As we all know, the reason I named the podcast AuDHD Or Just A Bit Weird is because that's what I've always been called throughout my life and always in a derogatory manner... But since starting the podcast I've reclaimed weird as a positive thing and this is where the amazing Holly Matthews comes into the picture...

Holly Matthews is a former TV actress (Byker Grove, Waterloo Road, Casualty) and singer (Signed to Sony at 18, appeared on TOTP’s, MTV, Disney) who learnt how to use her ‘weird’ to stand out from the crowd.
After the death of her husband to brain cancer in 2017, when she was just 32, the mum of 2 began her mission to help others to embrace their own ‘weird’, build their confidence and feel ‘more happy and less crappy’.
The Happy Me Project runs events across the UK, is an online coaching membership, podcast and has seen Holly asked to speak and create workshops for Aldi, SEND prison, Sainsburys and wellbeing festivals across the UK.

For all things Holly...

Be weird (er) Live
The Happy Me Project Membership
Your FREE Weird is your Winning Edge Unmasking workbook + pep talk

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Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Shop at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Born Anxious⁠⁠⁠⁠ using the code AUDHD15 for a special price!

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Purchase your official hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠

SO MUCH TO CRAM IN TO ONE EPISODE!!!! But I think I've managed it! There's a mega life update at the beginning and then I had the pleasure this week of chatting with the amazing Sally Cater who is a coach who coaches coaches! I've been keen to find out more about coaching and what training to become one involves and Sally was happy to help me out but as usual with all of my guests, we go off on some fun tangents including swimming in the sea, Sally's impending ADHD assessment, her amazing talent for napping and her brush with the law! (The two hilariously go hand in hand!)

In Sally's own words...

I spent more than a decade working at the British Red Cross, including training frontline crisis teams to provide psychosocial support in some unbelievably difficult conditions. During this time, I became an Accredited Senior Practitioner Coach with the EMCC and hold the ILM highest level in Advanced Coaching and Mentoring. After striking out on my own as a leadership consultant and executive coach. I combined both my lived experience and formal learning in ADHD with the understanding gained from many years supporting neurodivergent clients to design and deliver an ICF accredited ADHD course for coaches. I really needed the support that ADHD coaching gave me and I know there are loads of brilliant people out there that could really benefit from ADHD coaching and so we need you to be part of that community.

With over 2000 hours of coaching across technology, healthcare, and automotive industries, I adopt a whole-self approach to non-directive coaching. I have a strong connection with neurodivergent people, having discovered my own ADHD while coaching a senior leader with ADHD.

Buy your copy of ADHD Magazine here!

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on⁠⁠⁠⁠ instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support neurodivergent independent businesses:

Shop at ⁠⁠⁠Born Anxious⁠⁠⁠ using the code AUDHD15 for a special price!

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Purchase your official hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard ⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠

Since finally receiving my official ADHD diagnosis at the end of last year, I'm keen to seek an assessment for autism... but what should I expect? Luckily Dr James Winkworth is here to help me out by talking to me about the different types of autism assessments, what to expect from his assessments and also he does an amazing job of completely reframing how I feel about my autism. Enjoy!

Dr James Winkworth is Co-Founder and Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Cognition Clinical Psychology. With a passion for neuro-affirming, trauma-informed care, James leads on the clinical direction and quality of the service, ensuring that every assessment and interaction reflects our core values. Alongside his work at Cognition, James holds a part-time role as the Lead Clinical Psychologist within the NHS Neurodevelopmental Team (NDT) in CAMHS, where he works with neurodivergent children, teenagers, and their families to provide ongoing psychological support post diagnosis. His ongoing work within the NHS helps bridge the gap between public and private services, allowing him to bring a broad and balanced perspective to his clinical practice.

Contact Cognition Clinical Psychology here!

Follow them on Instagram here!

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on⁠⁠⁠ instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support neurodivergent independent businesses:

Shop at ⁠⁠Born Anxious⁠⁠ using the code AUDHD15 for a special price!

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Purchase your official hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard ⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠

If you haven't listened to A Dopamine Kick yet then what have you been doing?! Sparky & Shell host the awesome podcast A Dopamine Kick and it's one of my favourites. It's a joy to listen to and they were a joy to record with! Today's episode covers all sorts of things and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Listen to A Dopamine Kick here!

Follow A Dopamine Kick on Instagram here!

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on⁠⁠ instagram⁠⁠⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support neurodivergent independent businesses:

Shop at ⁠Born Anxious⁠ using the code AUDHD15 for a special price!

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Purchase your official hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard ⁠⁠here!⁠

Health anxiety has been something that has monopolized a lot of my thought processes since I was a child and I know many other neurodivergent people who also struggle with this. As my mate Erin is one of those people and she's someone I trust and find it easy to talk to her I knew she was the perfect person to have on the podcast to talk about it, however, our brains had other ideas and at the halfway mark we segued nicely into talking about what makes us happy, learning to allow ourselves to be happy eradicating the shame attached to being drawn to the more traditionally childish and geeky things that we love and that make us super happy!

Enjoy!

For all things Erin related click here!

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on⁠ instagram⁠⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Support neurodivergent independent businesses:

Shop at Born Anxious using the code AUDHD15 for a special price!

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Purchase your official hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard ⁠here!

There's lots to cram in this week, and you'll notice no Little Wins... I ADHDed big time and read out two week's worth last week so they will be back next week!

This week I have a new dentist and a Sunflower Lanyard update!

Also this week I have the amazing David from NeuroDadsDiary on Instagram on to talk about parenting as a neurodivergent parent and what he's doing to raise awareness of the hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard. Enjoy!

You can follow David's brilliant Instagram here!

Purchase your official hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard here!

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on instagram⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Approximately 18 billion years ago I had a really good mate called Blair who was a fellow quirky person with an awesome sense of humour and never judged me for being my weirdy self. Over the years we lost touch and I always wondered what became of them... until one day a few weeks ago when Blair turned up in my "people you may know" on Instagram... Without hesitating (naturally impulsive nature anyone?!) I added Blair and got chatting... and would you believe it.... Blair was diagnosed with ADHD 2 days after me!!! I'm thrilled that Blair was happy to come on the podcast so we could catch up and talk about how we are feeling post diagnosis. Please note that this is a very candid chat between two old mates who hadn't seen each other in an age. We cover a ton of topics and I'm so grateful for Blair coming on the podcast to share their story.

Blair is a Scottish vocal coach, lecturer, songwriter and performance artist based in South London. They are the founder and artistic director of Errata, London’s Queerest Choir and collaborates frequently with LGBTQIA+ choirs and vocal groups. Blair is currently studying a PhD, creating cabaret performances and is the mother of all cats.

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on instagram⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠

I'm back! Who'd have thunk?! And after leaving season one on a cliffhanger... this week all will be revealed! After a wait of three and a half years, I have finally had my ADHD assessment with Care ADHD. So... what do you reckon? ADHD? Or just a bit weird??

Send me your little wins so I can celebrate you on the podcast by either sliding into my DMs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on instagram⁠

or email me at audhdorjustabitweird@gmail.com

Find your local ADHDAF+ peer support group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can help support The Big ADHD Fundraiser by buying a Dave Kirkman hoodie ⁠⁠here!⁠⁠

Stream Mareya’s awesome EP Glitter Tears ⁠⁠here⁠⁠!