Hi, I’m Claire. ADHD, to me, is not a flaw to be fixed but a part of who I am that finally has a name. Being late diagnosed brought clarity, compassion, and a deep sense of grief — grief for the child I was, for the years spent masking, people pleasing, and trying to fit into systems that were never designed for minds like mine. For so long I asked, “What is wrong with me?” When the real question was, “What happened to me in a world that couldn’t see me?”

ADHD has shaped how I think, feel, lead, and care. It is my intensity, my creativity, my empathy, my justice seeking heart, and my refusal to look away when others are struggling. It has required resilience in a world that often mistakes difference for difficulty, yet it has also taught me to meet myself with kindness — to stop apologising for who I am and to start advocating for who we all deserve to be.

Understanding my ADHD has been both healing and awakening. It reminds me why inclusion matters, why kindness is essential, and why no one should grow up believing they are too much or not enough. ADHD is not something I carry with shame; it is a part of how I love, how I see, and why I believe so fiercely that everyone deserves the same choices, the same belief, and the same chance to thrive.

For over 25 years, I have worked in education because I believe, deeply and unapologetically, that everyone deserves the same choices in life.

Not the same outcomes.

Not the same paths.

But the same opportunity to choose who they are and who they want to become.

As Director of Education, I am responsible for five SEND schools, but at the heart of my work are people — children, families, and educators who have too often been told they must fit in, try harder, or be less themselves in order to belong.

Education Built on Belonging.

My passion is for education for all and for a world made for everyone. A world where difference is expected, welcomed, and designed for — not tolerated as an inconvenience.

I have spent my career working to remove barriers — the visible ones and the quiet, hidden ones — so that no child grows up believing there is something wrong with them simply because the system was never built with them in mind.

Inclusion, to me, is about love, dignity, and fairness.

It is about seeing people as they are, not as they are measured.

Lived Experience, Real Understanding.

I was late diagnosed with ADHD, and that moment changed everything. It brought understanding, relief, and grief — but also a renewed determination to make sure others do not spend years masking, people-pleasing, or feeling they must earn their right to belong.

This lived experience sits at the centre of my work as an ADHD UK Ambassador. It fuels my commitment to speak honestly, lead bravely, and advocate for systems that are kinder, more flexible, and more human.

A World of Equal Choice

I want an education system — and a society — where:
• Children are supported, not fixed
• Difference is not punished or pathologised
• Every person is given the same choices, the same hope, and the same belief in their future

My work is guided by one simple truth:

Be who you are. Choose who you want to be.

That is the world I am working towards — with care, courage, and love.

ADHD, to me, is the moment you finally realise:

You were never broken — you were brilliant in a world that wasn’t ready for your kind of light.