Kitsap CHADD

08/29/2026

Motor challenges impact many areas of life, knowing who to see about what can be helpful.

You don't have to be an expert in every discipline.

You just need to know who does what.

OT supports fine motor skills, sensory regulation, and daily living tasks.

PT supports gross motor skills, mobility, and physical access to the school environment.

Speech-Language Pathology supports communication, language, and often social skills.

Beyond the "big three": school psychologists support cognitive and behavioral needs, counselors support social-emotional needs, and vision, hearing, and orientation and mobility specialists support students with sensory-specific needs.

Know your team. Lean on your team.

d d add f Def

08/29/2026

Local Kitsap artist and ADHDer, Zoe ( ) has shared her experience with diagnosis, medication, and what that actually meant for learning to live with ADHD. Take a moment to read her story.

“Getting diagnosed with ADHD in my 20s was equal parts a massive relief and a heavy realization.

For the first time, I knew nothing was "wrong" with my character. I wasn't lazy or broken—my brain was just wired differently than my peers who seemed to navigate daily life with ease.
But the harder truth came later: ADHD isn't something you "cure."

Even with the right medication, I quickly learned that managing this condition meant navigating a medical system rife with stigma and suspicion. My 20s became a whirlwind where my success often depended entirely on whether a doctor believed me. Without medication, I dropped out of college, lost jobs, and watched relationships fall apart. With it, I felt capable. Human. Almost "normal."

A decade later, I’ve realized that while medication is a vital piece of the puzzle, it’s not the whole picture. True support requires building skills, finding community, advocating for yourself, and above all, giving yourself the grace that the world often forgets to offer. 🧠✨ “

Save this if you've ever felt the same, and drop a 🤍 in the comments if you're on this journey too.

If you want to share your story, send us a message; We'd love to feature you!

08/27/2026

This is incredibly important. This knowledge can inform excellent support for fine motor movements development, which are necessary to engage in many activities, including reading.

08/23/2026

Please listen. This is so important to understand and why we NEEEEEEED to be co-regulators and supporters. If you want to learn how to use self-regulation to support your loved ones, please join us!

08/22/2026

I want to live in a world where understanding yourself isn't a luxury, and where you don't have to brace yourself before sharing who you are.

Neurodivergence is very real and specific, not just an abstract concept. It's the person who notices details everyone else overlooks because their brain doesn't filter them out. It's the friend who speaks honestly because pretending through small talk takes way more energy than just being real. It's the mind that spots a link between two completely unexpected ideas.

None of these gifts can reach anyone if they have to stay hidden. Knowing yourself is important, but without safety, it remains private. When you can share that self-knowledge in a community designed to hold it, we all benefit.

That is what we're building at Kitsap CHADD. We aren't creating a quiet space to hide away and manage symptoms. We are building a place where understanding your own brain and bringing it into the room unfiltered actually makes the whole space better.

The world gets a little brighter every time someone feels safe enough to stop masking. It's not just a nice thought—it's simply what happens when people can finally stop pouring all their energy into hiding.

We look forward to hearing your story.

08/15/2026

How absurd it is, this narrow line—

just one word after another, a sequence where

“this” must come before “that”.

If the order shifts, the meaning fades,
lost in a string of words that cannot hold the weight.

For the mind that sees in complex systems,
where variables hum and functions lean
against the boundaries of a larger truth,
the line is a barrier.

You cannot map the "whole"
one word at a time.

Music breathes the entire experience at once,
reaching deep without the trap of ordered words.

Yet we are forced back into the mold,
trying to explain a web using only a thread.

It is truly **absurd**—

trying to pour a world of relationships

into a single, linear file.

Just word after word,

sequences of a truth that’s meant to be experienced, not just said.

***submitted by local CHADD member: Although they would like to remain anonymous, this member would like to share their experience with verbal communication challenges associated with the complexity of their ADHD brain. They would like to spread awareness of this experience because it helps to bridge the communication barrier if more people understand the true reality of trying to communicate a complex experience***

Thank you for your support Kitsap!

Like, follow, and share to promote our local community’s understanding of what ADHD is for the experiencer.

Communication is a barrier for everyone; recognizing that is true is the first step toward becoming a better listener and finding shared meaning in our words.

08/15/2026

Hi Kitsap ADHDers! We're preparing to start up in-person meetings again!

We've switched to the 2nd Friday of the Month, same place, same time, same amazing people!

We'll see you Friday, September 11th, at 6:30pm at the Subway Community Room on Kitsap Way.

Like, follow, and share to ensure this information reaches the right crowd. Your support really matters.

Topic will be posted closer to the meeting!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Summer.

Send a message to learn more

08/07/2026

Time Blindness Is Real — And It's Not a Character Flaw

Let's talk about something so many of us live with: time blindness.

That feeling when 20 minutes disappear into what felt like 2. When you were *sure* you had an hour, and suddenly you're 15 minutes late — again. When you meant to call back, and three weeks slipped by without you noticing.

This isn't about not caring. For many ADHD brains, time doesn't register the same way — some describe it as living in only two timezones: "now" and "not now." Anything that isn't happening this second can feel abstract, almost unreal, until it's suddenly too late.

Then comes the shame spiral. The over-apologizing. The quiet fear that people see you as unreliable, even while you're trying harder than anyone knows.

You are not careless. You're working with a brain that processes time differently — and that deserves support, not self-punishment.

You don't have to fix your brain to make this easier. A few things that help reduce the load:

🕐 Externalize everything. Don't trust your internal clock — alarms, calendar alerts, sticky notes on the door.

📱 Use time anchors, not one reminder. "Leave in 30," "leave in 10," "leave now." Buffer time is your friend.

👀 Make time visible. Analog clocks, visual timers — anything that bridges abstract time and felt time.

🤝 Buddy-check. A quick "heading out now" text anchors you better than any app.

💛 Build in grace. Systems will still fail sometimes. That's not proof you're broken — it's proof you're human, and you keep showing up anyway.

If this resonates, you're not alone. Drop a 💛 if you've felt this, and share your own time-blindness hacks below. 👇

Send a message to learn more

08/02/2026

Perimenopause & ADHD

As research on women accumulates, we’re beginning to uncover real issues that have gone ignored by the medical community.

If you’re a woman with ADHD between 35 and 39, it’s possible you’re already experiencing the biological changes associated with perimenopause.

If you’ve been struggling more than usual, explore what these changes mean for you, and what you can do to create balance.

Video: Dr. reads research on perimenopause in women with and without ADHD

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbCdIVVNW7X/?igsh=MTFwazE5M2NyZGRqeQ==