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I’ve been formally diagnosed twice with ADHD, first in the UK, then in Italy. Getting diagnosed as an adult is far from easy so getting diagnosed twice is a little unusual. But… my ADHD is off the charts and I present so obviously that it didn’t take the specialists long. Which begs the question: why didn’t anyone notice before?
My first diagnosis was only 21 months ago, I’m now 50. I’m still unravelling years of masking, shame, trauma and coping mechanisms; I’ve lived with it all my life but I’m still learning who my ADHD self is. I’m a little hesitant to dive into #ADHDAwarenessMonth yet there’s so much of it evident in my work and that feels like a good place to speak from.
Before I get going, here’s a few facts:
- ADHD is *not* a behavioural disorder or something that can be ‘cured’ with discipline.
- ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that shares a lot with Autism, and they’re often found together.
- ADHD is one of the most researched neurodevelopmental conditions. MRI scans show that our brains are literally different.
- We don’t have a deficit of attention, we have difficulty with executive function, emotions and regulating focus.
- There are 3 types of ADHD – Hyperactive + Impulsive, Inattentive, and Combined.
- Only a small percentage of ADHD folks are the externally hyperactive type. The hyperactivity is in all of us, except you can’t see it because it’s in our brains.
- ADHD is genetic and runs in families. It’s estimated to have a heritability rate of 75% or more.
- It’s something we’re born with and most of us won’t grow out of it. Like most life-long conditions it can change with the various stages of life but it doesn’t go away.
- The stereotype of young white boys bouncing off the walls has done so much damage. It’s the reason so many BIPOC, women and girls go undiagnosed.
- ADHD brings it’s own flavours of PTSD or Complex PTSD, especially when undiagnosed. It’s said that society is incapable of not traumatising folks with ADHD and I’m evidence of that in more ways than one.
- ADHD is a recognised disability.
Thank you so much for your series on ADHD! I was diagnosed with a “mild” case at the age of 32, but didn’t understand what that meant until only recently, (at the age of 58), when, as a teacher, a new assignment caused me to start researching about ADHD to better help the children I teach. Now, at 61, I am still learning about aspects of ADHD, and, that even a “mild” case is really not “mild” in terms of how it has effected my well-being. I am currently waiting for an appointment with a specialist, in hopes that I can find a medication that works for me.
I hope you find a medication that works for you! That can be tricky, depending on where in the world you live, but once you find the right one it makes such a difference!