Doncaster businesswoman diagnosed with ADHD wins National Lottery funding to help other late-diagnosed women

A Doncaster businesswoman and educator who was diagnosed with ADHD in her late thirties has been awarded £20,000 of National Lottery funding to launch a programme supporting other women diagnosed later in life.

Alexandra Taverner, a local business owner and educator, has run businesses and trained women in the area and nationwide for over two decades - all while unaware she had ADHD.

"When the diagnosis came, the strangest part wasn't the shock, it was the recognition," she said.

"I'd spent twenty years of my career quietly building my own systems to cope with something I didn't have a name for.

“I lived it before I could label it."

That experience became ADHD Mapped, now funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and delivered through Alexandra's community interest company, The Bloomhouse Project CIC.

The programme is for late-diagnosed women in business and leadership, and women who suspect they have ADHD or are still waiting for an assessment, who are capable and successful but worn out from managing everything alone.

It will support 150 women over the next two years, across three online groups, helping each build a personal ‘blueprint’ for working with their brain rather than against it, at no cost to participants.

Alexandra says late diagnosis in women is widely under-recognised, with many waiting months or years for assessment and little support in between.

"So many of these women are brilliant and completely worn out, high achievers who've built real success from survival mode.

“This funding means we can reach them, remove the cost barrier, and build a community where they finally feel understood."

The first group begins in January 2027, and the waiting list is open now, with leaders and business owners already registered for updates.

Women interested in taking part can register their interest at www.alexandrataverner.com/adhd-mapped.

ADHD Mapped is delivered by The Bloomhouse Project CIC with funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.