Fighting the stigma of ADHD my way - using humour, storytelling and evidence-based approaches
Rose struggled at school. Bullying, bad marks and a feeling in her gut that told her she was “different”. No matter how hard she tried, life was a struggle. One thing she always had was a passion for the stage and a love of telling stories. At the age of 32 years old, Rose was finally diagnosed with ADHD. But hang on - isn’t ADHD just for hyperactive little boys?
After receiving her life-changing diagnosis, Rose decided to write a comedy show about it. It went on to sell out at festivals across the country, received rave reviews and won the Best Comedy award at Sydney Fringe Festival. Since then, Rose has spent her time passionately educating and advocating for people with ADHD around Australia.
Rose found that simply getting up on stage and telling her story not only provided essential education to those in need but also led many people to realise they had ADHD too. Further spurred on by the reaction to her article in the Sydney Morning Herald about her ADHD “lightbulb moment”, Rose became an ambassador for ADHD Australia. Her continued advocacy work, media appearances and social media content has made her one of Australia’s most well-known ADHD advocates.
Rose is trusted by some of the most well-known mental health bodies, having worked with the ADHD Professionals Association, the Australian Clinical Psychologist’s Association and ADHD Australia.
Through stand-up comedy and her unique skill at storytelling, Rose communicates powerful messages by making people laugh while learning. Rose is able to communicate with a variety of audiences and loves speaking about tools that help her with ADHD in day-to-day life, in the workplace, and being a parent with ADHD. Whether it’s professionals, school students, mental health practitioners or members of the public, she’s helped thousands of people learn about the nuances of ADHD and what it really looks like.
Talking Points
Living My Best Life in a Neurotypical World
This is an inspirational talk that takes attendees on my ADHD journey to diagnosis, while also educating about ADHD with practical examples and easy-to-understand graphics (memes). As an advocate and ambassador, I’m passionate about cutting through the jargon to communicate what ADHD really is and what it really looks like - from our struggles to our superpowers. This talk dives into my personal experiences with ADHD - from underachieving at school and getting bullied to getting diagnosed, learning to thrive, and now, parenting with ADHD. Presented with the humour and honesty I’ve developed through 11 years of stand up and 9 years of discussing ADHD on-stage and in the media, this talk offers both insight and entertainment.Living My Best Life in a Neurotypical World
Key Takeaways:
The audience will walk away with a real-life practical understanding of how ADHD can present in various settings - work, school, and everyday life. They will be armed with the knowledge that neurodiversity and mental health struggles are often hidden under the surface. Neurodiverse people will feel seen and more accepted and hiring managers will be more open-minded to managing and hiring outside preconceived notions of what a high-performing employee looks like.
Tangible outcomes that demonstrate ROI:
● Demonstrate to staff a commitment to well-being, flexibility, and a supportive culture.
● Increase results of staff surveys in the above areas.
● A speech tailored to your needs and in line with your goals.
● Demonstrate a commitment to mental health and wellbeing.
● Address equity and inclusion with neurodiverse people, leading to improved DEI metrics and initiatives.
● Increased hiring, representation, retention and advancement of neurodiverse individuals.
● Increased accessibility.
● Ideas for better managing or working with neurodiverse people to achieve the best outcomes and productivity.
● Increased recognition and appreciation of different ways of working and studying
ADHD in the Workplace
This is a practical talk about ADHD in the workplace - that’s also fun. ADHD in the Workplace
I’ll give examples of how ADHD people work, what blocks us from doing our best and what can be done to overcome challenges. With these things in place, ADHD employees can perform to a high level and take advantage of their unique skills - like lateral thinking, problem solving and exceptional creativity.
This is helpful for staff, managers and neurotypical people too.
Using effective project management tools, having clear deadlines, giving compliments, checking in and offering support, making sure your door is always open to chat if someone is struggling. Ultimately the take-out of this talk is that the key aspects of working effectively with ADHD people are actually just things that make someone a great manager or a considerate colleague.
Key Takeaways:
What is the audience going to walk away with? What tangible outcomes will the client be able to attribute to their ROI on this presentation?
● The ability to solve performance issues, cultivate high-performing employees and increase staff retention.
● The skills to optimise current project management systems for all employees.
● Increase employee survey results by demonstrating a commitment to mental health, wellbeing and the advancement of neurodiverse staff.
● Actionable real-life examples of performance issues with ADHD staff and how they were solved.
● Ideas to create effective mental health and wellbeing initiatives and increase uptake.
● Identify gaps where staff may not be sufficiently supported.
Topics
Rose has performed at several Share the Dignity charity events including MCing our StandUp gala event at the Athenaeum Theatre and our large DigniTea event at the Docklands in Melbourne. Ro ... keep reading Share the Dignity
I would like to thank Rose for being available to attend ADHD Australia’s Community and Carers information day in Brisbane earlier this year which followed the performance at the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA) evening. The feedback I received from those attending both functions was very positive. I am therefore glad to say that hiring Rose made a great positive impact to our events. Rose was the perfect act - both entertaining and professional - tailoring her material and style perfectly between the evening drinks, with the professionals on the Saturday, and our Community and Carers information day. I will definitely re-engage Rose for future activities we are planning.
I spent many years working as YWCA’s Events and Membership Coordinator. Rose was ALWAYS our MC of choice- adaptable, energetic, hilarious and able to engage a crowd- any crowd! Rowdy club goers to rowdy rescue dogs at our community dog show fundraiser, we always knew we had the right MC.
