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Writer's pictureAmanda Gorman

May the 4th be with you!


Welcome to Distractd

Thank you for coming along tonight. It's because of you we are able to do these events. The hunger for knowledge and connection regarding ADHD is so prevalent in our community its important events like this exist. As long as you all come along to these we will continue to deliver them. Thanks for making the effort to come out and join us. And for those of you who completed our recent survey Thank you too. The results of that will be at the bottom of this program for you to see.


Tonights schedule


6:00 pm : Arrival

6:10 pm : Take your seats

6:15 pm : Distractd founder to open with a chat about the business and its direction.

6:25 pm : Speaker 1 : Robyn Kaye

6:45 pm : Speaker 2 : Selina Lee

7:00 pm: Quick 10 min break

7:10 pm : Speaker 3: Dr Chris Wever

7:25 pm : Q & A time for the Audience to ask our experts questions

8:20 pm : Mingle

8:30 pm : The event officially concludes .

10:00pm Miami Marketta closes for the evening



FOLLOW US on Socials to keep up to date on all things DISTRACTD


Meet your speakers






Amanda Gorman:

Founder Amanda Gorman is passionate about building an ADHD community where we can come together and catch up and bring along our Boss, Tutor, Coach, Teacher, Parent, Sibling,Neighbour or anyone we we think will benefit from learning more about this and of course for US to all learn more ourselves.








Robyn Kaye :

ADHD Life Coach

In 2017 I was made redundant from my job after I was unable to perform the position I had filled for 11 years. I felt broken and alone and I did not how to fix all that was wrong with me. No matter how hard I tried or what I did, nothing seemed to help. THEN, my son was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 29. Our GP thought I should be tested also and at the ripe old age of 55, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Looking back on my schooling, early life and experiences, this diagnosis made so much sense. AND, along with the diagnosis came hope. There was a focus, something I could investigate, dissect and apply to my chaotic mind, house and life. 

My work experience includes Job Search Trainer for Job Network Agencies, Human Resources, Personnel Officer and Payroll for Telstra, Trainer for Registered Training Organisations, Service Officer/Ministerial Writer at Centrelink and Resume and Selection Criteria writer in my own business. I liked people, I loved helping people. Putting all this together with ADHD, I discovered ADHD coaching and my new direction, career and passion was born. I engaged an ADHD coach of my own (thanks Michele Toner!) when I was studying and was astounded at the difference it made to my understanding of ADHD, my ability to get things done and my confidence.  I have since completed studies in Life Coaching and ADHD coaching and look forward to sharing my insights and strategies with people affected by ADHD. My Training completed and qualifications include:

  • Certificate IV in Life Coaching

  • Simply ADHD and Personal Transformation Courses

  • Bachelor of Education (Adult and Workplace Education)

  • Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training

  • Certificate IV in Business.

A common saying about ADHD is that’ pills don’t teach skills’ and some of us decide not to or can’t be medicated for a range of reasons. Considering this, I became particularly interested in translating the strategies we hear about when ADHD is discussed into specific, practical actions that we can implement to create peace and order in minds as well as our home and work environments. Research has shown that treating ADHD effectively can require a team approach which may include:




Selina Lee :

Author A passionate ADHD advocate, Selina Lee, was born in 1975, Sydney, Australia. She grew up in a single-parent family with her mother, brother and sister, due to the unexpected death of her father in a motorcycle accident, aged 5. Selina spent her childhood in Brisbane. Her family were not well off, at times, struggling to makes ends meet. After school and various jobs, Selina became a Croupier leading to opportunity for travel. She worked on cruise ships in her early 20s travelling the world. She then landed in the UK, changing profession, and spent a decade as a Police Constable in the Metropolitan Police Force, London, where she met, Bob ‘The Bobby’. Wanting a family, Selina and Bob moved to Queensland, where she lives on the Gold Coast, as a Private Investigator. Selina was diagnosed with ADHD, at 40, after her first son was diagnosed with ADHD, age 6. Selina’s partner and second son have also been diagnosed with ADHD. Years of misdirection, myth and stigma, led to Selina researching ADHD for five years, and it became evident that ADHD is a prevalent childhood disorder that still remains misunderstood and unsupported. The difference in early diagnosis and treatment versus not, is stark, and can be life and death. Selina is helping create a better world for her children, writing books, and has setup a charity for children with ADHD.

Selina Lee founded a not-for-profit charity that conducts early intervention screening of attention variables in education with the intention to break the cycle of damaging myth and stigma associated with this permanent, lifelong neurological disorder and its comorbid conditions.



Dr Chris Wever :

Dr Chris Wever is a Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist with thirty years of experience in the management of young people with mental health problems.

Chris is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and completed advanced training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He founded and directed the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Program, School Refusal Program and was also the Inpatient Director at Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Unit in Sydney prior to commencing private practice.

Dr Chris Wever moved to the Gold Coast in late 2005 to work in private practice. Chris offers specialist psychiatric treatment for children, adolescents and families for the whole range of child and adolescent psychiatric problems.

He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Bond University 2005-2010. Dr Wever is the author of ‘The Secret Problem’, a book for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder, ‘The School Wobblies’, a book for children who do not go to school due to anxiety problems and ‘Full of Beans’, a book for children with ADHD. For more information about Dr Wever's book, or to purchase, please click below: www.delphisbooks.com/books

He has also contributed three chapters to textbooks on child psychiatry and authored several scientific journal articles. He has taught many different groups of professionals and workers in the field of child psychiatry.

Chris accepts patients up to the age of eighteen and works with all mental health problems.

DISTRACTD Apparel:

We want to build a community of people who see one another wearing a DISTRACTD item and give each other a nod of " I see you, I get it"

No explanations needed.



Our Next Event : Wed June 1.

Click the link below to RSVP for next month so we have correct numbers recorded.





Recommended reading :


Russell Barkley 12 Principles for raising a child with ADHD


In addition to this book this You Tube Video from Russell Barkley also .


I was really taken aback when I was first reading this book due to the serious nature of this all. I, having ADHD did not want to hear it I guess. But I watched the video and also continued to read and I have found this to be so great in gaining an insight into what so commonly can occur because of this condition. It's so easy to be light and fluffy about it all and see the good in it and gloss over the challenges.

I am very grateful for my family and friends who have scaffolded me along the way without knowledge they were doing so to be who I am. I have been impulsive and reckless so much in my life and I have just been one of the fortunate ones who has had that support system to help me. As much as I love my ADHD I can see from reading and watching this that there can be dire consequences as a result of this. His books and videos are really great to explore.


All dogs have ADHD by Kathy Hoopmann

This is a super fun picture book.



Recommended Groups:

Facebook Groups:

ADHD Whisperer ( private group ) https://www.facebook.com/groups/ADHDwhisperer/

ADHD Meet Up Group - For parents and ADHDers - Gold Coast ( private group ) https://www.facebook.com/groups/582283579473749/


The Results from our Survey :

The results from our recent survey below with these topics and experts coming in as the faves to have on the panel.


ADHD Life Coach 100%

Adult Specific topics are a fave with 88.89%

Nutrition and Vitamins 77.78%

The harsh realities of ADHD 77.78%





And other mentions were:


Organisational and behavioural strategies, Practical tips, techniques, etc. for simplifying day to day life.


Natural supplements and functional health solutions. Non drug treatments

alternative therapies, such as art therapy and other allied health professionals.


Positive stories from adults that have lived through and succeeded using their differences lived experience of ADHD. Other people’s stories and getting an insight into how people navigate the world.


Teen help and inclusive building up, mental health support ideas

alt schooling options - mastery, josiah, homeschool etc.



ADHD in women, how it presents and the underdiagnoses of ADHD in women.

How hormonal changes (menstruation & menopause) impact ADHD.


Common ADHD comorbidities like dyslexia and dyscalculia.


Work/career and accommodations in the workplace, how to cope in a corporate environment.


Events to take place in Brisbane and a support/social group for adults with ADHD would also be helpful.


Sharing of what Books/ podcasts/content people would recommend


And a beautiful Quote from one of our survey replies,


"It felt great to be in a space where I could be myself and not have to pretend to be something I am not."






Miami Marketta is a proud sponsor of DISTRACTD, to see their upcoming gigs and events click here . https://www.miamimarketta.com/

Thank you for joining us . Please follow us, keep in touch and come along to our monthly events.

We would love to hear of your recommended podcasts, books, videos, groups etc to share with the audience. Email Amanda on amanda@amandagormanartist.com



Amanda and the DISTRACTD crew xx








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