Local mum to host ADHD conference

Child behavioural specialist and Surf Coast resident Chrissie Davies wants families with neurodivergent children to know they are not alone.

This month her business, Chaos to Calm Consultancy, will host the region’s first Therapeutic ADHD Conference.

The event will feature several speakers with lived experience of neurodivergence and focus on providing support and understanding to the ADHD community.

“I’m a fiercely passionate educator and I’m also a mum of two neurodivergent kids,” she said.

Davies’ journey with her children led to her own ADHD diagnosis last year.

“The absolute most amazing thing about it is that my children are actually adopted,” she said.

Now she wants to help other families enjoy the same “vibrant life” she lives with her children, “embracing the hard times and the positive times”.

“When you find out you have a neurodivergent child, there’s so much information that you have to learn and there’s so much about the script or the stories you’ve told yourself about being a parent that is different to what you always thought it was going to be like,” Davies said.

“I think the biggest thing that I’ve realised, especially from the response that I’ve gotten from the conference, is people just want to feel supported.

“They want to feel understood; they want to feel like they’re not alone.”

She said many families with neurodivergent children were struggling with shame, isolation and a lack of connections that could help them navigate the complexities of neurodivergence.

“This is what I really want to change, and this is why I created the conference,” Davies said.

“If we all just sit at home, hiding in our shame and not talk about what’s actually happening, nothing changes for your family.

“Sharing stories is really powerful.

“I wanted the conference to just be this really big celebration and to lead by example by sharing my story and sharing my own vulnerability to inspire others to do the same.”

She said the conference was intended to empower and inform and had been created specifically for people with ADHD.

“I struggle with the same learning inattention challenges as many ADHDers and so the conference has been specifically created with that in mind,” she said.

“All the presentations are going to be really short, sharp, engaging and involve activities.”

The conference sold out in just three weeks, but tickets are still available for the conference’s virtual livestream.

For more information, head to chaostocalmconsultancy.com