Many students with ADHD arrive at university carrying a history of being told — explicitly or implicitly — that they’re not trying hard enough, not organised enough, not focused enough. By the time you reach higher education, it can be hard to believe that you actually deserve to be there.
One aspect of ADHD that doesn’t get talked about enough is emotional intensity. Many people with ADHD experience emotions more strongly and more quickly than others — frustration, excitement, disappointment, and enthusiasm can all feel amplified and fast-moving.
ADHD affects executive function — the set of brain processes that govern planning, starting tasks, self-monitoring, and regulating behaviour. When these functions are less reliable, habits and systems do some of the work your brain would otherwise need to do consciously.
When students with ADHD first start mentoring, they sometimes expect it to feel like a tutoring session — working through subject content, getting help with specific assignments. While we can support you around academic tasks, specialist mentoring goes deeper than that.
