Three Key Learnings:

1. Understanding why recognition, not resilience, is a more effective foundation for supporting neurodivergent individuals and families.

2. Practical tools to support emotional processing, executive functioning, and sustainable change using neuro-affirming strategies.

3. A shift in perspective on how masking, late diagnosis, and internalised expectations impact mental health and identity, particularly in neurodivergent women and mothers.


This presentation challenges the dominant narrative of resilience and proposes a shift towards recognition as a more ethical and effective foundation for mental health support. Framed through lived experience as a neurodivergent woman, mother, and therapist, I will explore how the pressure to “cope better” often silences the very people it intends to help—particularly neurodivergent mothers navigating intergenerational trauma, misdiagnosis, and the weight of invisible labour.

Participants will be guided through key concepts including emotional processing, executive functioning fatigue, and how masking distorts identity. We will also discuss the practical impact of late diagnosis, particularly in women, and how unrecognised neurodivergence reshapes family dynamics and support needs. We’ll examine the cost of conforming to neuronormative systems and introduce the idea that recognition—of needs, differences, and lived realities—is the true starting point for change.

The session will include practical tools drawn from the BBMe Completely program, including Me First Thinking (a boundary-setting and self-recognition practice), the Yay Me Axis (a visual reflection tool to track satisfaction and energy), and Brain Bubbles (a metaphor-based framework for cognitive and emotional load). These tools support attendees in building sustainable strategies for mental health that are flexible, neuro-affirming, and rooted in self-understanding rather than performance.

This workshop is ideal for clinicians, educators, and peer support workers who want to move beyond compliance-based frameworks. Attendees will leave with a renewed understanding of how to support autonomy and emotional safety in neurodivergent families—starting with the individual and expanding into systems of care. The session offers a balance of evidence-informed practice and deep personal insight.