ADHD & Me: A Safeguarding Approach

For ADHD Awareness Month, Chris East explores how a deeper understanding of neurodiversity is essential to achieving one of the major objectives of modern safeguarding: protecting people from harm by developing supportive structures that reach everyone, not just those who conform.

An Undiagnosed Mind

What does it feel like to live in a world not built for your brain? 

To feel different, but not know why? 

For me, the answer is a complicated mix of racing thoughts, emotional swings, and the constant battle between laser-like focus and utter exhaustion. 

For years, I felt like my brain worked in a way others couldn't grasp. This is what ADHD has looked like for me: 

• A world of rejection sensitivity, 

• Imposter syndrome, and 

• The self-doubt that often fuels anxiety.

Yet, these very same struggles have also given me my greatest strengths: 

• A deep sense of empathy, 

• Relentless drive, and 

• An unwavering passion for what I believe in. 

My career isn't just a job; it's a part of who I am. I care deeply about people, about fairness, and about creating lasting, meaningful change. 

I’ve dedicated much of my professional life to supporting victims of abuse and those facing life's greatest challenges. It's a field I feel greatly connected to, one where I advocate for the safety and justice of those whose voices are so often silenced.

My sensitivity and empathy, qualities I once tried to "suppress," are now the very things that allow me to lead with purpose and compassion. 

This passion for ‘Interrupting the Potential for Harm’ is at the core of my work with Cornerstone Safeguarding.

So, what does this have to do with safeguarding? 

Everything!

We need to approach safeguarding with the same lens of empathy and understanding that we would for any other challenge in life. 

We can sometimes be forgiven that our main aim and objective is just to be compliant for the purposes of the inspector, yet a lot of the time fail to design for the benefit of those who need support the most.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still

I was seen as a difficult child at school, a regular visitor to the headteacher’s office. 

I couldn’t focus for long and was often removed from class to “get a change of scenery”. Teachers saw me as an attention-seeker, someone who couldn't be still.

I felt things more deeply than my friends and had an instant, gut feeling about people the second I met them. 

I’d often look back on conversations and moments where I said or did something I deeply regretted, and those memories would live rent-free in my mind, crippling me for days, weeks, or even years. Something that sadly still continues to this day.

Until I was 38, no one ever mentioned I might have ADHD. 

The suggestion came up during a routine doctor’s appointment when I was struggling with anxiety that had plagued me for years. 

As I explored this ‘condition,’ the puzzle pieces of my life were falling into place. 

My online searches and video algorithms quickly went from historical documentaries (a strong fascination and pastime of mine) to people talking about their experiences with ADHD. 

I wasn't chasing a diagnosis; I was simply desperate for answers. And in finding them, I also felt a deep sense of mourning for the confused, misunderstood boy who was so often dealt with in the only way they knew how back in the 90s.

I’m sharing this part of my story for two reasons: 

The first is for anyone reading this who feels alone and confused. I want you to know that answers are out there and you are not broken. 

The second reason is for the younger me; the boy who was pushed out of social circles and isolated with the headteacher away from his classmates. 

The Chris who felt like a failure, who was told he wouldn't amount to anything because he couldn’t sit still, concentrate or complete the simplest of tasks without being easily sidetracked. 

That boy who was in danger of falling in with the wrong crowd, of self-sabotaging, and making poor decisions. 

And sadly, that Chris did.

And here’s the problem…

When we lack knowledge of how to manage people who may seem different from the ‘expected’ level of behaviour and ability we come to expect, we develop a safeguarding risk. 

Through lack of support and understanding I was isolated and therefore gravitated towards people who would, on the surface at least, provide me with a sense of belonging. 

Are we pushing people into dangerous situations due to ineffective safeguards?

Where am I now?

The boy who couldn't sit still is now the man who is hyper-focused on justice and supporting others, especially supporting those who work on the frontline of safeguarding. 

Today, my ADHD translates into a relentless drive to support complex safeguarding needs, where I will go over-and-above without blinking. 

This focus has reshaped how I assess safety in institutions; I've learned that sitting for hours in long, formal meetings is often inefficient. 

Instead, I gain a far more accurate sense of an organisation’s culture by walking the premises and having succinct, targeted conversations with staff.

As well as this, recognising that long, dry policies are an inherent barrier, especially for neurodiverse staff. 

I’ve encouraged creative approaches to essential information sharing. From interactive podcasts and newsletters to pocket cards and key rings, so that safety documentation is lived rather than just digested. 

Cornerstone has already put these approaches into practice for safeguarding professionals, helping policies become actionable rather than just words on paper.

Neurodiverse leadership fundamentally reshapes how we keep people safe. 

The traditional, compliance-driven approach can sometimes rely on fear-based demands, lengthy documentation, and busy notice boards that often leave the statement 

"Safeguarding is Everyone's Responsibility" 

without application, substance, or actionable requirements.

A Call to Change

To really do better, we need to build our safeguarding systems around every person, not just those who are deemed compliant. 

Our pastoral support needs to be guided by a ‘lens of empathy’, not just by data. 

Our culture needs to be one of community, communication, and a commitment to ensuring everyone feels welcome and that they belong.

The child who is “acting up” in the classroom might not be misbehaving; they might be crying out for help, they may not fully understand their own needs, but what they do know is that the environment is not supporting their basic ones. 

The student who is isolated and falling behind might not be lazy; they might be struggling with a mind that works differently. One where the overload of requests, demands and deadlines are creating a fog within their mind that is unnavigable.

For our staff, we must shift our focus to engaging training with less talk and more activity, create space for working groups to review concerns, shorten the duration of our meetings and encourage the neurodiverse mind to take flight without limitation.

We learn and adapt best when we confront the failings of the past and strive, collectively, to learn from them. 

Designing systems that work for the most sensitive and detail-oriented brains, the ones that often struggle with conventional structures, makes those systems stronger for everyone, ensuring protection is comprehensive, creative, and fully understood.

We can do better. 

And we must. 

For all the children, who feel like I once did, misunderstood and alone, we have a duty to create a world where they are seen, heard, and protected. 

For the staff member struggling with professional conformity, we must create an environment where they can thrive.

The only way to create lasting change is to care so deeply that the work becomes a part of who you are, driving you to protect those who need it most.

At Cornerstone Safeguarding, we partner with organisations to bring these principles to life.

Our External Safeguarding retained service helps organisations put safeguarding into action.

We provide expert guidance, strategic oversight, and practical tools, from interactive resources and training, to strategy reviews, case consultations, and ongoing supervision, so policies aren’t just words on paper, but embedded in everyday practice.

If you want to go beyond ticking boxes and build a safeguarding environment that really works for everyone, let’s talk. 

Book a free chat here and we’ll see how we can make that happen, together.

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(Like an ADHD mind, this blog was brought to you from 1,000,000 different places during the process of writing it, condensing all the information I wanted to include was extremely difficult and took me a long time to write!)