Hello
I'm Shelley. Welcome to the ADHD Compassion Classroom. I'm a junior high teacher from Alberta, Canada, with over 31 years of classroom experience and (finally!) a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis. I created this space for women and teachers like me who spent years wondering why everything felt harder than it "should". Here, we lead with compassion - not shame, pressure, or perfection.
My ADHD Story
For more than a decade, possibly even longer, I had suspected that I had ADHD. I saw the patterns - I recognized the signs - the overwhelm, the working memory problems, the constant compensating, the masking that got heavier each year.
But like many women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, I learned to cope so well that no one saw how hard I was working behind the scenes. This year was the catalyst - I was experiencing extreme menopause symptoms, which were exasperating my ADHD symptoms, creating a perfect emotional time bomb.
Then I finally looked into and received my official diagnosis. And it came with both grief... and enormous relief.
I wasn't "lazy".
I wasn't "forgetful".
I wasn't "scattered".
I was neurodivergent - and no one had ever taught me how to support my brain.
It was then that I knew I needed to advocate for my own well-being and that of others like me. So this journey begins...
Teaching for 31 years
Three decades in the classroom shaped my mission
I've spent 31 years teaching various grades of students in a wide variety of subjects. Over the years, I've guided them, advocated for them, and continually helped them develop the confidence and skills to be who they are meant to be.
What I didn't realize until recently was that my own students and children were teaching me about ADHD long before I understood my own brain.
My diagnosis didn't diminish my teaching experience - it reframed it. It allowed me to see that my creativity, empathy, adaptability, and passion for helping struggling learners weren't accidents.
They were ADHD strengths that I had been using all along.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
Email me