🚀 Mini service ignition update

We just hit a milestone (and I just hit a wall)

Why oh why did I decide to do this?

🚀 Mini service ignition update

We have now completed our research and co-design phase, including first-stage validation testing and iteration of the following screenings

1. Internalised symptoms - commonly co-occurring medical disorders that are red flags for undiagnosed ADHD and autism

2. Relational trauma checklist - supports written disclosure of relational trauma and requesting a trauma-informed process

3. FADHD100 - 100 female ADHD symptoms and 35-point rejection sensitivity screening

4. FAQ100 - 100 female autistic traits and 25-point masking screening

5. DCDA35 - 35-point Adult dyspraxia screening

6. Sensory processing differences - full sensory needs self-assessment 

And now you know what we are planning on launching...

🏆 Celebrating wins

I took some time this afternoon, to pause and reflect on my achievements. I think people spend far too much time yard sticking their progress against how far they have to go, at the expense of recognising how far they have come.

In February, psychiatry told me I was in serious shit and needed urgent treatment after I got COVID wrapped in a bow for Christmas, causing a relapse and landing me in hospital. February, March and April were dark. Yet somehow, since May, I have

1. Recruited 250 fired-up neurodivergent women, non-binary and AFAB to test the self-screen service

2. Successfully onboarded 176 through consent and NDA (this is a triumph - ADHDers hate paperwork)

3. Conducted several exploratory studies in rapid succession, including the first large sample study of strengths in ADHD and autistic women, non-binary and AFAB

4. Prototyped, validated and tested the ADHD and autism screenings with neurodivergent women

5. Both screenings tested with a 100% detection rate with diagnosed ADHD and autistic women and 5-star reviews (thank you - blushing)

6. Rose and I have been prototyping a second service - a group coaching and learning experience - to generate revenue

7. Got the thumbs up from my programme director to do a peer-reviewed study to validate the screenings with an aged-matched neurotypical control when I finally return to finish my MAPPCP in October (subject to ethics approval and health pending).

Building on the work of Nancy Doyle and others, the screenings are strengths-based and look for the so-called “spiky profile” that characterises neurodivergence. They are anti-pathologisation and use neuro-affirmative language. The term “disorder” won’t be in the service glossary.

If I succeed, this will be the first co-created pre-diagnostic screening instrument designed by a neurodivergent human with neurodivergent humans and validated to gold standard.

I am super proud of what I have achieved together with the 176 amazing neurodivergent women collaborating with me. Whilst men respond to a threat by fighting, women “Tend-and-befriend”. We are co-designing.

Do not underestimate help-seeking behaviour or female collaboration. Female allyship is powerful.

Next steps - Build and BETA service testing

We are, as anticipated, experiencing some ADHD delays. James, our development partner has also been very unwell; I actively encourage self-care, health before wealth and recovery. So I am gently applying the breaks and switching gears to give myself a moment to breathe, and plan with James to get this service to market.

In the interim, I’ve decided to put Flight 2 in the air. “Flourishing with ADHD or autism is a 10-week positive psychology coaching programme designed by neurodivergent women for neurodivergent women to improve women’s wellness, mental performance, and growth mindset. I’m excited!

Launching this service in October will help me generate revenue to scale up operations, put more hands on deck, and get Flight 1 in the air.

Funding my mission was always going to be challenging. Female founders receive only 2% of the total capital invested in start-ups. Realistically, what chance did I, as an autistic woman on a mission to create gender equality and end gendered violence, have of securing funding? I calculated ZERO.

Last year, having wasted months writing proposals, writing to every autism charity, applying for countless grants, and failing, I knew my help-seeking strategies were not working. Gender bias, mental health stigma, victim blaming towards abused women, and exclusion of ADHD and autistic people were undercutting my efforts.

With several years of waits for an NHS ADHD or autism diagnosis, ADHD medication shortages and NHS mental health services overwhelmed to the point of turning people in crisis away, one thing was clear: funding a solution to this problem was not, and is not, a priority for the NHS (at least not under the leadership of our former government).

I knew there was an urgent need for this service. I knew I had the knowledge, a viable solution, and the strategy chops to execute it. CEOs mentoring me told me I would need to tell my story to attract investment. I was not ready, nor was I willing, to sell my story so that others would invest in my solution and capitalise on my vulnerability.

So I decided to self-fund it. I took a calculated risk and started building and testing, knowing I would find a way to continue funding R&D later. I’m building to learn, failing fast and forward.

Having completed user research, co-design and first-stage validation testing, we are now at a point where we need to generate revenue to support phase 2 - service implementation and delivery. I fully intend to deliver this breakthrough service for women. This coaching programme is my creative solution.

The best way you can support me is to like, comment and share the new service announcement or sign up for the ”Flourishing with ADHD or autism”. Service announcement to follow in coming days.

What hitting a wall looks like

Did I make you yawn? Of course, I did. Autistic women are high in echopraxia and unconscious mimicry - the opposite of men. 😂 😂 😂