About Iridescent Minds CIC

Hi, I’m Leah and in 2019 I was diagnosed with ADHD and autism at age 43.

I’d always hated myself for being the way I am.

Why? Because no matter how hard I tried I always ended up feeling like a failure and a rubbish human.

Until I was diagnosed I couldn’t understand I had so much difficulty keeping things tidy, organising myself and paying attention. Why I always struggled socially, and felt so different from almost everyone around me.

Without a different explanation, I turned it in on myself and for many years I believed that I must be lazy, fickle and useless.

Over time I learnt to suppress who I really am, hide those shameful failings, and ‘pretend to be normal’.

It’s very isolating when you carry so much shame, because you never really allow anyone to get close.

Over the years I suffered terribly with anxiety, depression and insomnia, and despite visiting doctors and therapists countless times, nobody had ever suggested ADHD (or any kind of neurodiverse condition).

Getting a diagnosis made a huge difference to me, even though it was much later in life, because it helped me to forgive myself and start to accept my quirky, chaotic self, and feel confident in my own skin.

I now know that my story isn’t unusual and that many people don’t find out they have ADHD until much later in life (if at all).

So I started the #iamadhd campaign to raise awareness of ADHD in women and challenge some of the outdated stereotypes, shame and isolation faced by other women living with ADHD

It was clear to me that the reason so many women, like me, were being missed was because hardly anyone knew we existed let alone knew how to find us!

As the campaign has evolved, it’s become clear that although this is an issue that predominantly affects women, it also affects anyone who has been perceived by the outside world as female at least some point in their lives due to the gender bias towards a ‘male type’ presentation. You can learn more about ADHD here.

If you’d like to learn more about Leah and her journey, you can visit her website here.

When the campaign started building momentum and more people were joining the cause and sharing their own stories and experiences, I realised that there was also a need for support, help and understanding and Iridescent Minds CIC was created.

We’ve got big plans, but we can’t do it without you.

Please support us in any way that you can. You can find out how to do that here.

Join our support forum and help us to shape a support hub that we can be proud of.  You can do that here.

If you’d like to get in touch with Leah and find out more about the work that she does, click here

The Story Behind Our Name And Logo:

Iridescent – varying in colour when seen in different lights or from different angles, having a play of lustrous rainbow colours

We chose this name to reflect the beauty and changeable quality of our ADHD minds. Iridescent seemed a particularly fitting choice of word, something that can seem at first glance unremarkable can begin to shine in glorious technicolour when the light shines upon it in the right way.

Our Hummingbird

The hummingbird seems to reflect ADHD perfectly. So many aspects of this beautiful bird reminded us of our amazing ADHD selves!

Not only does this tiny bird often show beautiful iridescence, it also has wings that move much faster than other birds and appears to always be on the move. We were reminded of the way that we seem to always be physically or mentally active.

The hummingbird’s unique ability to manoeuvre reminded us of our incredible ability to think quickly, problem solve and make connections that others can’t see – unlike other birds, hummingbirds can fly backwards, forwards, up, down and even hover.

Lastly, it seemed fitting that as a group of people who feel our emotions deeply, who are passionate and compassionate would be represented by the bird who has the biggest heart (compared to body size).