Hi, my Thriving friends! I posted this last year, and after my recent conversation with one of our members, I thought I pin this post again. As you've noticed, there's A LOT of ADHD and neurodiversity related Skool communities now. I think that's a good sign that more people want to better understand how our brains think differently. As I always say, I believe in collaboration (not competition). BUT, I've also heard how many of these communities are not serving our neurodiverse community well. While I do not know the details, I do know the pain as a fellow ADHDer, like you. That's why, I wanted to re-share my thoughts below. If you have a neurodiverse community, I invite you to reflect on this. If you know someone with a neurodiverse community, I invite you to share this (screenshot it). We can keep each other safe...together. I appreciate you all. 🙏 -------------------------PREVIOUS POST STARTS BELOW ------------ Hi, my Thriving ADHDers! I'm writing something I've been thinking about for a long time, and it's very dear to my heart...it's for ADHD mompreneurs like us. Since I wrote it for you, I would be honored to hear your thoughts on this before I publish it to the world. And if you needed to hear this today, this is for you... --------------------------------------------------START OF ARTICLE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There’s a quiet danger in the ADHD space that no one’s really talking about… And as someone who’s now thriving after decades of struggle, I believe it’s time we do. Here’s what I’ve learned—and why it matters for ADHD moms like us. But first, I think it’s important to know who you’re reading from. For those who are new to my space, I’m Katherine Lizardo, and I’m not just on a journey to become a Thriving ADHD Mompreneur—I am one. But it wasn’t always this way. My transformation happened after many years, fears, and tears. For over two decades, I’ve lived with ADHD while building a meaningful career as a lawyer, raising two amazing boys (ages 14 and 5)—one with ADHD—and growing two purpose-driven businesses.

🌿 Note to Self Dear One, You’ve spent years learning how to be your own best friend — though for a long time, you confused that with being your own parent. When people said “parent yourself,” you modeled the only parenting you knew. You pushed yourself harder. You demanded more. You used discipline as devotion because it was the only language available. And yes, it kept you going. Yes, it reminded you of your resilience. Yes, it proved that the mind can help the body overcome impossible things. But it wasn’t supportive. It wasn’t validating. It bypassed your very real needs. You overrode yourself more times than you want to admit. Years of that pattern put your system into overdrive. Avoiding vulnerability meant no one could help — not because they didn’t care, but because they couldn’t possibly know. You weren’t afraid of rejection. You knew you were loved. You were carrying a story: “This is my responsibility. It will land heavy. It will hurt people to hear it.” And that wasn’t entirely wrong. But you were missing something crucial. People want to help. People who care want to hold the weight for a moment so you can breathe. And here’s the part you didn’t understand until much later: You didn’t know how to be your own best friend until you had adult women friends who showed you how. They modeled gentleness without collapse. They modeled boundaries without punishment. They modeled honesty without fear. They modeled care that didn’t require self‑erasure. They taught you the difference between pushing yourself and supporting yourself. Between self‑discipline and self‑devotion. Between survival and belonging. They taught you that friendship — real friendship — is a form of wisdom. Yes, sharing trauma can stir emotions in others. Yes, partners and family aren’t always the right people to hold the details. Some truths are hard to say — and eventually hard to hear. So when is it appropriate to speak? How do you talk about the things that shaped you? Therapy is one option — a trained witness with enough distance to hold the truth without collapsing under it. But therapy is expensive, inaccessible for millions, and not the only path.

Has anyone felt like their ADHD changed after 40? Many women say: “I used to manage my ADHD fairly well… and then suddenly my brain felt like it upgraded to a new operating system — without the instruction manual.” Focus feels harder. Sleep feels different. Emotional regulation takes more effort. Sometimes ADHD is still ADHD. But sometimes hormones also change the brain’s rhythm. Curious — has anyone noticed this shift?

I'm 48 today! 🥳💃 Since I'm going to live over 100, I'm not even at half my life...how cool is that?! 🥰 To celebrate, I will accomplish my favorite hobby: SLEEP! 🤣 Yes, before I had kids, I slept a lot. Now, as a mom, sleep is a luxury. So, every birthday and Mother's Day, the only gift I ask for is sleep. Sooo worth it! So, if I'm MIA today, that's because I'm sleeping. Ha! When is your birthday? Let me know in the comments so we can celebrate you on your special day. 🎂

I only do this when I'm really moved by something...and this morning, so many things happened to represent that as soon as I opened Skool. I'm so grateful already, and the day has just begun! One of those moments was when I watched and listened to the original song of our new member@Tori Cadry. She had the link to her song in her bio (great job in putting it there to drive traffic!), and since I'm always curious about my members, naturally, I watched it. And I'm so happy I did!!! Listen and watch here: https://youtu.be/-sDBEieFZdI?si=zcrncqcROoZCXwTW Her song is titled, "There's no app for that" -- a perfect title for how parenting life can be! And make sure to turn on closed captioning so you don't miss her quirky and funny lyrics. I'm still laughing out loud at how she said that when we tell our kids not to run with scissors, they pick up a knife instead...because no one said anything about a knife! 🤣😆 Have you heard a similar argument from your kids? 🙋‍♀️ I have...in fact, I just did this morning while preparing them for school! 😆 So, if you want some laughter at how hard parenting can be...especially after your school drop off this morning...listen to her original song. ☝️ Thank you, Tori, for brightening up my day. I appreciate you. 🙏