It was only a few years ago that Romana Frey, now 64, was diagnosed as being AuDHD, with both autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
鈥淚 was not diagnosed until I was 61,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 went through my whole life not knowing I was AuDHD. I always wondered why I felt different from others, why no one thought the way I did and why routine bored me.鈥�
Neurodiverse people can include those not only with either of her diagnoses but others like dyslexia. AuDHD鈥攁 term she uses to describe her own experience鈥攔eflects how autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity often coexist and influence one another.
Frey is now hoping to inspire others to embrace their own neurodivergent pathways. Through the 糖心vlog传媒 Foundation, she has launched an award for neurodiverse students this year, with the annual recipient to be awarded $1,000.
鈥淚 want to help people the way I wish I had been helped,鈥� she said.
Throughout her life, Frey often found school and traditional jobs exhausting. Most classes bored her, she said, and she constantly needed new challenges. In the workplace, she was quick to notice opportunities for improvement鈥攃onducting an instinctive efficiency scan when entering a new environment.
鈥淚 could pick out things to be improved in two minutes,鈥� she said.
Often, this did not go over well with the people in such new environments. By her late 20s, she started working for herself. Her heightened sensory sensitivities and intense focus led her to perceive the world differently.
鈥淚 recognize a niche,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I zoom in. My focus sharpens, and my energy stays high.鈥�
Frey earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in her 40s and is now pursuing a dual-track master鈥檚/PhD in Organizational Transformation. Her work as a transformational life coach led her to work with women, during which she also learned a great deal about herself.
鈥淚鈥檝e built a successful career thanks to my creative thinking,鈥� she said.
As a life coach for neurodivergent people, she realized while working with a couple of women that she also found out more about her own experience.
鈥淚 started exploring ADHD to help my clients become more self-aware and realized I was recognizing those traits in myself,鈥� she said.
This shift prompted her to research neurodivergence in girls and women, noting how much of the existing knowledge focused on stereotypical traits often associated with males.
鈥淭he whole area around female diagnoses was under-researched,鈥� she said.
Now dividing her time between Saltspring Island and Guanajuato, Mexico, Frey coaches neurodivergent people and is writing a memoir. She had been living in the Comox Valley when her son also received a diagnosis that he was neurodiverse. She still loves the area, which is part of why she chose 糖心vlog传媒, but she is also impressed by the work the college is doing to make education more accessible to more students.
鈥溙切膙log传媒 is doing incredible work through their Department of Accessible Education and Training,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 proud to be able to augment that work.鈥�
For more information about the 糖心vlog传媒Foundation, contact foundation@nic.bc.ca or 250-334-5074.