Ken Kilbride | Understanding ADHD Across the Lifespan: Lived Experience, Leadership & Looking Ahead

Episode: Understanding ADHD Across the Lifespan: Lived Experience, Leadership & Looking Ahead Guest: Ken Kilbride — CEO of ADHD Ireland; advocate for national ADHD supports; parent of a multiply-neurodivergent adult; long-time collaborator with national organisations. Episode summary Peter O'Brien speaks with Ken Kilbride about ADHD Ireland's mission, the realities of ADHD across the lifespan, medication and self-regulation, comorbidity, workplace culture, and the deeper human rights implications of ignoring adult ADHD. Ken shares personal motivations, organisational strategy, and why ADHD awareness must evolve into acceptance in schools, workplaces, and wider society. Key takeaways ADHD is lifelong, not a childhood condition that disappears at 18. Public perception still frames ADHD as "naughty children" and poor discipline, which obscures the real challenges: executive functioning, emotional regulation, impulsivity, and chronic stress. Medication helps around 80% of people but requires careful titration with a clinician. ADHD rarely travels alone: 70–80% have at least one co-occurring condition; 30–35% have two; 10–15% have three. Emotional dysregulation and rejection sensitivity can be the hardest part for many adults. Stigma prevents disclosure in workplaces; cultural change is essential for inclusion. ADHD Ireland plans to expand national advocacy, representation, and public education over the next strategic cycle (2026–2029). ADHD is best understood as a different operating system, not a deficit or disorder. Topics & timestamps 00:00–02:00 — Introductions; long-standing collaboration; ADHD diagnosis through Cloud Clinic. 02:00–05:10 — "Do you have ADHD?"; operating systems, Ferrari brains, and traits vs. disorder. 05:10–07:30 — Public misconceptions: discipline myths, "naughty kids," and stigma. 07:30–10:20 — Medication talk: stimulants, titration, timing, and lived experience of use. 10:20–15:00 — Combining lifestyle regulation with medication: cold-water swimming, yoga, dopamine balance. 15:00–17:30 — ADHD strengths: hyperfocus, innovation, reinvention, game-changing ability. 17:30–20:10 — Work life: unemployability, needing love for the work, being your own boss. 20:10–22:50 — Disclosure fears in workplaces; culture change; why acceptance matters. 22:50–25:00 — Emotional regulation and RSD; small criticisms becoming big storms. 25:00–27:50 — Invisible disability; why colleagues struggle to understand accommodations. 27:50–30:20 — ADHD in prisons, substance use, and the unknowns needing research. 30:20–33:40 — Human rights framing: suicide risk, self-harm statistics, and lack of services for adults. 33:40–36:10 — Personal story: raising a multiply-neurodivergent son; motivation for advocacy. 36:10–38:45 — ADHD Ireland's future strategy: national representation, social change, broader advocacy. 38:45–42:00 — Building partnerships across the neurodivergent sector; overlapping conditions. 42:00–46:20 — Schools: acceptance vs. awareness; teachers needing practical skills; parents being told to "fight." 46:20–47:45 — The power of understanding and belonging; closing thoughts. Resources mentioned ADHD Ireland — national supports, advocacy, information, training. NICE Guidelines for ADHD — clinical recommendations for diagnosis and treatment. Cloud Clinic — assessment services referenced in conversation. Recent CSO Data — 2% self-reported ADHD diagnosis; 9% suspect they may have ADHD. Pull quotes "ADHD isn't mild. It doesn't vanish on your 18th birthday." "It's not better, it's not worse—it's a different operating system." "Emotional dysregulation is the hardest part for a third of adults." "People with ADHD reinvent the world as they go." "We need acceptance, not just awareness." Credits Host: Peter O'Brien Guest: Ken Kilbride Producer: Ian Lawton Recorded remotely. Tags ADHD Ireland, adult ADHD, neurodivergence, workplace inclusion, emotional regulation, medication, stigma, human rights, Neuroconvergence