Understanding ourselves changes how we understand each other.
My story is how I came to understand this work. I lived it as a child, a mother and an educator. Then I spent years researching what I had experienced and what I was seeing in the classroom. The more I learned, the more I understood that this was never only about ADHD or education. It was about people.
Children come into our lives with emotions they are still learning to understand. Yet the adults around them were often never taught how to understand their own. That disconnect affects the way we communicate, the way we connect and ultimately the way children learn.
I believe educators are in a powerful position to change that. With better information, training and the opportunity to practice these skills themselves, they can change what a child experiences in a classroom and what that child carries into the world.
Susan on The Oprah Podcast.
"Every generation learned to communicate differently. What I saw in education is that social and emotional learning isn't just for children. Adults need it, too."
What she speaks about
- —What behavior can be telling us
- —ADHD in girls and women, including masking and late recognition
- —Executive functioning in school and everyday life
- —What regulation has to do with learning
- —The transition from high school to college and the change in support that comes with it
- —Helping adults and young people find language for each other
- —Adult ADHD in the workplace
Ways to work with Susan
- —Keynote talks
- —Workshops
- —School, district, and parent events
- —University talks and student conversations
- —Corporate and workplace sessions
- —Panels, podcasts, and media interviews
Every talk starts with the people in the room.
Before a talk, she wants to know who she is speaking to.
A short questionnaire or survey gives the audience a chance to share what they are dealing with before she arrives. Those responses help shape the talk around the people who will actually be sitting in front of her.
Her own story is part of the work because that story is where much of it began. But the rest belongs to the room.
The goal is for people to leave with more than a good hour. She wants them to notice something they did not notice before, understand it differently, and know what they can do next.
Different rooms. Different work.
The talk she gives to a room of teachers should not be the same talk she gives to a room of college students. The questions are different. The pressures are different. The work has to meet people where they actually are.
In K–12 schools, she speaks with educators and students about what can sit underneath behavior and why a child can look fine at school while struggling somewhere else. She also helps adults and young people find language for each other. Understanding has to travel in both directions.
College brings a different kind of transition.
In high school, a student may have had adults checking in, tracking assignments, helping organize deadlines, or making sure support was in place. After graduation, much of that structure changes. Accommodations may also look very different from what the student had in high school.
Now the student is expected to understand what they need and take a much larger role in managing it.
That shift can be jarring. She speaks to students and university communities about that transition and gives young adults practical ways to begin creating the structure and tools they now have to carry for themselves.
With parents, she brings the conversation home. A child may use everything they have to get through the school day and then unravel at home. She helps families look differently at those moments and at what a child may be trying to communicate.
In workplaces, the child has grown up, but executive functioning did not stop mattering. She talks about what ADHD can look like on the job, why capable people can sometimes appear inconsistent, and what can help them work at their best.
Each room calls for something different. That is why the audience comes first.
To inquire about a talk, workshop, panel, podcast, or media appearance, use the contact form or email Susan directly at susan@susanhedge.com.
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