Whilst there is an ADHD creature (BTW), I didn’t feel that they represented my experience of ADHD – so I made a new one. Meet Buzz!
Buzz the Busy Octopod
Buzz the Busy Octopod
Buzz was a little octopod with eight arms, two big eyes, and one very busy brain.
Every day, Buzz had lots of ideas.
- “I’ll clean my room!”
- “Ooh, I should draw that whale!”
- “Wait—where did I put my snack?”
All of Buzz’s arms wanted to do different things at the same time. One was writing, one was waving, one was grabbing crayons, and another was opening a book—backwards.
Sometimes Buzz felt excited.
Sometimes Buzz felt tired.
And sometimes… Buzz just stopped and said:
“Mmm… what was I meant to be doing?”
Other sea creatures didn’t always get it.
“Just pick one thing!” they said.
Buzz felt a bit mixed‑up.
Then one day, a kind old turtle named Shelly said,
“Your brain’s not wrong—it’s just different. It’s full of ideas, and sometimes they all show up at once.”
Buzz wiggled thoughtfully.
One afternoon, Shelly reached into a pocket of her sea‑weed satchel and drew out a tiny, sand‑filled shell.
“This is a sand‑timer,” she explained, placing it gently before Buzz. “When all the grains drop, it’s time for a quick stretch. Then you can flip it and return to your next idea.”
Next, she blew a few slow, glittering bubbles.
“If your arms ever feel too wiggly, try a snack‑and‑stretch break—just a nibble and a little dance to reset.”
Finally, she handed Buzz eight small, shining shells.
“Each time you finish something, tuck a shell into this chart. You’ll see all the wonderful things you’ve done.”
Buzz’s eyes shone as they turned the timer over, popped a tiny shell onto their chart, and felt the swirl in their mind grow just a bit calmer.
With those little tricks tucked under their arms—timers to guide focus, snack‑and‑stretch breaks to reset, and shiny shells to mark each success—Buzz found ways to steer all those swirly thoughts:
- Sand‑timer: Helped them focus on drawing for a while before hopping up to stretch.
- Snack‑and‑stretch breaks: Gave their arms a chance to wiggle out extra energy.
- Shining shells: Cheered them on as they finished each task.
Buzz still got distracted.
Buzz still forgot things sometimes.
But now, Buzz understood their brain a little better.
And from then on, whenever Buzz’s thoughts tumbled too fast, they remembered Shelly’s words—different, not wrong—and found their calm, one shining shell at a time.