Weirdly Successful

Dedicated to helping you understand, navigate and enjoy your weird & wonderful neurodivergent life.

Livia Farkas

Neurodivergent Adaptation Educator

About Livia Farkas

Livia Farkas is an adult education specialist with a joy-centred approach and a sharp sense for simplifying complex ideas using silly visual metaphors.
Since 2008, she’s written 870+ articles, developed 294 distinct techniques, and co-created 8 online courses with Adam—with 5,302 alumni learning neurodivergent-friendly approaches to time management, goal setting, self-care, and small business management.
Her life goal is to be a walking permission slip for neurodivergent adults.

In her free time, she enjoys stickers & planners, crochet & roller skates, and running around with her pet bunny Rumi.

Building Weirdly Successful’s Knowledge Systems

Livia is the architect behind Weirdly Successful’s knowledge infrastructure — creating the systems that help late-identified neurodivergent adults make sense of their experiences and find language for what they’ve always felt.

She created The Neurodivergent Glossary, an ever-growing encyclopaedia of neurodivergence-related terms designed to help people find answers using everyday words for their experiences—not medical jargon they haven’t yet learned. She also designed the content architecture that powers the entire website: a system that organises content by what someone is experiencing (focus, hearing, time), where they are in their journey (exploring, seeking diagnosis, recently diagnosed), and what they need to know (definitions, validation, practical strategies).

Currently, Livia is building the Weirdly Successful Learning Community: a custom-built peer support platform designed from the ground up for neurodivergent brains. Every element, from the onboarding process to the reaction buttons, has been designed to balance ADHD and Autistic accessibility needs.

Specialist Subjects

  • Neurodivergent adaptations for life and work · Dismantling harmful self-beliefs
  • Promoting self-compassion
  • Creating a life without the hustle

Background: 15 Years in Adult Education

Livia’s neurodivergent-focused work builds on 15 years as a productivity and lifestyle educator in Hungary, where she developed the frameworks, techniques, and teaching approach she now adapts for English-speaking neurodivergent audiences.

Book

That Traffic Light’s Not Getting Any Greener! (XXI. Század Kiadó, 2013; ISBN: 9786155373022) — National bestseller in Hungary, shortlisted for the Libri Golden Book Awards.

Publications

Éva Magazin (2014–2020), HVG Psychology (2019), Glamour (2019), Forbes Hungary (2017), Marie Claire Hungary (2013), Elle Hungary (2013), Cosmopolitan Hungary (2013)

TV & Radio

Livia has appeared as a productivity and lifestyle expert on Hungarian national television, including recurring segments on RTL Klub’s morning programme and appearances on TV2 and Duna World. She has been interviewed on Kossuth Rádió (Hungarian public radio), Klubrádió, and Jazzy.

Talks & Appearances

Livia has spoken at universities including the University of Debrecen, ELTE, Corvinus University, and the Balassi Institute; at professional conferences including the Mfor Marketing Conference, Digital Divas Conference, and Evolution Social Media Conference; and at a Google Ground roundtable on women in business. Her 2013 book tour included venues across Hungary and a reader meetup in London.

Awards

  • HVG GoldenBlog, Audience Award for urban:eve blog (2011, won)
  • Cosmopolitan Digital Divas, “Best Blog Design” (2012, won)
  • Glamour Women of The Year Hungary, “Blogger of the Year” (2014, nominated)

Latest from Livia

References
1↑ Hancock, P. A. (2017). On the Nature of Vigilance. Human Factors, 59, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720816655240
2↑ Oken, B., Salinsky, M., & Elsas, S. (2006). Vigilance, alertness, or sustained attention: physiological basis and measurement. Clinical Neurophysiology, 117(9), 1885–1901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2006.01.017
3↑ Kimble, M., & Hyatt, A. (2019). Vigilance/Avoidance to Expected and Presented Stimuli in Trauma Survivors: An Eye-Tracking Study. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 20, 228–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2019.1572041
4↑ Top, D. N., Luke, S. G., Stephenson, K., & South, M. (2019). Psychophysiological Arousal and Auditory Sensitivity in a Cross-Clinical Sample of Autistic and Non-autistic Anxious Adults. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00783
5↑ Kirk, P. A., Holmes, A., & Robinson, O. (2022). Threat vigilance and intrinsic amygdala connectivity. Human Brain Mapping, 43, 3283–3292. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25851
6↑ Fung, B., Qi, S., Hassabis, D., Daw, N., & Mobbs, D. (2019). Slow escape decisions are swayed by trait anxiety. Nature Human Behaviour, 3, 702–708. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0595-5
7↑ Lazarov, A., Suarez-Jimenez, B., Tamman, A., Falzon, L., Zhu, X., Edmondson, D., & Neria, Y. (2018). Attention to Threat in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Indexed by Eye-Tracking Indices: A Systematic Review. Psychological Medicine, 49, 705–726. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291718002313
8↑ Chen, Y.-C., Chen, C., Martínez, R., Fan, Y.-T., Liu, C., Chen, C.-Y., & Cheng, Y. (2021). An amygdala-centred hyper-connectivity signature of threatening face processing predicts anxiety in youths with autism spectrum conditions. Autism Research, 14, 2287–2299. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2595
9↑ Wang, N., Verschooren, S., & Pourtois, G. (2026). Too Alert to Think Straight: Combined Neurophysiological and Modeling Evidence of Impaired Internal Shielding During Hypervigilance. Psychophysiology, 63, e70329. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70329
10↑ Garfinkel, S., Tiley, C., O'Keeffe, S., Harrison, N., Seth, A., & Critchley, H. (2016). Discrepancies between dimensions of interoception in autism: Implications for emotion and anxiety. Biological Psychology, 114, 117–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.12.003
11↑ Williams, Z. J., Suzman, E., Bordman, S. L., Markfeld, J., Kaiser, S., Dunham, K., Zoltowski, A. R., Failla, M. D., Cascio, C., & Woynaroski, T. G. (2022). Characterizing Interoceptive Differences in Autism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Case-control Studies. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 947–962. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05656-2
12↑ Sapey-Triomphe, L.-A., Dierckx, J., Vettori, S., Van Overwalle, J., & Wagemans, J. (2023). A multilevel investigation of sensory sensitivity and responsivity in autistic adults. Autism Research, 16, 1299–1320. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2962
13↑ Glasgow, S., Imbriano, G., Jin, J., Zhang, X., & Mohanty, A. (2022). Threat and uncertainty in the face of perceptual decision-making in anxiety. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 131(3), 265–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000729
14↑ Lawson, R. P., Mathys, C., & Rees, G. (2017). Adults with autism over-estimate the volatility of the sensory environment. Nature Neuroscience, 20, 1293–1299. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4615
15↑ Soden, P. A., Bhat, A., Anderson, A. K., & Friston, K. (2025). The meltdown pathway: A multidisciplinary account of autistic meltdowns. Psychological Review. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000543
16↑ Green, S., Hernandez, L., Tottenham, N., Krasileva, K., Bookheimer, S., & Dapretto, M. (2015). Neurobiology of Sensory Overresponsivity in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders. JAMA Psychiatry, 72, 778–786. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0737
17↑ Kimble, M., Boxwala, M., Bean, W., Maletsky, K., Halper, J., Spollen, K., & Fleming, K. (2013). The Impact of Hypervigilance: Evidence for a Forward Feedback Loop. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28, 241–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.12.006
18↑ MacLennan, K., O'Brien, S., & Tavassoli, T. (2021). In Our Own Words: The Complex Sensory Experiences of Autistic Adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52, 3061–3075. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05186-3
19↑ Dwyer, P., Williams, Z., Lawson, W., & Rivera, S. M. (2025). A Trans-Diagnostic Investigation of Attention and Diverse Phenotypes of "Auditory Hyperreactivity" in Autism, ADHD, and the General Population. Journal of Attention Disorders, 30, 57–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251361226
20↑ Szechy, K. A., Turk, P. D., & O'Donnell, L. A. (2023). Autism and Employment Challenges: The Double Empathy Problem and Perceptions of an Autistic Employee in the Workplace. Autism in Adulthood, 6, 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0046
21↑ Espinosa, L., Kleberg, J. L., Hofvander, B., Berggren, S., Bölte, S., & Olsson, A. (2020). Enhanced social learning of threat in adults with autism. Molecular Autism, 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-020-00375-w
22↑ Milton, D. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: the 'double empathy problem'. Disability & Society, 27, 883–887. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.710008
23↑ Cancino-Barros, I., Villacura-Herrera, C., & Castillo, R. D. (2025). A meta-analytic review of quantification methods for camouflaging behaviours in autistic and neurotypical individuals. Scientific Reports, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-06137-z
24↑ Ramlogan-Salanga, C., Lee, V., Munroe, M., Cates, E. C., MacKenzie, R., Wilson-Mitchell, K., & Darling, E. K. (2025). Conceptualizing the Impacts of Racism on Racialized Midwives in Ontario: An Alert to the Profession. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 70, 771–779. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13773
25↑ Evans, J. A., Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., & Rouse, S. (2023). What You Are Hiding Could Be Hurting You: Autistic Masking in Relation to Mental Health, Interpersonal Trauma, Authenticity, and Self-Esteem. Autism in Adulthood, 6, 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2022.0115
Content type: Glossary EntryGlossary Entry

hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is a state of heightened, sustained alertness where your nervous system stays oriented toward detecting threat, even when no real danger is present. It can feel like being permanently on-edge, bracing for something you can't name. In neurodivergent adults, hypervigilance often extends beyond physical danger into social monitoring: tracking unspoken rules, reading tone, watching for …

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Content type: Glossary EntryGlossary Entry

neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the brain's capacity to change its own wiring. Neurons form new synaptic connections, strengthen existing ones, and through synaptic pruning remove the ones that don't get used. This process is most active during childhood and adolescence, but it continues throughout adulthood and old age.

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Content type: Glossary EntryGlossary Entry

self-medication

Self-medication means using substances — consciously or not — to regulate brain states. Many unidentified or late-identified neurodivergent adults reach for caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine because these act on the same neurochemistry that works differently in their brains.

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Content type: Glossary EntryGlossary Entry

blood-brain barrier (BBB)

The blood-brain barrier is selective barrier of specialised cells lining the brain's blood vessels, controlling which substances in the bloodstream can reach brain tissue. It determines why medications, supplements, and everyday substances like caffeine affect the brain differently from the rest of the body.

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Content type: Glossary EntryGlossary Entry

vagus nerve

The vagus nerve is a bundle of nerve fibres in your body. It runs from the brainstem down through the neck and into the chest and abdomen. It branches out to the heart, lungs, airways, stomach, liver, intestines, and most of the digestive tract. It is the longest cranial nerve in the body.

Roughly 80% of what it carries is sensory information travelling upward. The vagus nerve reports to your …

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gut-brain axis

The gut-brain axis is the two-way communication system between your digestive tract and your brain. It runs on nerves, neurotransmitters, immune signals, and microbial chemistry, and it's a large part of the reason why so many neurodivergent people have persistent stomach problems which are often not even connected to their neurodivergence.

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Content type: Glossary EntryGlossary Entry

stimulant medication

Stimulant medications are the most commonly prescribed pharmacological treatment for ADHD. They work by increasing the availability of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, and have long-acting or short-acting variations. Stimulant medication has been in clinical use for over 80 years, they are safe and effective. Long-term users report mild or managable side-effects only.

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The neurodivergent brain

The brain is the organ behind every neurodivergent trait you experience — from how you pay attention to how you process emotion to how you sleep. Neurodivergent brains use the same basic structures and chemical messengers as any brain, but the tuning is different: different dopamine activity in reward circuits, different balance between excitatory and inhibitory signalling, different default mode …

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