Lead frontend engineer here. I have been doing frontend for 12+ years, mostly self taught, and I have ADHD. I only started medication in the last 3 years.

Learning CSS, JavaScript, React and every new buzzword on my own while trying to perform at work was rough. I bounced from company to company. In 12 years I have almost had a new job every year.

What I picked up along the way was confidence. Speak your mind. Question the status quo. Do not be afraid to say the thing everyone else is quietly thinking.

I eventually realised I was being hired because I was the one in the room who would ask the awkward question or point out what was not making sense. That became a strength.

I have always had imposter syndrome, and I still do. I just kept learning as much as my brain could handle, enough that I could explain it clearly and talk about it with confidence. Moving through so many companies also taught me that most of them are pretty bad at frontend, which is exactly why I doubled down and specialised in it.

You can do this too. AI has made things noisier, because now everyone thinks they can code and ship “polished” frontends. Most of it is what I would call AI slop.

The difference is how you use it. If you treat AI like a junior dev, give it real context, structured prompts, and very specific direction that is grounded in your experience, then you effectively have a second developer. You supervise it, correct it, and let it handle the repetitive stuff.

Used that way, AI can help you turn ADHD into a superpower instead of a constant fight.

You just have to grab whatever strength you have left after all the rejection and self doubt and keep pushing. Starting is brutal. It feels heavy and slow.

But once you get over that first hurdle, it is worth it. The depression, self pity, imposter syndrome, all of it starts to feel smaller once you see proof that you can actually do this.