Why Mentorship Might Be Your ADHD Survival Strategy

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of mentorship for neurodivergent individuals and the systemic issues surrounding education and access.

Ever wonder why seeing another neurodivergent person succeed can literally change your life? This week, David and Isabelle bring you the second half of their conversation with Jesse Sanchez, Executive Director of the Neurodiversity Alliance, and it goes deep. They're talking about the kind of mentorship that doesn't happen in an office—it happens in moments of "wait, you do that too?" They also get brutally honest about why neurodivergence isn't just a rich kid's diagnosis, it's an intergenerational survival story that intersects with race, class, incarceration, and educational access in ways we desperately need to talk about. Missed Part 1 of this conversation? Catch up here. Jesse shares his own story: growing up with a single mom who left home at nine, a father in federal prison, navigating the world as a first-gen, low-income, multiracial kid—and how none of the incredible educational access programs he benefited from ever addressed the neurodivergent piece. David drops the "glasses metaphor" that'll make you rethink everything. And Isabelle connects the dots between pulling all-nighters, calling it a moral failing, and why our school system was literally designed to create…

People in this episode

Hosts: David Kessler, Isabelle Richards

Guest: Jesse Sanchez

Topics covered

• mentorship
• neurodiversity
• education access
• intergenerational survival
• race and class
• self-acceptance

Keywords

• ADHD
• mentorship
• neurodivergent
• education
• survival strategy
• race
• class
• imposter syndrome

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Neurodiversity Alliance

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