welcome, my neurodivergent friend

Want to find out what happens when you learn to ride your rollercoaster of differences and design a compassionate, neurodivergent-friendly life? This is where that happens. This is an imperfect publication - a safe space that is full to the brim with shitty first drafts, playful experimentation, and wildly unpredictable chaos.

This is somewhere you can come to remind yourself that:

Your neurodivergent neurotype is one of many.
You are not flawed, lazy, broken, or wrong.
Your needs are valid - and always have been.
You can be infinitely you in a world that tells you to hide.

What the heck is a substack subscription?

Subscribe below and you’ll find out. For the cost of a coffee each week, you’ll get full access to every piece of writing or recording that I’m uploading every month-ish. It’s basically paid peer pressure to keep writing, sharing, and showing up. Every article will be delivered directly to your inbox - like neurodivergent love letters.

My plan for this subscription?

You’ll get access to all private articles, podcast episodes, and group chats. Boom! But also, if you’re an altruistic soul, here’s how your subscription could change my life:

Every paid subscriber will mean that I can write more of my book proposal and manuscript. More support means more time for all kinds of creative work! After all, multi-passionate is just another word for ADHD, right? Here are the other platforms where you can find my projects:
IG @ceri.sandford, TikTok @adhdcompassioncoach, YT @cosyadhdcorner
Every paid subscription will also access the *new* Chaos Queens Podcast that finally kicks off in August, an extra little something something to say thank you and offer a private space for the bloody best podcast listeners to congregate. Could my episodes be any more unmasked and unfiltered… Yes! Access behind the scenes of book writing, business, and brain dumping.
You’re also invited to be a founding member - that’s next level support!!!!!! This is a safe place for group chats, private content, and community connection. I don’t have any cool merch, but if I did… it would be a golden pin that read: *RIDICULOUSLY LOVELY GENUINELY DELIGHTFUL SOUL*

Ready for some oversharing?

Good. That’s my specialty. I’m a thirty-something online entrepreneur living in Australia with my husband, Will, and our two border collies, Dahlia and Maggie. I’ve always been a walking contradiction; messy and neat, loud and quiet, thoughtful and reckless, realistic and hopeful, energetic and exhausted…

If I had to choose a favourite colour, I would probably say forest green, which would be an absolute lie because I don’t believe in choosing a favourite anything. It changes with every day, mood, and situation. I’m definitely indefinite, reliably unreliable, and consistently inconsistent. How can anyone ever be so certain of one choice?

I love wearing comfortable clothes and despise high-heeled anything. I’m a sucker for personality tests. Projector in Human Design. ENFP in Myer Briggs. If you want more scientific surveys, you can look up your character strengths here. My top signature strengths are humour, creativity, social intelligence, love of learning, and gratitude.

I’ve used my love of storytelling to build wholesome communities online, including Instagram (40K) and TikTok (30K). If you want some uplifting joy and upfront honesty, check out either of my podcasts: ‘Wine with Teacher’ and ‘Embrace Your ADHD Chaos’.

Community is… well, it’s how I’m able to do what I do every day.

Grateful is an understatement.

Blessed with a confusing name, I’ve rarely met a person who has pronounced Ceri correctly on their first try. How did you read it the first time? Seri? Cherie? Carrie?

It’s Ceri, with a hard C. *awkward smile* It’s Welsh, and means ‘love’.

I completely overhauled my life in 2020, for what felt like the fourth quarter life crisis before 30, and resigned from my permanent job as a primary school teacher. With weekly workload-related anxiety taking a toll, I knew that this was the right decision.

I had a small chunk of savings in the bank, a strong nudge from my intuition, and the desire to create a digital business. Thanks to my online community of teachers, I was able to bring new dreams and ventures to life.

A shop that offered resources, magazines, stationery, and merchandise.
A podcast that hosted conversations from teachers around the world.
A wellbeing community that focused on small, sustainable changes.

Share The Rollercoaster

Then, I discovered some identity-shifting news.

After starting therapy, I discovered my neurotype was (and always had been) ADHD. I spent months processing the news and figuring out if I wanted to use my platform to paint my own picture of Adult ADHD. Advocating for awareness and support, sharing my nuanced experience that directly contrasted against the commonly accepted and expected “young hyperactive boy in class”.

I started to acknowledge and allow the ADHD-related difficulties and needs. I forgave myself for all the blame, guilt, and disappointment that had been unfairly piled on top of my shoulders for years. I grieved for not knowing sooner and also celebrated that I finally had answers and could stop measuring myself against a neurotypical standard.

~~I should be able to do this…~~
~~I should be better than this…~~
~~I just need to try harder…~~
~~I need to be better…~~

‘What do many late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults have in common? Shame. From a lifetime of internalised negative messages that we were too unreliable, forgetful, messy, and selfish. Without understanding why, our executive function challenges were scarring our self-esteem, leaving us feeling broken or wrong. For many of us, we found the easy things hard and the hard things easy.’

If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a treat! You can download and listen to my ADHD Pep Talk here. It’s designed to support you with unmasking and showing yourself a little more compassion.

I want to show you that our neurodivergence isn’t a curse or a flaw or something to resent every day. It’s a difference. Life feels hard and heavy because we live in a world that is catering to one specific kind of neurotype. Experiencing constant criticism and corrections from others, it’s easy to develop a brutal inner-critic. Thoughts that can trick you into believing you’re not enough… They’re wrong.

The book I’m writing will offer a compassionate path forward, away from the shame. It explores how to honour your fluctuating energy, emotions, and executive functions without judgement. It helps you to embrace the chaos that comes with exploring new interests, motivations, and hyperfixations.

You can learn to ride the rollercoaster - rather than resent it.

Sending you all my love,

Ceri Sandford
The ADHD Compassion Coach