So, let me give you a bit of backstory about how I got here on this coaching journey, which, funnily enough, led to my ADHD diagnosis. Picture this: I was in a job that I liked. I felt like I was pretty good at it, too. But – and it’s a big “but” – I couldn’t just keep my head down. There were things happening in the organisation that didn’t sit right with me, things that felt unfair and systems that needed changing.
The longer I stayed, the harder it got to ignore the way people – including me – were being treated. I’ve always been the type to stand up for others, and honestly, that didn’t go down too well. Then one day, out of the blue, I get a phone call. It’s my day off, and I’m told I’m being sacked. The reason? Apparently, I was “making too many mistakes.”
I can’t even tell you how much that knocked me. I thought I was doing well! I mean, I worked well with people, stood up for what I thought was right, and wasn’t afraid to challenge things when they felt wrong. At the time, it felt like I was being punished for that.
Looking back, I think the real issue was that I just wasn’t the right “fit” for the company. I wasn’t someone who could stay quiet and play along – and it cost me.
This whole situation really made me stop and re-evaluate my career. I had to figure out what on earth I was going to do next. At my age, I knew finding a new job wasn’t going to be easy. Let’s be honest – employers aren’t supposed to discriminate based on age, but we all know it happens!
So, there I was, struggling with my confidence, feeling completely lost after being sacked, and having no clue what direction to take. That’s when my husband suggested I speak to a recruitment consultant that he’d been introduced to. I wasn’t exactly in the mood, but I went along. Bless them – they really tried to help, even though I wasn’t the most engaging person in the room at the time. They asked me to think about what I had to offer, what kind of roles I’d actually enjoy, and what made me tick.
As we talked, we got onto the subject of my background in adult education and offender learning. And the thing that suddenly made me feel alive was the idea of supporting adults again. I remembered how much I’d loved retraining with the National Autistic Society to help autistic university students. That work was brilliant – I’d only stopped because they’d shifted to in-person support, which didn’t work for me logistically.
Talking about it reminded me how much I’d loved it. That’s when this wonderfully insightful recruitment consultant said, “Why don’t you think about becoming an ADHD coach?” At first, I was a bit surprised. I’d worked with adults who were autistic and often had secondary ADHD diagnoses, so it wasn’t totally new to me, but I’d never thought of retraining in this way.
I left that meeting feeling completely fired up. For the first time in ages, I had something to aim for. I started researching how I could retrain and what it would take to set up my own business as an ADHD coach. It felt like I’d finally found a direction that made sense – something that lit me up and played to my strengths.
To find out what happens next on my journey, look out for Part 2...