About Team Speaking Podcast Resources Merch

Our Story

In March of 2013, Stephen Tonti gave a speech for TEDx CMU called “Attention Different, NOT Deficit,” which went viral, amassing around 3 million views. This sparked a global conversation about radical acceptance within the ADHD community. In 2014, he met Aaron Smith, an ADHD brother-in-arms, who was on his way to becoming a licensed clinician and certified ADHD coach.

The two of them stood outside a bar in New Orleans, sharing their frustration with the way their complex mental condition had been treated up to that point. They were both carrying the same poetic fury surrounding the ongoing mistreatment of their neurodivergent peers, and they were livid. They were fed up.

That night, they started a company with a ferocious call to action: they were not disordered; their brains were merely wired differently. They believed that society must adapt to their unique brain wiring, not the other way around, and they demanded acceptance over tolerance. Then, ten years passed. Life happened. Stephen moved to the West Coast and went back to school. Aaron got divorced and moved his practice to Colorado. There was a pandemic. Stephen graduated, broke off an engagement, and moved back to New Orleans, his birthplace. Aaron expanded his practice, got remarried, and Stephen was thrilled and honored to be present at their ceremony.

In the course of ten years, their lives, as well as the lives of many others, changed dramatically. To Stephen's surprise, the way most of the world treats ADHD had not. They were continuously confronted by a destructive amount of stigma surrounding their condition. They used to struggle to convince nurses and doctors to prescribe the medication needed to treat their very real ADHD. Ten years later, this was still the case for many adult ADHD peers, particularly those diagnosed as adults, much later in life.

To this day, in the vast majority of conversations Stephen has with TEDx fans, local friends, and neighbors, he ends up stuck covering the basics: Is it “ADD” or “ADHD”? How do I treat this? Where do I go to find a psychologist, a doctor, a coach? How do I tell my boss that I need extra time, extra attention, extra help? Isn’t Adderall just like taking speed? Should I encourage my kid, my nephew, my niece, my sibling, my partner, my coworker to take stimulants? I don’t feel comfortable taking medication; I don’t want to become a zombie. What do I tell my child who is so bright, so sweet, so empathetic, and funny, and weird when they come to me asking why they feel broken, incapable, overwhelmed, lonely, confused, ashamed? Why can’t I get done what I need to get done? Am I just lazy? They are still covering the basics.

In 2023, a decade ago, there were only a handful of ADHDers openly discussing their condition in a public forum. Now, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands. It is beautiful, magical, thrilling, inspiring, and genuinely life-saving. However, they need more—much more.

Stephen and Aaron reconnected last year at the same ADHD conference where they first met in 2014. One night, they invited a number of old friends and collaborators back to their place to catch up after so many years apart. Surrounded by advocates, thought leaders, influencers, and fellow ADHD adults, the question on all their minds was: “What’s next?”

To Stephen and Aaron, the answer was obvious. They had to relaunch Attention Different, but it had to change, grow, and evolve into something bigger. Something bigger than them—a movement; a collection of ADHD voices all sharing their unique, lived-in experiences. They are calling this first series “Adulting with ADHD,” and here they are. Welcome to the new Attention Different.

Mission

At Attention Different, we choose to honor and celebrate neurodiversity. First, we recognize and appreciate the many unique and powerful contributions of all sorts of ADHD Adults, all over the world. Next, we strive to build self-esteem, confidence, and self-compassion, encouraging every member of our community to embrace themselves, cheerish themselves, and radically accept their brains’ wiring. By replacing fear-based rhetoric and stigma with compassion, empathy, gratititude and positive, empowering messages, we aim to help ADHDers feel valued, feel genuine connection, and to feel loved unconditionally.

Vision

We envision a world where the value of neurodiversity is not just acknowledged but celebrated and promoted. Our primary goal is to create a supportive community where individuals with ADHD feel they belong and are understood. Then, we aim to challenge the status quo, confront aneurotypical injustice, and instill pride in all aspect of our identities. By fostering a deep sense of belonging, we help individuals leverage their unique attributes as strengths, celebrating growth, transformation, and discovery. We envision a world where ADHD is seen not as a net-negative disorder but rather a valuable variation in our brian wiring brought about by Human evolution itself.    [Humanity needs varied brains.]

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