Course description

Lost keys, missed deadlines, a dozen half-finished jobs and a mind that won't settle, or settles so deeply on one thing that the rest of the day disappears. This course explains ADHD in adults in plain, calm language and gives you practical, everyday strategies for time, tasks, routines, focus, feelings, money, paperwork, work and relationships.

It's written for adults who have ADHD or think they may have it, and for partners who want to understand and help. You learn what ADHD is and isn't, how the route to an assessment works in the UK, what the NHS says about medicines and talking support, and dozens of small, practical changes you can try with or without a diagnosis. You also learn how to ask for reasonable adjustments at work, with a letter template. You finish by building your own personal toolkit.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow a few made-up people in Peterborough: Kamila, an events coordinator at an arts centre who is diagnosed during the course, her partner Meirion, a postal worker, her manager Hovik, and Gohar, a library supervisor diagnosed at 50. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers, a cheat sheet and worked examples, plus extras such as a notes diary, a GP appointment planner, a waiting list checklist, a task breakdown sheet, a weekly planner, a routine builder, a money hour checklist, a focus block planner, a feelings pause card, an adjustments letter template and a personal toolkit template.

What you'll learn

• Understanding ADHD: what ADHD is in plain words, the two types of symptoms the NHS describes and the three presentations specialists talk about, common myths, and a map of your own strengths and struggles.
• How ADHD can show up in adults: ADHD at home, at work and in relationships, ADHD in women, being recognised later in life, ADHD alongside other conditions, and keeping a two-week notes diary.
• Getting an assessment in the UK: talking to your GP with a one-page planner, referral and the specialist assessment, waiting lists and the right to choose in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and looking after yourself while you wait.
• Treatment, support and wellbeing: feelings after a diagnosis, medicines and talking therapies at the level of NHS pages, coaching and peer support, sleep, activity, food and urgent help.
• Time, tasks and planning: time blindness, breaking tasks down, prioritising without overwhelm, starting and finishing, and one planner with a weekly review.
• Routines, home, money and paperwork: routines that bend, mornings and evenings, organising your space, money habits and a weekly money hour, and a simple paperwork system.
• Focus, distraction and energy: how focus works with ADHD, hyperfocus, shaping your surroundings, focus blocks and body doubling, restlessness and managing your energy.
• Emotions and relationships: strong feelings and a pause routine, rejection sensitivity described carefully, ADHD in a couple, talking to family and friends, and kinder self-talk.
• Work and reasonable adjustments: strengths and pinch points at work, telling your employer, the Equality Act 2010 in general terms, reasonable adjustments, writing an adjustments letter and Access to Work.
• Final project: a personal toolkit: a full worked toolkit for a made-up person, then your own ten-part toolkit with a front page and a review date.

Who it's for

Adults who have ADHD, adults who think they may have it and are waiting for or thinking about an assessment, and partners and family members. You don't need a diagnosis or any medical knowledge. A notebook or a document for your notes is all you need to start.

What this course is, and isn't

This course shares practical strategies and general information about ADHD in adults. It isn't medical advice, it can't diagnose ADHD and it can't tell you which treatment is right for you. Health facts come from NHS pages, and work facts from GOV.UK and Acas. For advice about your own health or treatment, talk to your GP or prescriber. If you need urgent help, call 999 or 111 (NHS 24 on 111 in Scotland), and choose the mental health option where it's offered. In Northern Ireland, contact your GP or the GP out-of-hours service, or call Lifeline free on 0808 808 8000. Samaritans are free to call on 116 123. Kamila, Meirion, Gohar, Hovik, Sardor and every other person in the course are fictional, and so is Quayhurst Arts Centre.

What will I learn?

• Explain what ADHD is in plain words, the two types of symptoms the NHS describes and the three presentations specialists talk about
• Recognise how ADHD can show up in adult life, including in women and in people recognised later in life, and separate myths from facts
• Keep a two-week notes diary and use it to prepare for a GP appointment with a one-page planner
• Describe the UK route to an ADHD assessment, waiting lists and the right to choose in England, and what to ask in the other UK nations
• Understand what the NHS says about ADHD medicines and talking support, and know when to talk to your GP or prescriber
• Make time visible, break tasks down, prioritise and keep one planner going with a short weekly review
• Build routines that bend, organise your space, and keep on top of money and paperwork with a weekly money hour
• Shape your surroundings and use focus blocks, movement and energy planning to get things done
• Use a pause routine for strong feelings, talk calmly with a partner and family, and swap harsh self-talk for kinder words
• Ask for reasonable adjustments at work with a clear letter, understand Access to Work, and build your own personal toolkit

Frequently asked questions