Originally posted on NAPO's Blog January 12, 2026
“I have ADHD. Well, according to TikTok, I do.”
Many professional organizers have heard some version of this statement from clients, often delivered with a mix of humor, confusion, and relief. Brain-based conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and related neurodivergent profiles are increasingly part of everyday conversation. For those of us working in the organizing and productivity space, this is not new territory. Our clients, their children, and often we ourselves have navigated the realities of neurodivergent brains for a long time.
Why This Conversation Feels Louder Than Ever
At the same time, the last decade has seen two significant shifts with this topic:
- a rise in adult diagnoses (particularly among women and gender-diverse individuals) of these conditions
- a surge of mental health content across social media platforms about them
While increased awareness can be empowering, it can also blur the line between education and misinformation. As professionals, it is worth pausing to consider what lies beneath the clutter of conversation on ASD/ADHD and how we can best support clients whose challenges are rooted in executive functioning rather than motivation or effort.
What Executive Function Really Means
Executive function refers to the cognitive processes that help us initiate, plan, prioritize, and complete tasks.
These skills are closely tied to how the brain manages attention, energy, and perceived threat. For individuals with ADHD or autism, these systems function differently than those of neurotypical people.
Difficulty starting tasks, maintaining focus, or following through is NOT a matter of willpower but a reflection of neurological wiring—though often people who struggle with these situations blame their intrinsic motivation more than their biology.
When Effort and Ability Don’t Line Up
In practice, this means that many clients desperately want to change their behaviors while simultaneously feeling unable to move forward. Over time, this disconnect often turns into shame. Clutter becomes evidence of personal failure rather than a signal that the environment is not aligned with how the brain works.
The Organizer’s Role: Support, Not Correction
As organizers, our role is not to correct behavior but to serve as external guardrails, offering suggestions on structure, pacing, and support that help bridge the gap between intention and action—all the while being flexible and allowing space for experimentation on storage solutions, habits, and volume until we reach the sweet spot for a client.
The Hidden Cost of Late Diagnosis
Recent research highlights another important layer. Because adult diagnoses of ADHD, particularly among women, are increasing, that means many of these individuals spent years:
- masking symptoms
- over functioning
- meeting external expectations until the cognitive load became unsustainable
This tipping point is often reached around the 40-50 age range when hormonal shifts, caregiving responsibilities, and workplace demands have spiked. When clients reach out for help at this juncture, they are frequently doing so at a moment of exhaustion in their lives.
Designing for Regulation, Not Perfection
This is where organizers can play a critical and compassionate role. We are not clinicians, and we do not diagnose or treat. As productivity and organizing experts, we can:
- help clients make sense of their environments in ways that support emotional regulation rather than reinforce shame
- normalize variability in energy and attention
- design systems that are flexible, visible, and forgiving rather than rigid or aspirational
Awareness vs. Accuracy in Online ADHD Content
At the same time, it is important to approach this work with discernment. While social media has increased access to mental health language broadly, research shows that much of the content circulating online about ADHD lacks scientific accuracy. Studies evaluating popular ADHD-related videos on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube have found that many are misleading or oversimplified.
As professionals, particularly if we seek continuing education in brain-based conditions courses or chronic disorganization studies, we can help clients differentiate between helpful awareness and misinformation, and guide them toward evidence-based resources and trained clinicians when appropriate.
Curiosity and Compassion as Organizing Tools
In my work, and in my book Decluttered: Mindful Organizing for Health, Home and Beyond, I emphasize that organizing is not about obtaining control. It is about being curious about the underlying issues that exacerbate clutter in our lives, and acting with compassion to address them. For those living with ADHD or autism, this way of thinking creates space to lower the mask and build environments that support not only order, but emotional steadiness too.
Helping Clients Cut Through the Noise
As professional organizers, we sit right at the intersection of all of this. With so much information about ADHD and autism circulating online, it can be hard for clients to know what truly applies to them and what’s just noise. By grounding our work in compassion, real-world understanding, and evidence-based information, we can help them declutter the overwhelm and experience something sustainable: practical support to create environments that actually support how their brains work.
Additional Resources and Support
If you have ADHD or autism, or any kind of executive dysfunction, you can find local support with a brain-based certified organizer or productivity expert.
NAPO hosts an incredible webinar called “Ambiguity v Ambivalence” by Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA. Access the course for $20 (NAPO members have free access).
If you are a productivity or organizing professional, consider earning a specialist certificate in brain-based conditions.
References
- BMC Psychiatry. (2024). Psychoeducation for adult ADHD: A scoping review.
- BMC Psychiatry. (2025). Self-reported symptoms of ADHD, ASD, and affective lability in adults.
- JAMA Network Open. (2025). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in autistic adults.
- Scientific Reports. (2025). Public perceptions of ADHD and autism in digital media.
- Springer Nature. (2024). The quality of ADHD-related content on social media platforms.
