Zahra Saednejad
As a 3rd year student nurse, having access to different placements is a massive benefit to our learning and progression.
I am currently two weeks into my experience at ADHD Direct and it has truly been such an insightful time being welcomed by both the staff and the people who are under ADHD Direct’s care. I have been allowed by patients to shadow their appointments, with such kindness and honesty, with many telling me that they consent to shadowing in the hopes of more people understanding ADHD, the impacts ADHD has on their lives, and the relief that having a diagnosis can bring.
Whilst I am training to become a mental health nurse and I am here to learn, this placement has been especially impactful for me as I also have an ADHD and Autism diagnosis that was only made in the tail end of my teenage years.
This had a massive impact on my life growing up and even still now, and it did lead to my own struggles. I spent many years thinking something was wrong with me, that I was broken, and wishing I was ‘normal’. It wasn’t until a few months after my diagnoses that I came to realise that being neurodivergent isn’t a weakness — it is instead a strength that comes with challenges that many people just don’t understand, or are not willing to understand.
I often sit in assessments and appointments and hear people describe how much their lives are impacted by not having the support and validation that a diagnosis can bring, and I have really resonated with the emotional weight of that. I often think back to a time when I was on that side of an assessment, saying many of the same things.
Being at ADHD Direct is helping me understand myself both emotionally and in my own AuADHD journey, as well as helping me better understand the people I support. The biggest factor in this has been how supportive all the clinicians are. Their openness and willingness to teach and accommodate my learning as someone with AuADHD has been so validating.
I am not afraid to admit that I struggle with learning, even with the support of medication. Being on placement is very difficult, as you are being put into environments that are very new to you, and as someone who struggles with change, it is hard to finally settle into a routine only for it to be taken away again.
From the minute I walked into ADHD Direct, I have been surrounded by support and given opportunities to learn in a way that works for my brain. I won’t lie — it can be very difficult. You are taking in a lot of new knowledge, meeting many new people, trying to absorb the information shared during appointments and translate it into an assessment, all while navigating the unpredictability of the service and the emotionally demanding nature of the work. But no matter what, I have been given the space to talk about it, and they have listened and guided me through these difficult experiences in a non-judgemental and kind way.
I could talk for hours about the positives of ADHD Direct, but I fear there is not enough space — or concentration required! All I will say is that ADHD Direct and everyone who works within it are truly changing the lives of the people they support, and that the honesty and openness of the people I have been able to meet so far are absolutely going to help bring so much positive awareness and understanding surrounding ADHD across the whole lifespan.
