Many adults in the ADHD community know what it feels like to receive a diagnosis later in life, that mix of relief, grief, and retroactive clarity that comes with finally having language for who you are. For many queer adults, coming out later in life carries that same emotional fingerprint. In this session, speaker and neurodivergent therapist Jamie Roberts draws on both her clinical expertise and her own lived experience of late ADHD identification and coming out in her 30s to explore what these two journeys share, including the cost of masking, the search for belonging, and the unexpected power of arriving “late” to yourself.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the emotional similarities between discovering ADHD and queerness later in life, including the relief, grief, and “it all makes sense now” that often comes with both
- Understand how hiding parts of yourself across multiple identities takes a real toll, and walk away with at least two practical ways to start easing that weight
- Reflect on what it looks like to embrace all of who you are when you’ve spent years not having the words for it
Who: Jamie D. Roberts
Biography
Jamie Roberts (she/her) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who actively shares her experience with later in life diagnosis of ADHD & Autism. Jamie is the founder of NeuroPebble, a neuroaffirming clinical training platform, founder of Equilibrium Counseling Services, author of Neurodiversity for Teen Girls and Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety, and is an active speaker on Neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+ and Teen topics.
Find Jamie’s Website Here: www.neuropebble.com
Find Jamie’s Book
Neurodiversity for Teen Girls
This teen-friendly guide offers clear and direct tools to help you understand your unique experiences, balance the difficulties and the strengths of neurodiversity, feel more confident in your identity, and live authentically. Written by a neurodivergent therapist and expert in teen mental health, you’ll find simple strategies to help you express difficult emotions, manage sensory stuff, and deal with daily social dynamics. You’ll also learn all about neurodiversity, and discover ways to advocate for yourself in neurotypical spaces.
Find your copy here.
