Different Is Better: Your Personal Invitation to NeuroDiversion 25

Why I’m starting a new, in-person event.

Yes, you are invited! Get tickets to NeuroDiversion 25 (March 27-29, 2025) 🎟️

Dear friends and readers,

NeuroDiversion is coming up in just one month! I’ve been working on it nearly full-time, and I can’t wait to welcome everyone who makes the trip. But since I’ve had my head in the details for a while, I recently realized that I might not have explained the big-picture goal very well. Sorry about that!

An example of what I mean: I recently got a note from a reader who made me think, wow, I need to explain this thing a bit better. They basically wondered if the event was a good fit for them. Specifically, they said:

“I’m a bit older than what I imagine as your typical reader, and I’m also not sure I’m ’neurodivergent’, although I’ve certainly been wondering lately, especially after reading about adult ADHD. Do you think this is something I should come to?”

And it’s not just this person: I’ve heard from a bunch of people who like the concept when they hear about it—but don’t know if they should attend. They have questions like:

• What if I’m older (or younger) than everyone else?

• What I’m not neurodivergent (or just not sure)?

• What if I have OCD or dyslexia or something else non-ADHD?

• What if I have social anxiety and don’t like being around big groups?

• What if I want to send my autistic teenager, and possibly attend with them?

(And many more… these are just a few situations we’ve encountered.)

Well, here is the thing. We are building something very new here. It’s a team effort with many people involved, almost all of whom are volunteering their time just like me. I don’t want it to just be good; I want it to be amazing and transformative for everyone involved.

So if you’re reading this and wondering: am I invited? Yes, you are! I’m sorry if I haven’t come to your house with a personal invitation. (Honestly, I wish I could do that, because I would.)

➡️ Register and join us

(Or keep reading for more info…)

NeuroDiversion 25: Selected Programming

Want to be inspired? Hear from keynote speakers including Jessica McCabe, Cassandra Aarssen, Dr. Brandi Walker, Shira Gill, and more.

Want to learn? We have breakout sessions on two dozen topics including:

• Reducing Social Anxiety

• How Your Brain's Executive Function Profile Impacts Quality of Life

• Unlocking the Puzzle of ADHD Relationships

• Sensory Alchemy: Writing With Presence

• Rewiring Health + Fitness

• Parenting Neurodivergent Kids

Many of these sessions are taught by therapists and other mental health professionals. Others are taught by authors and educators—all people who have real-world experience in these topics, and who teach from both traditional and non-traditional perspectives.

Education is a big part of the three days, but it will also be FUN. Among other activities:

• We’re planning to screen the worldwide debut of this film about women with ADHD.

• We’ll have a Neurodivergent Creator’s panel featuring Jesse J. Anderson, Trina Haynes, and several others.

• There will be 30+ meetups on all sorts of topics and interests—and if you don’t find one that’s perfect for you, you can host your own.

Last but not least, it will be extra-special because it’s the first time anyone’s done anything like this … and YOU can be part of the inaugural gathering.

For those who aren’t local to Austin (I’m not either): I know that traveling to another city is costly and time-consuming. There are other things you could be doing. But it will be worth it! The team and I are very excited about everything we’ve been planning behind the scenes.

➡️ Register and join us

Ideal Reader of A Year of Mental Health

When I started writing this newsletter last year, I wrote a post about my ideal reader. A brief selection:

You are doing well in some ways and not-so-well in others.

You are frustrated. And also eager!

You want something different—a change in your life, or perhaps more than one change.

You know there is something great you can do, become, achieve, or experience. But what is it? And how do you find it? And what do you do about all of the life pressures standing in the way?

You worry about how you spend your time.

You feel like there’s something you should be doing, but you’re not always sure what it is. You want to stop scrolling all the time. You want to find what matters and do more of it.

You are strong—and you struggle. These two points co-exist.

Also within you, a sense of insecurity causes you to second-guess yourself. You have ideas but don’t always follow-through.

You worry about what other people think of you. Then you get mad at yourself for worrying about it. But you still worry.

Sometimes you get stuck. You don’t feel like doing anything at all! You just want to give up and do whatever energy-depleting activities you gravitate toward.

Because you have this tendency, you might think you’re lazy. (Spoiler: most likely you’re not actually lazy. Instead of being good at being lazy, you are good at negative self-talk. Executive functions, like task initiation and planning, may also be difficult.)

Sometimes, you feel misunderstood, maybe even by the people close to you.

If you identify with any of those qualities (there are more in the post), you’ll feel right at home at NeuroDiversion. And we’ll help! Not because you need to “fix” everything about your life, but because you want things to be better than they currently are.

A big part of the experience will be getting to know other people who think like you, or who have similar frustrations (AND superpowers) and who have found their own unique ways of getting through life.

So that’s the event is about, and YES you are invited. Please come. If there’s anything you need to know that would make it easier for you to commit, send our volunteer team a note (team @ neurodiversion.org) and they’ll get right back to you. 🥰

Waking Up at Night with Ideas

One of the guiding forces of my life has been paying attention to ideas that won’t leave me alone. The principle is: not all of our “crazy” ideas are worth doing, but one way to tell the good from the bad is by how much time they take up in your brain.

When I started The Art of Non-Conformity in 2008, I thought about it every day for six months. I couldn’t not do it. The same thing happened with deciding to visit every country in the world, traveling to meet my readers in all 50 states, and several other ideas that simultaneously felt intimidating and compelling.

Of course, not every idea that sticks with you becomes a huge success—that’s not really the point. It’s more that these are ideas worth pursuing. They’re worth investing in, in following up on, and giving everything you can to them.

As you might guess, I feel this way about NeuroDiversion, to the point where I’m working on it more than anything else right now, and also taking a big financial risk on it. (Events are expensive! This is not a moneymaking project, and 100% of the ticket sales go toward costs.)

To be clear, if you’re planning to be there, I don’t think you should come just because it’s one of my crazy ideas. You should come because it will be good for you. I’m just noting that I take it very seriously and will be doing everything I can to support the community that comes out of it.

➡️ Register and join us

P.S. Thanks to everyone who read this long post. As I said, I know this event won’t be for everyone—I just don’t want to miss anyone who might be on the fence. I’ll be back to regularly-scheduled programming next week! 💚