I received my own ADHD diagnosis at the age of 44. Until that point I wasn’t even sure I believed that ADHD was a real condition; all I had in my head was the stereotype of a young, hyperactive boy who teachers were finding difficult to ‘control’. It came as a complete shock to me to read through the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale questionnaire and see myself described in black & white. However, even then, I doubted myself, so I asked my husband to complete the questionnaire for me so we could compare answers. His answers were almost identical to mine and it was a real turning point in our marriage – there was a reason for my chaotic, inconsistent, emotionally charged, sometimes completely baffling behaviour.

Shortly after I received my own diagnosis my younger brother was also diagnosed. Having both experienced the damaging effects of late-diagnosis we were determined to do something to help others in the same situation and decided upon setting up a local support group. My brother came up with the name Procrastination Station and we created a website and got some leaflets printed; then all plans came to a complete halt with the advent of COVID-19.

The lockdown left me with a lot of time on my hands and my plans became bigger. I didn’t want just another local support group, I wanted to set up something to help all adult ADHDers in Scotland and so we decided to register Procrastination Station as a Community Interest Company; I started training with the International ADHD Coach Training Center in America to become a Certified ADHD Life Coach, and created our first website as a repository of all things ADHD. From that point things quickly snowballed around me and I was being contacted by psychiatrists, occupational therapists, disability employment officers, gps and more. It was overwhelming but also confirmed to me how much this support was needed throughout Scotland.

One of the many meetings I had during that time was with the ASD & ADHD Resource Team in Edinburgh. From talking with a couple of the team a plan formulated to apply to the National Lottery for funding to run a series of pilot scheme groups for adult ADHD.

The whole ethos of Procrastination Station is that it will always be run by ADHDers for ADHDers and we will strive to make the voices of as many people heard as possible. We wanted to set up these groups so we could gather together with fellow ADHDers and find out exactly what support people wanted and needed. The groups have proved to be extremely popular and by the time the pilot scheme finishes in March 2023 we will have accumulated some really valuable information regarding the support needs of ADHDers in Scotland. We will also have created sustainable support structures with our members’ site and WhatsApp groups. With this information we hope to continue offering courses both online and in-person alongside 1:1 coaching.

Three out four of the Procrastination Station directors, including myself, are now Certified ADHD Life Coaches (CALC) having graduated from an ICF (International Coaching Federation) approved organisation.

As well as bringing a life-time of lived experience of ADHD to my role as coach and group facilitator I also have experienced: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, substance misuse, divorce, large scale debt and more. I truly do understand the difficulties of being neuro-divergent in a world not designed for us, but I also know (thanks to my training and life experience) how to turn that around and learn how to thrive and make the most of our incredible ADHD brains and I am passionate about helping others to achieve that and live to their full potential.