplifying the story.
By telling the whole thing.
Because that’s where real inclusion starts.
