ADHD 2025 Conference Takeaways
Another incredible Annual ADHD conference! It’s always fun to connect with friends and feel the support of the community. This year the ACO, ADDA, and CHADD conference was held in Kansas City, MO Nov 13-15, 2025.
Below are a few takeaways:
Continue to find people who support you. Accept that not everyone is the right fit forever. To find your supporters, reflect on the following:
Do their actions match their words?
Can you trust them? Can you disagree with them without fear of punishment or attack?
Do you feel safe and relaxed around them?
Do you respect their values?
Things that may have worked in the past may no longer work and things that didn’t work before might be helpful now. We need to continuously experiment with tools and techniques. I have found that writing things down helps me and after multiple bullet journals, online tools, etc, I am about to start year three with the Clever Fox Planner. Give yourself permission to try new things.
Organizing can be challenging - examine your spaces and separate your functional clutter from clutter that is distracting. Find time to clear the distracting clutter.
ADHD shapes our identities and emotions in addition to our behaviors such as executive function.
Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) is real. RSD = extreme pain from rejection, criticism, or failure.
Be aware of your self-talk and work on self-compassion.
Anxiety is contagious, and it seeks equilibrium. Over- and underfunctioning are survival responses, not personality flaws. We take on roles to manage our anxiety. In healthy relationships, we manage the anxiety together. (Tamara Rosier, You, Me, and Our ADHD Family)
It’s important to get clarity around issues so we can work towards helpful solutions.
Gottman’s Nice, Neutral, and Nasty boxes - how much time are you spending in each box with yourself and your relationships? Aim to spend more time in the neutral box. It gives our systems a buffer, providing relief from conflict and a sense of peace.
Sex can be challenging for people with ADHD. Be aware that any issues you face, such as distraction, impulsivity, transitions, anxiety, or sensitivities, show up in all areas of your life; be kind to yourself. Talk with your partner about your feelings and needs (adhdandsex.ca)
AuDHD (Audi-H-D) - A large number of people are recognizing they have ADHD and Autism traits (difficulties with executive functioning, sensory processing, emotional dysregulation, and social differences). Think of the spectrum as a radar chart (I will create a blog about this later). Those with AuDHD may find social energy shifts between hyper-social and shutdown. May overthink feedback, worrying they are too much or not enough. Masking, even though exhausting, can be beneficial in some situations. Unmasking can be about remembering who you were - find your people, let yourself be seen, come home to yourself.
And, find what works for you. What routines are most helpful for sleep, exercise, hydration, wellness, etc? Many of us with ADHD are not as aware of our bodies, which can lead to dehydration, sleep deficits, and repetitive injuries.
I hope these takeaways are helpful. Reach out if you want to discuss any of them!
A few books I enjoyed:
Extra Focus: The Quick Start Guide to Adult ADHD by Jesse J. Anderson (Sep 2023)
Activate Your ADHD Potential: A 12-Step Journey from Chaos to Confidence for Adults With ADHD by Brooke Schnittman (Sep 2023)
All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum by Kathy Hoopmann (Oct 2020)
