Understanding Adult ADHD: 6 Week Navigation Course

with Dr Alex Conner

Alex opens the course by asking what ADHD actually is — through the eyes of a doctor (the three presentations and the diagnostic criteria), a neuroscientist (genes, brain networks and dopamine) and the people who live with it. He unpicks “neurodiverse”, “neurodivergent” and “neurotypical”, tests the commonest myths against the evidence, from over-diagnosis to bad parenting, and offers a realistic take on the “superpower” debate.

• How ADHD is diagnosed, and why it’s so badly named
• What the brain science and genetics actually show
• Neurodiverse, neurodivergent, neurotypical: what the words really mean
• Why “ADHD is a superpower” is mostly myth, and what isn’t

with Dr Alex Conner

Is ADHD a difference or a disorder — and should we be treating it at all? Alex explains the brain networks and dopamine thresholds behind ADHD, then walks through how methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine work, how titration and shared care operate, and the side effects he lives with himself. He weighs the evidence for CBT, coaching, exercise, meditation and time in nature, and explains why he’s sceptical of supplements and big placebo claims.

• How stimulant and non-stimulant medications actually work
• Why ADHD may be about dopamine activity rather than levels
• How diagnosis, titration and shared care agreements work
• Which non-drug approaches have evidence, and which supplements don’t

with Dr Alex Conner

Alex turns to the traits most adults with ADHD say they struggle with most, yet which sit outside the diagnostic criteria: executive function and emotional dysregulation. He explores working memory, time blindness, cognitive flexibility and risk, explains why “inappropriate” emotions should be judged against your own values, and unpacks rejection sensitivity, people pleasing and the menopause link — before sharing practical strategies, from golden time to “double bubble” for task paralysis.

• Why executive function and emotions aren’t in the diagnostic criteria
• How working memory, time blindness and task paralysis work
• Why rejection sensitivity drives people pleasing, and what helps
• Practical tricks: golden time, small specific tasks and “double bubble”

with Dr Alex Conner

Alex, an ADHD coach himself, takes a refreshingly sceptical look at coaching: what it is, why anyone can call themselves a coach, and what the evidence really says. He explains why good coaching avoids giving advice, why classic coaching models trip up ADHD brains, and how to coach yourself — with open “five bums on a bench” questions, short-term goals built on long-term values, the seven whys and a worry quarter.

• Why coaching is unregulated, and what the evidence really says
• How to ask open, non-directive questions and truly listen
• Why standard coaching models trip up ADHD brains
• Self-coaching tools: short-term goals, the seven whys, worry quarters

with Dr Alex Conner

Alex looks honestly at the burdens of ADHD: what the averages in the research do and don’t mean for you, why strengths are learned rather than innate superpowers, and the real costs of ADHD that goes undiagnosed and unsupported. He explores why diagnosis needs two environments, how ADHD shows up in relationships, education and work, the hidden cost of masking, and practical strategies built on communication, consideration and compassion.

• Why research averages don’t define your personal experience
• The evidence on ADHD strengths, and why learned beats innate
• How ADHD affects relationships, study and the workplace
• The three Cs, defining a win, and asking for adjustments

with Dr Alex Conner

In the final session, Alex revisits the ideas people find hardest to explain to family and friends — working memory, time, decision paralysis and delayed gratification — and why ADHD is best understood as neurological. He then asks what you want to do next, from self-understanding to advocacy and coaching, and helps you find your “healthy strengths”, before an extended Q&A on childhood trauma, medication side effects, disability rights, careers and finding a coach.

• Simple ways to explain ADHD to family, friends and sceptics
• Why working memory, not memory overall, is the real problem
• How to find your healthy strengths and plan your next steps
• What the evidence says about ADHD and childhood trauma