"In 2013, when Meredith O'Connor was 16, the music video for her debut single "Celebrity" went viral. Afterward, she channeled her own stardom into championing childhood mental health: As a hyperactive kid, O'Connor says she was often the subject of bullying, and when her music career gave her a platform, she was eager to use it to advocate on behalf of other victims. "I knew my fan base was younger, but I didn't know how many people would resonate with mental health challenges," she says. "I realized there were millions of gifted people that are being marginalized, and that's when I really wanted to start the mental health study.""
"Since blowing up YouTube over a decade ago, O'Connor earned a master's degree in mental health counseling and cofounded the Mental Health Counseling Services of Manhattan in 2024. In working closely with public schools, O'Connor says she was struck by the many ways in which standardized tests disadvantage neurodivergent students. "That observation led me to speak directly with leaders across law, advisory firms, and business about how hiring and evaluation systems might evolve in an AI economy.""
"O'Connor explains that the more she spoke with AmLaw 20 firms and Fortune 500 executives, the more she realized that the kinds of skills they desired from graduates were not the skills that were measured and rewarded on standardized tests. That's especially true for those like herself with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who have many natural advantages, but often struggle with memorization and sustaining focus. "Before age 23, the ADHD brain is gifted in many things. But one of the areas of slower development is executive function," she says, explaining that the limitation affects short-term memory, concentration, and impulse control. "By the time [those with ADHD] are 18, you'll have taken all these aptitude tests that are studying parts of the brain that have not develope"
Meredith O'Connor's music video for her debut single "Celebrity" went viral in 2013 when she was 16. She leveraged early stardom to champion childhood mental health after experiencing hyperactivity and bullying during childhood. O'Connor earned a master's degree in mental health counseling and cofounded the Mental Health Counseling Services of Manhattan in 2024. Work with public schools revealed how standardized tests disadvantage neurodivergent students. Conversations with AmLaw 20 firms and Fortune 500 executives showed that employer-desired skills differ from those measured by standardized tests. ADHD often confers strengths but involves slower executive-function development affecting memory, focus, and impulse control.
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