Julie Legg speaks with Sian Flynn-Coleman, an ADHD life coach, mother, and passionate advocate of the ADHD Inquiry New Zealand. Together, they unpack the ADHD Inquiry petition calling for a public investigation into the systemic gaps that impact ADHDers across health, education, justice, and employment sectors in Aotearoa.
It’s calling for a national cross-sector ADHD strategy and an annual funding plan — not to start from scratch, but to build on the progress already made and ensure lasting reform. With lived experience and clarity, Sian highlights why coordinated national support is critical and how collective voices can lead to lasting change.
Whether you’re based in New Zealand or beyond, this conversation offers hope, solidarity, and practical insight into what advocacy can look like from the ground up.
Key Points from this Episode:
- Sian’s personal ADHD diagnosis and the turning point that led to advocacy
- Why the ADHD Inquiry NZ matters now—and what it’s really calling for
- The concept of “systemic harm” and what a public inquiry could achieve
- The hidden cost of inaction: financial, societal, and personal
- How a petition becomes part of the national record and leads to change
- What sustainable, government-backed funding could unlock for ADHD support
- Disproportionate impact on the justice system
- The power of grassroots movements and collective visibility
- What Sian would say to policymakers, and the hope she holds for the future
Links:
- ADHD INQUIRY PETITION: https://petitions.parliament.nz/42b5c524-f57f-4c3f-eb1f-08ddcf0ec835?lang=en
- WEBSITE: https://adhdinquiry.nz/
- LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adhdinquirynz/
- FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/adhdinquirynz
- INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/adhdinquirynz/
- LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sianmichelle/
- LINK TREE: https://linktr.ee/sian.michelle
- PODCAST & WEBSITE: https://multidimensionaladhd.com/
Thanks for listening.
- Visit ADHDifference.nz to find past episodes, videos, links, or to say hello!
- Get social with us on Instagram
- Julie Legg is the author of The Missing Piece: A Woman's Guide to Understanding, Diagnosing and Living with ADHD
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