Why is it so hard for people with ADHD to succeed in a neurotypical world? Neurodivergent individuals tend to have underdeveloped executive function skills, which makes tasks like planning, prioritizing, and organizing more challenging for them.
To navigate these difficulties, it’s crucial to have a strong emotional foundation. Managing emotions, exercising self-control, and maintaining focus from start to finish sets one in the right direction. This also involves learning to prioritize, trusting the intuition, and being in tune with the body’s signals. It also means setting boundaries and not feeling compelled to always say yes. Performance anxiety and perfectionism can make these challenges worse.
And how exactly do we support neurodiverse individuals? It starts with teaching them to be authentic and self-aware. Holistic management techniques and recognizing sensory needs also play a big role in empowering people with ADHD. The journey toward understanding and acceptance is ongoing, but with awareness and support, everyone can contribute to a more inclusive society.
The impact of these efforts may not be visible right away, but the key is staying true to the process—because the results may come much later.
Listen to full conversation below:
Thriving with ADHD in a Neurotypical World: Insights from Anna Daphna & Susie Mackie
Susie: Hello and welcome to our spirited life with Spirit meaning our Vital animating Essence and life being our very existence. We are here to engage and inspire you with enlightening, humorous, and sometimes irreverent or even raw conversation around real-life issues. Our experiences may have gifted us a few wrinkles—I don't think in Anna's case yet—but we've also gained wisdom, strength, humility, the ability to laugh at things which maybe would have made us cry some time ago, and the desire to make a big difference to those who still struggle with life's challenges. My guests share how they've created a truly successful and spirited life and their journey to reaching this, which has always had ups and downs as we all know. Listen to the very end for some top tips and a fabulous music choice.
Susie: So welcome to this week's issue where I'm delighted to introduce Anna Dafna, who's an ADHD and executive function coach, qualified teacher, and psychologist (GMBPsS). Wow, Anna! Anna coaches people with attention, organization, and emotional challenges to maximize their confidence, happiness, and performance. Just wonderful! Anna, welcome to our spirited Life podcast. It’s good to have you here.
Susie: We're speaking online, so please tell us where in the world you are.
Anna: I'm based in London at the moment.
Susie: Oh great! Have you always been in London?
Anna: I'm originally from Greece.
Susie: Ah, do you miss it?
Anna: I'm happy here; I'm very settled. I've been here for 11 years, so I consider it my home. It's a place with a feeling and a vibe that consists of having your soul tribe, having your friends, your loved ones.
Susie: Yes, yes, yes! Because they could be anywhere in the world, couldn't they? But what about the sunshine? Do you miss the sunshine and the sea?
Anna: Well, in Greece, the sunshine is a bit too much. I mean, at the moment it's 30 degrees and we are in June, which is good, but when it's August it can go to 50 degrees and I cannot work under that circumstance. It's good to go on holidays though—definitely!
Susie: Wonderful! Anna, I do have some questions for you. In fact, before we go into that conversation, you have the most wonderful vision, mission, and other statements, but your vision statement reads, "We are contributing towards reduced inequalities, better health, better mental health, and world-class education for neurodiverse children, adolescents, and adults." Well, I would say Bravo, Anna! Where did this come from? This desire—what started you?
Anna: For a long time, I have been observing neurodivergent people feeling unseen, unheard, and missing important opportunities in life. I have ADHD myself, and I wanted to mentor them because I think it's important to give not equal opportunities but the right opportunities so people can thrive in a neurotypical world.
Susie: Yes, because at the moment the world is not made for brains that are wired differently, which can give so much.
Susie: I love that description: "brains that are wired differently." I did wonder if you had experience of one of those things yourself because don't they say we teach what we need to learn? It makes us so authentic and heart-centered, doesn't it?
Anna: Yes, it started when I was a teenager. At school, I had focus challenges; I could not focus very well. I was constantly daydreaming, and if the teacher was good, though, I could focus and be very good at that subject. But it all depended on the teaching approach and the learning style. Unfortunately, not all people are equipped to do that, and especially for neurodivergent children and adolescents at school, they feel so unseen and not belonging. That's not just going to affect their learning; it's going to affect their inner confidence as who they are as human beings, isn't it?
Susie: So do you think—obviously, we're much more aware of neurodivergent children and people now—and you, of course, are helping with that. You're bringing this out and making people aware. You say you have an insatiable desire to help people who need it the most. So when and how did you start your journey to helping people with ADHD and dyslexia?
Anna: So it dates back to 2003 when I started working with a child that had dyslexia and ADHD at that point. He had challenges with academics, emotional challenges, and confidence issues. He did not believe in himself; everyone told him, "You're lazy; you cannot do that; you don't put in the effort." But it was not because he wasn't putting in the effort; it's just because he was wired differently. His brain was very fast; he was thinking a thousand thoughts a minute, and that did not help with his confidence to do well.
Anna: So I started working with Constantine, and we worked together for a long period of time, which is important to have this consistency when you deal with diversity. This work needs some pace and momentum to see the results, and after five years, he ended school and entered law school, which was what his parents and himself wanted. But most of all, he believed in himself. He was not academic, so he could not read and write very well; he took all his exams orally with some accommodations, but he succeeded in doing what he wanted and, most of all, in believing in himself, which was amazing.
Susie: That's extraordinary because law is an incredibly tough subject anyway, so that's a wonderful achievement and also must have given you confidence in the efficacy of what you're doing.
Anna: That was a test, indeed! It was my first.
Anna: Yes, so in Greece, my first education was in education; I was a qualified teacher, and then I moved to the UK to study psychology. After that, I studied coaching, self-development, life coaching, NLP, Reiki, and many different things, blending all these together to coach adults at the moment.
Susie: When you're coaching, there must obviously be a difference between children, adolescents, and adults. Because they have the same challenges, is what you're doing with them the same but just that one is older than the other? What am I trying to ask here? You probably know. Can you enlighten us on that?
Anna: So for children, from eight to twelve, it's more play-based. When you play and learn things, it sticks better because you remember things better; you have fun, and you are very present. People with neurodiversity have underdeveloped executive function skills. These are higher-level skills that we need to be successful in life, such as planning, prioritizing, organizing, working memory, emotional management, self-control, and starting something.
... Full interview in the video above.
If you would like to assess how working with Anna might look like for you, book your complimentary consultation with Anna here.
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