"My brain is simply wired differently": Sally's story

Verbal information can be difficult for me to retain too. It isn't that I'm not listening or that I don't care. Sometimes the information simply doesn't stick. That's why I now deliberately ask colleagues to send important requests through Teams so I have something I can refer back to later.

What people don't always see

One of the most useful things I've learned is that what people see isn't always what's actually happening.

I've been told before that I seem slow to process information. In reality, I'm often processing lots of information at once.

The challenge is that not all of it is relevant.

My brain can head down a completely random rabbit hole before finding its way back to the original conversation. By the time I've connected everything together, I still need a moment to turn it into a coherent response.

Rather than forcing an immediate answer, I've learned to be honest about that.

Sometimes I simply say:

"Sorry, that has sent me down a very random rabbit hole. Can I just have a moment to process that please?"

Recognising the strengths

For a long time, I focused on the challenges ADHD brought.

Since my diagnosis, I've spent more time recognising the strengths too.

I care deeply about fairness and equity, which has shaped how I support and manage my team. My experience has also helped me better understand neurodivergent colleagues and the neurodivergent children who visit our store.

Creativity and hyperfocus have become real strengths too.

When something captures my interest, I can become incredibly focused. I approach problems from different angles and often keep searching for solutions long after others have given up.

There have definitely been times when everyone else has reached the point of saying, "We've tried everything", and my brain is still asking:

"But what if we tried this?"

The biggest lesson I've learned

The biggest thing my diagnosis has taught me is that I don't have to make my brain work like everyone else's.

What I do need to do is understand how my brain works and communicate that to others.

If I know I'm likely to forget something, I ask for it in writing. If I know I'm processing too much information at once, I say so. And if I realise I'm over-explaining, I try to take a step back and work out what I'm really trying to say.

I've also learned that the way someone behaves isn't necessarily the same as what's happening underneath.

What looks like forgetfulness might be working-memory difficulty.

What looks like slow processing might be someone trying to make sense of too much information at once.

What looks like being argumentative might simply be someone who doesn't feel understood.

Understanding that has changed how I work, how I communicate and how I support other people.