ADHDifference

S2E16: Drawing Strength, ADHD, Loss & Creative Resilience + guest Kathy Buskett

• Julie Legg • Season 2 • Episode 16

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Julie Legg speaks with Kathy Buskett, a professional caricature artist and solo entrepreneur who discovered her own ADHD while navigating her son’s diagnosis. Kathy shares how her ADHD traits, once dismissed as being "scatterbrained", have become her greatest strengths in both life and art.

From rebuilding her life after personal tragedy to becoming one of the fastest caricature artists in the world, Kathy opens up about resilience, creativity, faith, and the power of leaning into your neurodivergence. She also discusses her writing projects, her unique ADHD-driven creative process, and how she's embraced late diagnosis as a turning point, not a setback.

Key Points from the Episode

  • Discovering her ADHD during her son’s diagnosis journey
  • Misunderstood childhood behaviours and inattentive ADHD
  • The impact of executive dysfunction in life and entrepreneurship
  • Rebuilding life after the loss of her husband
  • Using hyperfocus as a superpower in her art
  • Transitioning into weddings and emotional storytelling through caricature
  • Working with (not against) insomnia and creative bursts
  • Writing a historical fiction novel in a non-linear ADHD-friendly way
  • Encouragement for late-diagnosed adults: “You’re not starting over”

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JULIE: Welcome to Season 2 of ADHDifference. I'm your host, Julie Legg, ADHD advocate, author of The Missing Piece: Woman's Guide to Understanding, Diagnosing, and Living with ADHD, and an unapologetic doer of many things. This season, we're turning up the volume with a global lineup of brilliant guests bringing their lived experiences, insights, research, strategies, and resources. And of course, along with a healthy dose of humour and humility. Whether you're neurodivergent yourself or just curious, there's something here for every curious brain. Let's dive in. Today, I'm chatting with the wonderfully creative Kathy Buskett, a caricature artist who spent more than 25 years capturing life and laughter through her live drawings. Kathy discovered her own ADHD later in life while supporting her son through his diagnosis, and her story is one of resilience and recognizing ADHD strengths and challenges. From rebuilding her career after loss, to creating a thriving art business, she's proof that ADHD doesn't end your story, it just changes the plot. Kathy, I am so happy to have you here and I can't wait to talk about your art and your journey and the creative ways you've learned to thrive with ADHD. But you've described spending much of your life thinking that you're a bit scatterbrained or lazy and realizing through your son's diagnosis that ADHD was part of your own story, too. So, I'd like you to take us back to that moment of recognition and what it meant to finally understand that your brain wasn't broken, but just wired differently. 

KATHY: Okay. Well, my son, who was here a minute ago, I was homeschooling him and we were just butting heads and, I couldn't seem to get through to him. So I finally just really came to the realization I think he's wired differently. We're going to get him tested. And when we went in, I went in with him because he was only, I believe, 11 at the time. And he might have been 10. Anyway, when the doctor started asking him questions and I was helping him answer, I realized I have every single one of these. And I kind of I was really kind of in shock, and I went home and I sat with that for a while and I started thinking about my family and how I really believe my father has ADHD, my mother has ADHD. I know that my brother already was diagnosed with it when he was younger, so it makes total sense. So it was just a... it was actually a relief because I was I went through public school here in America, the USA, and I was not never... nobody ever thought that I had ADHD.  I'm 52 so this was a while ago but they did have that diagnosis then and I was constantly labelled a dreamer. I was. It was put on my report card "she's a dreamer" and I remember like wondering why is that a bad thing? Now I understand it meant that I was inattentive, but that's at the time I thought they just meant, "Oh, I'm imaginative." But yeah, I really struggled with organization, with executive function all of my life. Keeping papers together, doing any kind of homework, procrastination, all of, you know, all the things that go along with that. And I'm the inattentive type. My son is a combined inattentive and hyperactive. And we kind of butt heads sometimes because that hyperactive sets off my inattentive. But yeah, I think it was a relief. 

JULIE: It's interesting. Many, many people diagnosed as adults will actually go through that process because a child has been diagnosed.  So that's quite an interesting pattern. And also you mentioned the clashing. I think that's true. And often personalities that are quite similar can also clash when you know, you've got the standard narrative of what society thinks and then you're trying to battle with your own challenges and then you see similar challenges and yeah, no it all can be quite a boiling pot. It can be an interesting time. So I completely relate to that. You were running your own business when your husband passed away at 43 and you stepped away to home school your kids as you'd mentioned, but then you rebuilt a career from scratch on the Gulf Coast and that's an incredible story of resilience. So, I'd like to ask how did ADHD shape or kind of show up in that chapter of your life both as a parent but also as an entrepreneur starting over? 

KATHY: Okay. Well, as an entrepreneur in general, I think ADHD the challenge has been systems, keeping, you know, track of clients and emails and taxes and all of those things that are the executive function end. I'm an entertainer, so I really I shine on that end, but the back end can be very challenging at times. And then that's just in general. I've been um a solo-preneur for 26 years, entertaining at events, drawing caricatures and sketches. So that has always been a challenge. But when my husband passed away, oh my gosh, he had been sick with pancreatic cancer for about a year and a half and it just got progressively worse. And I was his caregiver and it was kind of a shock and surprise when he first was diagnosed and then he had surgery and we just had a lot of things that took up all of our time. And so we kind of relied pretty heavily on our manager to manage our caricature stand on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.  But the problem was is that I was so busy taking care of him that I didn't think to, of course, executive function, I didn't think to think ahead and get all the passwords for everything, get the computer squared away. His phone, I got locked out of his phone, which had everything in it, all of his pass codes. He just told me at one point, "Oh, all the pass codes are in my phone," but I don't have the pass code to your phone. I couldn't get in. I couldn't get into our computer to take care of all of the gigs that we had coming up, so it was just a nightmare. And because he had been sick for so long, the tax end, I just had to take a big pile of stuff and bring it into the tax people and pay a lot more than I normally would have for them to sort through it. But they did thankfully, so I got that taken care of. But yeah, it was a nightmare. And I was trying to grieve and raise three children at the same time and they're all neurodivergent. I have one with Down syndrome, one with ADHD, and my other son is gifted, and also I think he might be a little bit on the spectrum. So, it's yeah, I wasn't homeschooling at that point, but they were all young at that point. 

JULIE: So, that's a lot to cope with. Now, there were so many challenges to overcome to get your business back on track again. Tell me the good news. 

KATHY: Mhm. The good news was, first of all, I really relied on my faith. that helped me tremendously. I had a lot of support in my church that helped me. And then Buddy told me, Buddy was my late husband before he passed. He said, "All you're going to need is a good corporate lawyer." And okay, I don't know what that means, but he went and got all these things done behind the scenes and for me before he passed. And so he didn't get me the things that I needed, but he did get me the one most important thing, which was he made me the director. And making me the director enabled me to take care of everything across the board. I went to the corporate lawyer. She was recommended by his lawyer and she helped me get all my duckies in a row and make sure that like the bank accounts and everything were taken care of, put back into my name. And it was just that was thankfully, thank God he did that. Yeah. And that enabled me to later sell my business and move to the Gulf Coast where I am now and start over when I really felt like it was time to move on. 

JULIE: And on that, so you've built this thriving caricature business and I understand you've been drawing more than half a million people at weddings and events and celebrations. So, I'd love to know what's lighting you up about your work today and how ADHD has become part of that creative process for you. 

KATHY: So, ADHD is my superpower. So, I am one of the fastest caricature artists in the world and I honestly that's the truth. We have caricature conventions every year and a few years back, actually it was more than a few, but I went to one of the conventions and I came in fourth place in the world and the people that were faster than me were all from Asia. So I guess I'm the at least that year I was the fastest in the west. But that enables me to have an edge on everyone else because I can draw more people and that's what people are looking for at these large events, especially weddings, corporate events where I've drawn for places like Samsung. I did, my husband and I actually, we did the largest digital caricature event in the world for Samsung for the release of their Galaxy Note and plenty of other events like that where just for you know Fortune 500 companies, some of the largest weddings for you know some of the dignitaries. And so that ADHD enables me to draw fast to talk, to tune out the background noise because there's always so much noise and so much going on. I can focus right on, you know, that hyperfocus right on my customers that are sitting for me right there and then and just draw them really quick in real time. And joke with them, talk while I'm doing it, which nobody else seems to be able to do. And interact, which is a really big part of what I do is the interaction. 

JULIE: Wow. And I guess almost impulsivity, that drive to draw and talk all at the same time. There's not that procrastination, I guess popping in going, should I do it this way? Should I do it that way? It's just comes all in a big flood. 

KATHY: I think that maybe I might have had some issues with that when I first started, but now it's kind of, what do they call it? Muscle memory. 

JULIE: Wow. Yeah, that's amazing. Awesome. And so, so right now you're doing more of that and you've got more in your schedule and it's all happening. 

KATHY: Yeah. Yeah. I'm actually have... so when I was in Vegas, I did all these large corporate events and I have been segueing into doing more weddings which I love because they're emotional. It's the most important day of a person's life and for me that's I just love. That's to me that's important. And I want to be a memory that not only the bride and groom have but the guests have. So that is what I'm I've been segueing into and I am actually working on my new website which is going to be just weddings. So from now like once I get that launched it's that's what I'm going to be doing. 

JULIE: That's awesome. And any links I'll add to the show notes. So we'll have all of those details there for our listeners to read up on. Kathy, you've learned to work with your ADHD, as you said, channeling your hyperfocus into your art and building systems that work. Is there a particular habit or approach that's made a big difference for you and in your world at the moment? 

KATHY: Yeah.  I think that, so I suffer from insomnia. I think a lot of people do who have ADHD because we've got those wheels constantly turning. So rather than just lying there in bed and trying to sleep, I'll use that. I'll use the time to work on creative projects. I'm working on a couple of different books right now. When I get bored with one, I move to the other one. And I also use it to time to work on my business marketing. I get pictures of all the people that I draw and video. So I need to use that in my marketing. So I need to create all the you know the things that I put out there. So I, yeah, I just use it. I roll with it, flow with it, as you mentioned. 

JULIE: I think that's amazing because half of the battle is battling against what we naturally want to do. And if we're up and about and we're feeling productive, what a perfect time rather than saying, "I should be in bed," you know, and toss and turn all night. So, going with the flow. I really like that when it comes to sleeping big time. You mentioned about, your books. Would you like to chat about what books you're working on at the moment? 

KATHY: Oh, sure. Okay. So, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. So, I've been working on one of them for over 25 years. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. But it's because it's a historical fiction young adult book. And it's working title is Mightier Than The Sword and it comes from the phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword." So the historical fiction part comes in. I am half Cajun. The Cajun were French who came to the Americas and settled before the English ever did. And so there was this French and English war called, we called it here the French and Indian War. Throughout the world it was called the Seven Years War and it started in 1755. So, this is like a chapter in our history that's kind of unwritten and it's always been written from the point of view of the English. Well, I'm French, so I'm writing it from the point of view of a young French peasant. I kind of fictitized a person and made him a young adult Acadian settler, but what happens is they get expelled. They get the English come in and say, "You know what? We've had enough. You're not neutral. We don't believe it that you're neutral. We're going to kick you out," and they sent them in slave ships to all of the American colonies and other places as well including the Dominican Republic and Haiti and France and England. These were people that had lived there for 150 years. They were settled. They were not just people in log cabins that had come recently. They, you know, they had their lives. They had their farms and they were completely disrupted. And not only that, but more than half of them died because they were just so ill-treated. So it was a genocide really. And so I... this is a chapter of history that people have never heard of and I wanted to let it be known. But also kind of echo current events in a way. And so I've been just working on this and working on it. I have all of the chapters. Now get this. I have it written. It's all written. It's just in pieces. It's I what I had I worked so hard on the learning the history so I could tell you the history. I worked for years on that part. Then I worked on writing it and getting the characters and getting all the pieces together. Then writing each and every chapter but I don't do it in order because my ADHD brain won't let me. What happens is I'm lying in bed suddenly a chap... like a chapter that I already know about. I've said okay this is what's going to happen. But suddenly it comes to life and I have to write it down. My poor husband. But I have to write it down. And so then I start typing it. I have it all on my phone and all in my Google Docs. I'm just trying to get it in order. Once I get it in order and I feel like I've gone over it and gotten it all where I need it to be, then I want to go with traditional publishing. So that's one that's the main project that I have. And then I also am working on a series of children's books that I'm illustrating. 

JULIE: Fabulous. I love the way that you described your writing process. I guess at the end of it is the proof reading that's going to be tricky too because once you've got it out of your head, it's done and dusted. You don't sort of feel that you need to go back and read every word to, you know, ah again. What a wonderful story and I'm so happy that you've really hyperfocused on such a niche topic and it's been in your brain for years and it still hasn't been kicked to the curb, so to speak. 

KATHY: If something's important to you and you have ADHD, you're going to pursue it, you know, and when you pursue it, then you go all in, right? I mean, when I learned how to draw caricatures, it was the same thing. And I went all in, you know, that deep dive, you know. 

JULIE: Yes. Yes. Because you've said that ADHD doesn't end your story, it's just changes the plot. You've said that before. So, for someone who's listening who's just received a diagnosis or feels like they're starting over, what would you like them to hear? 

KATHY: I would say first of all, you're not starting over. You're not starting over from scratch. You're just learning more about yourself and you can use that to help you. I struggled so much, like I said, in school. I never did well in school and I felt like I was stupid and I'm not. I'm not. But I felt like I was because I couldn't be like everyone else. I always felt different. Learning about my diagnosis has helped me so much. Like you can hear what I'm speaking about it that I know all the different aspects of it because I've learned I did the dive into it, learned all about it, realized this is where I'm coming from. So, this is why I have these strengths and weaknesses. Everybody has them, but I have learned how to use them to help me. And I feel like I'm successful and I've... I'm raising my kids. I'm homeschooling them. I've got my business. I feel like I've got pretty good balance with my life and I'm happy. So, that's really all we want, right? We just want to be happy. And that's really helped me a lot. So, to learn about it and that's what I would suggest that you, you know, if you're just learning about that you have this, it's not going to be limiting. You can do whatever it is that you wanted to do. You're going to need some different tools, I think, than other people have to help you organize and have that executive function, which is basically like the organization part of your brain. Like I my organization part of my brain, other people's I always thought that like they must have like a filing cabinet in their head and they can just go down it and find what they want, pull it out and look at it. Oh yeah, no, my brain doesn't work like that. I wish it did. It's very... but I think part of it is because I'm an artist, too. Or maybe I'm an artist because I have ADHD. I really don't know. But it's my brain is visual. So, I categorize things in my head visually. So, learning those things about yourself can really help you to become more successful. 

JULIE: Thank you so much for that, Kathy. I agree. And I think often we fear the unknown and once it is known to us, there's nothing to be afraid of. And we're natural sponges, aren't we? So, we're going to soak in as much information on topics of interest as we possibly can and to learn about ourselves and to go forth with a new sense of confidence that it's all right. We've got this. We've got this. And as you said, knowing your strengths and your weaknesses, not just honing in on the weakness side of things or the challenging side of things, but really enhancing what makes us shine and what makes us wonderful people is so lovely to hear. Kathy, I just want to thank you so much for your time on the show today. I really appreciate that. 

KATHY: Oh, you're welcome. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

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Julie Legg

Host
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Jel Legg

Co-host
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Kathy Buskett

Guest