That’s certainly been my experience. For a long time, I wrestled with feeling different—dealing with challenges and frustrations that others didn’t always understand, and strengths that were often overlooked. After facing mental health challenges in early adulthood, I began carving my own path—finding self-compassion, advocating for myself, and embracing the idea that everyone’s needs are different. This journey eventually led me to pastoral support work, where I helped others foster their own self-compassion in the face of struggles that were often uniquely theirs. Even then, maintaining a secure sense of self was difficult without understanding why I experienced the world the way I did.

When I discovered that many of my struggles and strengths aligned with the experiences of other late-identified Autistic and ADHD women, it was a lot to process. But it was also a turning point. It helped me understand myself better, let go of the feeling that something was wrong with me, and embrace my own ways of being. For me, embracing a neurodivergent identity brought deeper compassion for myself and a sense of belonging with a community that shared my experiences. It also inspired me to pursue health coach training through PREKURE, to support other neurodivergent folks as a neurodivergence & ADHD coach —helping them feel seen and validated while empowering them to take purposeful, values-based action in the midst of the complicated realities of their lives.

Not everyone needs a label to understand themselves, and that’s absolutely okay—if a label isn’t helpful, you don’t have to identify that way. My coaching approach isn’t just for those diagnosed or self-identifying as neurodivergent; it’s about recognising and affirming each person’s unique way of being.

Because identifying as neurodivergent isn’t about saying something’s wrong with us. It’s about acknowledging that we might be navigating environments with narrow expectations that don’t always fit us, but that these traits have always been part of human diversity. It gives us a way to recognise our strengths and needs and to find ways to live that better support our wellbeing.