Innovations happen for all kinds of reasons.

Sometimes we are searching for something new and creative. Sometimes we are bored and want change. And sometimes -- in the interest of self-preservation or efficiency or logistics -- we stumble across an innovation that makes us wonder, "why haven't we thought of that before?!"

In July 2021, ADDiva.net and ImpactParents.com hosted an online summit -- our fourth annual celebration at the ADHD Parents' Palooza. Every year, it's an extraordinary event, bringing together many leading world experts to a single forum, providing high-quality free programming for nearly ten thousand parents and professionals.

"But a summit is not exactly an innovation," you might observe, even if it does have a great name like Palooza (Linda Roggli's brilliance!).

True. But mark my word: this year's summit will mark an innovation in the world of online summits which (I predict) will become commonplace in years to come. In a world where time is a precious commodity, we did something different, and it worked!

Instead of a series of 32+ individual interviews, we mixed things up and created a series of 16 'Conversations among Colleagues'. Pairing experts with complementary expertise, we invited them to talk with -- and learn from -- each other. And by all accounts, it was a SPECTACULARLY successful innovation.

Some of the pairs already knew each other, like Carolyn Lentzsch Parcells, MD and Sarah Cheyette M.D., Gretchen Wegner and Seth Perler, Penny Williams and Elizabeth Brink, or Deborah Reber and Debbie Steinberg Kuntz, LMFT (two friends who inadvertently started this because we paired them together because we thought it would be fun!).

Some of the pairs new OF each other but didn't really know each other, like Jerome J. Schultz, Ph.D. and Russell Barkley or Evelyn Polk Green and Jessica McCabe.

Some of the pairs met for a stimulating conversation, and who knows if they'll meet again, like Temple Grandin School and Diane Dempster, Dr. Laura Markham and Mark Bertin, Hayden Lee and Loucresie Rupert, Sarah Y. Vinson, M.D. and Edward (Ned) Hallowell, or Laurie Dupar and Taniesha Burke, PhD.

Some of the pairs met for the first time and will clearly be friends and colleagues for life, like Caroline Maguire M. Ed. and Dr. Elizabeth Milovidov, Jeff Copper and Nikki Kinzer, Roberto Olivardia and Dulce Torres, and Mary Anne Richey and Sharon Saline, Psy.D.

ALL of these extraordinary experts were part of an innovation that was born, in part, from expedience: it takes more time to interview 32 experts than 16.

Next time you think that your teen is just being lazy, ask yourself if there are some efficiencies worth considering! Sometimes, innovation comes in strange and unexpected ways. That’s why we have chocolate chip cookies, after all!

More importantly (though if any of you have been trying to schedule coaching this summer you know that time efficiency is no small matter!), this innovation was born from professionals with ADHD who are not afraid to try something new, especially if it could be fun and creative, have the potential to be more interesting, and ultimately be more efficient! Think about PINCH and you'll know how important engagement is to motivation!

Yes, it was a bit more difficult to coordinate, and it couldn’t have happened if we didn’t have a fabulous team, or if our experts weren’t willing to work with us. I am so thankful to the professionals who joined us in this adventure this year, for stepping into something new and trusting that we would support them in the process. Their conversations were fascinating, and the feedback has been stellar. It turns out that innovation born from efficiency can be extraordinarily interesting, too!

If you didn’t get a chance to explore the ADHD Parents’ Palooza 2021, I highly recommend it. Not only will you find some of the most interesting conversations you’ve ever heard around ADHD, but you’ll be witnessing a true innovation in the world of online education.

It makes sense that it would come of out the world of ADHD, right?!

To explore more, visit: ADHDPalooza.com/Parents