My Journey

 I was first diagnosed with ADHD in grade 5. My family and I had no idea what it meant and all I understood from it was that I was stupid, different, and weird. This was my basic understanding of ADHD until I was 17 years old. I was lucky enough to attend a camp to help students with learning disabilities (LD), and ADHD transition to post-secondary. It was the first time that I started to take proactive steps to learn about my own ADHD, came to understand and accept that I have the right to accommodations, learn about strategies to help with my learning and behaviour, and most importantly, finally began to accept my diagnosis and work with it instead of working against it.

Since that time, I have immersed myself in the ADHD, LD, anxiety, and mental health world! After graduating from the Child and Youth Worker program (CYW) at St. Lawrence College, I worked at the Regional Assessment and Resource Centre (RARC) based at Queen’s University. There, I worked with students with ADHD, LD, mental health challenges and individuals on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), helping them transition from elementary school to secondary school, and secondary school to post-secondary. I was also part of a team that helped develop a specialized website designed for students with disabilities to help ease the transition to post-secondary, Transition Resource Guide.

In 2016 my wife and I made the trek from Ontario to the Yukon Territory where I worked as an Educational Assistant (EA) for 5 years. I worked with students with trauma, ADHD, LD, and behavioural challenges. However, I struggled with my career as an EA, as I often felt conflicted working within an institution that struggles to provide the supports needed to fully engage and progress the ADHD learner.