Livia Farkas, Author at Weirdly Successful

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

Glossary Entry

ARFID

ARFID stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. It is characterized by highly selective eating habits, often to the point of nutritional deficiency. Unlike anorexia or bulimia, ARFID is not driven by concerns about body image or weight. Instead, it's typically related to sensory sensitivity, fear of adverse consequences (like choking or vomiting), or a lack of interest in eating.

Glossary Entry

ADHD paralysis

ADHD paralysis is a form of executive dysfunction.

It refers to the difficulty in initiating, continuing, or completing tasks, even when the person understands the urgency and importance, and also has the ability to do the task. ADHD paralysis can be triggered by various factors, including overwhelm, anxiety, or the perceived complexity of a task.

Article

I didn’t think I was neurodivergent – until I learned what it really means

"How did no one ever notice??"

The amount of times this sentence is heard in our house, along with the dramatically exaggerated waving of arms, would definitely qualify for a sitcom catchphrase.

You see, reader, I'm what they call "late-diagnosed".

"Late" is relative, of course. For ADHD, "late diagnosis" can mean anything from above 60 for those above 60 to 25 for those who are 25. For Autism, …

Glossary Entry

habituation

Habituation is a biological reaction mechanism where if a non-threatening stimuli keeps repeating, the response to it lowers over time. In neurodivergence, the brain's reduced capacity for habituation means we can't "tune out" unimportant stimuli, which leads to sensory difficulties and sensory overwhelm.

Glossary Entry

demand avoidance

Demand avoidance means appearing opposed to doing something when it's perceived as a demand, especially from an authority figure - even if you actually want to do the thing. While it may look like defiance or stubbornness to others, it's actually an involuntary self-preservation response triggered by threats to autonomy. This response happens automatically, not as a conscious decision to be …

Glossary Entry

trauma-informed

A trauma-informed approach is looking out for the needs of the individual with the effect of trauma taken into consideration.

Trauma can have a profound physical, biological, psychological and social effect on a person, and this effect cannot be discounted.

Glossary Entry

spiritual bypassing

Spiritual bypassing is a dismissive behaviour, meaning the use of spiritual explanations to dismiss, diminish or avoid dealing with complicated emotions, uncomfortable experiences or facing the complex and often harsh realities of life. It's part magical thinking and part toxic positivity.

Glossary Entry

interoception

Interoception is the ability to notice and identify feelings inside one's body, like thirst or hunger. It also includes the ability to notice and regulate temperature changes or notice pain.

Glossary Entry

alexithymia

Alexithymia is the inability to assign names to feelings, describe them to others or talk about them. It is considered a separate neuropsychological condition but has significant overlaps with autism.

Article

I accidentally built a glossary of neurodivergent terms

"This time, let's start the website small", we said.

"Let's just put up a homepage and a contact", we said.

"Okay, let's write three blog posts to start with, but no more!", we said.

72 published pages later…

One part of my brain is like an ancient trickster god. (A proper one, so think less Tom Hiddleston, more Tom Bombadil.) You never know when they next visit, but when they do, they pop up …

Glossary Entry

curb-cut effect

The curb-cut effect refers to the phenomenon that policies initially created to serve a marginalized group end up serving a much more significant portion of society, benefiting even more people than it was originally designed for.

Glossary Entry

autistic speech patterns

Autistic speech patterns are recognisable features of how autistic communication works. They sit in two layers: how speech is built — echolalia (echoing what others say), palilalia (repeating your own words), scripting (planning what you'll say), verbal stims (using words to stim), and vocal stims (using sounds to stim). And how speech lands — direct communication (saying what you mean), …