ADHD CATHOLIC

Hi, I’m Fr Steven Fleming 
Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, proud member of the clergy… and also proudly ADHD and dyslexic.

I was only recently diagnosed with ADHD, which suddenly made a lot of my life make sense. School was not exactly my spiritual strong suit. While others were calmly finishing essays, I was staring at the page wondering why the words kept moving and why my brain had decided now was the perfect time to think about literally everything else. Homework took forever. University was much the same lots of last-minute panic, late nights, and the deep feeling that I was working twice as hard just to keep up.

And yet… here I am. A priest. Which still surprises some people. Including me.

Living with ADHD often feels like having a thousand internet tabs open in my brain at the same time and none of them are loading properly. Thoughts race in, bounce around, and disappear before I can grab onto a single one. I know I have something important to say or do, but somehow it gets lost in the mental traffic jam. This constant chaos brings stress and anxiety, and it doesn’t stop in my head it spills into my space. My room and desk are usually messy, not because I don’t care, but because every time I try to organize, I somehow make it worse. One small cleanup turns into moving piles from one place to another and calling it “progress.” The more I try to fix everything at once, the more it looks like a tornado stopped by for coffee.

Being neurodivergent in the Church today can be challenging. The Church loves structure, routine, paperwork, long documents, and meetings that could have been emails. ADHD does not. Dyslexia also does not. Sometimes it can feel like you’re constantly having to explain yourself, justify how you work, or reassure people that yes, you really are paying attention your brain just takes the scenic route.

For a long time, I thought I was just “bad at things”. Receiving an ADHD diagnosis later in life was both a relief and a revelation. It helped me understand myself with more compassion and see how God has been working through my life all along even in the chaos.

That’s why I’ve started Catholic ADHD.

Catholic ADHD exists to support people who are Catholic, Christian, or simply interested, who live with ADHD (and often dyslexia, autism, or other forms of neurodivergence). It’s a space to talk honestly about faith, prayer, Church life, and the very real challenges of trying to live all of that with a brain that doesn’t sit still.

The Church has so much to offer neurodivergent people beauty, rhythm, sacrament, community, grace but too often we feel misunderstood, overlooked, or exhausted trying to fit into systems not designed with us in mind. Catholic ADHD is about changing that conversation, gently and with humour and love.

ADHD Catholic invites you to come along with me on this adventure of faith, distraction, grace, and growth. Together, we’ll figure out how to follow Christ while forgetting where we put our keys, our phone, and sometimes our train of thought. This is a place where faith meets real life, unfinished to do lists, half-read books, and all. We’ll laugh, learn, pray, and grow as Catholic Christians with ADHD, trusting that God isn’t surprised by our scattered minds. He works through them. No matter where you are on your journey, you are welcome here, and together we’ll discover that holiness doesn’t require perfection just a willing heart (and maybe a few reminders).

If this resonates with you, I’d love you to follow along. I’m still very much on a journey of discovery, learning about myself, ADHD, faith, and how they all fit together and I’ll be sharing that journey as I go.

If you’ve ever struggled at school, university, work, or even Mass…
If you’ve ever felt like you love God but your brain won’t cooperate…
If you’ve ever been told to “just focus” (and laughed internally)…

You’re not broken. You’re not alone. And you belong in the Church.

Also, if I can survive essays, exams, and seminary with ADHD and dyslexia, there is hope for everyone. 

— Fr Steven Fleming
Catholic Priest | ADHD & Dyslexia
Archdiocese of Birmingham
Founder of Catholic ADHD