As December disappears at rapid speed and we hurtle towards the “main event” of the season, many of us, especially those who are neurodivergent, feel a familiar sense of dread rising in our chests. The festive season can be jubilant, but it can also thrust us back into old family dynamics, long-forgotten roles and the emotional dance of earlier versions of ourselves.

If you’ve ever walked through your family’s front door and suddenly felt twelve years old again, you’re in good company. For me, I was an eternal 15-year-old, not dissimilar to Kevin and Perry. 

Now that I am more fully embracing my adult self and working as a therapist and coach, I offer ...

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If you have clicked on this article, chances are you are already feeling it, that creeping sense of dread as Christmas approaches. The weight of expectations about what the festive season should look like. The mental rehearsal of family dynamics, sensory overwhelm, small talk with distant relatives, and the pressure to appear joyful when you are actually counting down the hours until you can retreat back to your own space. 

I have always found it strange how, on Christmas Day, people suddenly behave differently, and no one ever mentions it. It becomes a sort of social murder mystery: who is genuine, and who is performing?

Here’s the truth: if part of you doesn’t want to follo...

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Not all  challenges we experience as neurodivergent individuals can be attributed to our neurodivergence. 

As both a neurodivergent person and a Neurodiversity Specialist, I am careful not to ascribe every difficulty to neurodivergence alone. Doing so risks overlooking critical factors, elements that are often essential to understanding why certain strategies or interventions have failed. 

Neurodiversity provides a powerful foundation for understanding ourselves, yet it is not exhaustive. Where medical professionals have identified additional factors, or where other complexities are evident, it i...

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Do you ever leave work feeling utterly drained, wondering why everyone else seems to cope so easily? For many neurodivergent people, whether autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic, or otherwise wired differently, the modern workplace can feel like an unspoken maze of rules, noise, and expectations that were never designed with your brain in mind.

As a neurodivergent therapist and neurodiversity coach at Zoe Clewes & Associates, I frequently support clients in navigating their workplace needs. I see bright, capable people who give everything at work yet feel constantly on the edge of burnout. And it’s not because they’re failing, it’s bec...

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Every so often, a new term takes the stage in neurodiversity discourse. Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. Revenge Bedtime Procrastination. Pathological Demand Avoidance. Time Agnosia.

And every time, the same debate erupts: Are we creating helpful frameworks for understanding, or are we just pathologising normal human experiences? Are we giving people language to describe their reality, or are we encouraging them to pathologise themselves? And don’t we have enough words already for the exact same things?

I think ...

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Telling someone you’re neurodivergent can feel like a huge leap into the unknown. Will they understand? Will they be supportive? Or will they dismiss your experience entirely?

Whether you’ve been recently diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or another form of neurodivergence, or have come to understand your ND-self through self-identification, deciding who to tell, how, and when is deeply personal. For many, it’s a milestone that brings relief, vulnerability, and fear all at once.

As a neurodivergent therapist and neurodiversity coach at Zoe Clews & Associates, I support clients navigating the co...

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Have you ever wondered why some people seem to struggle more than others with workplace stress or conflict, even when nothing “big” has happened? Trauma is not about what happens to us, it’s about how we process it and the impact it has on us later on. 

70% of people will experience something as being traumatic in their lifetime and that means consequences down the line for our mental wellbeing. Autistic people and those with other neurodivergent conditions (ADHD, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and related) have neurodevelopmental differences that compound this and 80% of neurodivergent people will in any case have a co-occurring everyday mental health condition such as anxiety, depression and OCD.

...

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You’ve just received a diagnosis confirming what you may have long suspected. Congratulations! You’re neurodivergent! The confirmation that we have indeed been struggling all our lives can hit hard. It might feel like a flood of relief, validation, grief, confusion, or curiosity, all at once.

Many of my clients describe this post-diagnosis period as a rollercoaster. Suddenly, your entire life story can start to look different through the lens of your neurodivergence. And you may be left wondering: What now?

As a neurodiversity coach and integrative psychotherapist at Zoe Clews &am...

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Have you been wondering whether you might be autistic (ASD), ADHD, dyslexic, or neurodivergent in another way? If so, you’re not alone, and you’re probably not imagining things. Many people reach adulthood sensing that their brain works a little differently, but without ever having the language or support to explore it further. 

As a neurodiversity coach and integrative psychotherapist at Zoe Clews & Associates, I regularly work with clients who are navigating this exact journey. Whether you’re ND-curious, newly diagnosed, or unsure what a diagnosis might mean for you, this guide will walk you through the process, what to expect, and how to advocate for yourse...

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Are you ND Curious? 

In my work as a neurodiversity coach and integrative psychotherapist, I often listen to clients who wonder why they feel ‘different’.  

Maybe you’ve always felt a little out of step with others. Or maybe you’ve stumbled across a post or video about ADHD or autism and thought, that’s me! If you’re starting to wonder whether you might be neurodivergent, you’re not alone, and you’re probably not imagining things.

In this article, I’ll explain what ‘neurodivergent’ means, and how many of us are discovering this part of ourselves later in ...

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