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My Story: Why I Built Struggle Bus Coaching

When my youngest daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade, we also learned that ADHD was likely part of her picture. At the time, she was managing well enough that we didn’t jump into formal ADHD support, but the specialist warned us that at some point we would hit a wall.

In the third grade we hit it, hard.

I quickly became a fierce advocate for dyslexia and dug in deeply to make sure that my child wasn’t being left behind. I learned all that I could about learning differences. I even trained and became an Augustine Literacy Tutor to work with other students who needed support, knowing that the knowledge would help me to work better with my own child. As my daughter went through school we learned so much about dyslexia and when she was in the third grade that wall that were warned about came up.

And we hit it hard.

I became a fierce advocate for dyslexia support. I spent my time digging into research, learning everything I could about learning differences, and earning specialized literacy training to support struggling readers. After several years and lots of trial and error she was finally in the right place and making huge progress in reading… but her ADHD could no longer hide in the background.

The executive function struggles that had always been “quirky” suddenly became daily roadblocks. We would show up at school with no shoes. The mornings were pure chaos. And the mental load of managing it all? Exhausting.

So we got her formally evaluated — and ADHD became a household word in our home.

And then COVID hit.
Everything intensified — fast.

Overnight, I went from busy, high-performing mom to Zoom school supervisor and home-everything. While other parents seemed to be holding it together, I could barely unload the dishwasher. I felt stuck in a way I couldn’t explain.

At one of my daughter’s medication check-ins, the provider asked me a series of questions about how she functioned.
And I realized… I was answering for myself, too.

I scheduled my own evaluation.
The result?

Severe combined-type ADHD.

Suddenly, my whole life made sense.

The perfectly executed all-nighters? Hyperfocus.

My constant need to be around people…
Stimulation-seeking.

My sudden urge to disappear into a quiet corner…
Overstimulation.

The struggle to study and test?
My brain working differently.

The brilliant event planner + last-minute chaos combo?
ADHD — the “mystery ingredient” in my special sauce.

I even realized why I had written the same quote in every paper planner since middle school:

“The secret of success is to be like a duck, smooth and unruffled on top but paddling furiously underneath.”

I wasn’t lazy.
I was paddling.

The diagnosis didn’t fix everything but it unlocked the path forward.

I read the books.
Tried the systems.
Therapy helped heal pieces…
But something was still missing.

Much later, I discovered coaching and the world opened up.

Coaching helped me do something with what I knew about my brain:
More forward motion. Less shame. Better days.

That’s when I knew:
This is my work.

I wanted to build what I could not find when my family needed it most.

Struggle Bus Coaching was born and I have not looked back.