Despite US legislative mandates such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), neurodivergent students, including those with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), remain underrepresented in inclusive classroom discourse (Rathgeber, 2019). This study advocates a shift toward the social model of disability (Oliver, 1996), and a greater emphasis on lived experience in music education research. By amplifying the voices of ADHD musicians and educators, I hope to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of inclusive, student-informed pedagogical practices. This qualitative study explores intersections of music education/engagement, and the lived experiences of adults diagnosed with ADHD, focusing on how long-term involvement in music and music education may shape attention regulation, coping strategies, and personal development.Drawing from my experiences as an educator, performer, and individual with ADHD, I have framed the study within the contexts of inclusive education, neurodiversity, and critiques of traditional, deficit-based models of disability (bell, 2017; Oliver, 1996). Utilizing Ward and Delamon’s (2020) conception of a thematic analysis and Gannon’s (2020) directives for incorporating autoethnographic material, I collected data through journal entries bookended by two semi-structured interviews with myself and five adult musicians who had over a decade of formal music training. Findings were then coded for common themes. Participants were either diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood or had childhood diagnoses of either ADHD or an archaic label of the same condition. All data was collected with the goal of answering two questions:1. How do adults with ADHD describe interactions between their ADHD symptoms, their experiences in music education, and their lifelong engagement with music?2. How might the firsthand accounts of adults with ADHD help develop more informed pedagogical practices for music educators of students with ADHD?Researchers have suggested that music has provided students who have ADHD with an avenue for enhanced focus, emotional grounding, and self-expression (Fasano et al., 2019; Madjar et al., 2020; Parker & Schmukler, 2020; Symborski et al., 2024). With this study I explore from the perspectives of adults, the interactions between their ADHD symptoms and their lifelong engagement with music and music education as well as how these firsthand accounts might be used to help develop more informed pedagogical practices for students with ADHD. I also critique the ongoing practice of neurological separatism in educational policy (Daane, 2000; Sjöberg, 2018) and emphasize the importance of incorporating student voice into instructional design (Rathgeber, 2019).