Why Choose Undivided Attention?

First and foremost, ADHD is real.

Even though ADHD has been in the medical literature since the 1700s, it was only discovered that it persists into adulthood, and that it affects females too, around 1996. The first medication approved by the FDA for adult ADHD has only been around since 2003.

So the concept of female and Adult ADHD is relatively new in science.

Research into all brain-based disorders exploded in the early 2000s, and even more so in recent years. On average, it takes about 17 years for new research findings to be implemented in clinical practice. So, in general, most practitioners are still operating on outdated information.

As it stands, roughly 7% of the adult global population has ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder that doesn’t go away. Symptoms may evolve depending on the person’s stage of life, what support structures are in place for them (knowingly or not), their general state of health, and other factors. It is estimated that 75% of adults with ADHD are undiagnosed.

ADHD is a serious health issue. It can reduce life expectancy by 12-20 years and has adverse impacts on every domain of life: social, emotional, financial, educational, occupational, and legal.

BUT, it is the MOST TREATABLE mental disorder. 80% of people with ADHD will benefit from stimulant medication (only about 40% of people with depression respond to antidepressants).

… which is why this is where I have chosen to focus my practice.
Girls may have more inattentive symptoms and, as opposed to boys, their symptoms tend to worsen, rather than abate, in adolescence.

Women and girls are 3 times more likely to be misdiagnosed with a mood disorder. Unrecognized ADHD in girls and women results in internalized symptoms of shame, self doubt, and reduced realization of potential. There is much research yet to do in this population as well as how ADHD impacts transgender and minorities.

It’s hard to believe, but the average age of diagnosis for women is 32.

ADHD and Intelligence are unrelated, and yet many people with ADHD have heard, “you can’t have ADHD, you’re too smart.” This is categorically false and damaging. ADHD is a disorder of cognition, not intelligence.
Many folks with ADHD have above average intelligence, but think, “if I am so smart, why do I feel so dumb?” Especially those who are gifted. When you’re gifted and challenged, hard things are easy, and easy things are hard. And this dichotomy often makes no sense to the individual who experiences it, nor to their teachers, parents, partners, etc.
Dopamine and norepinephrine deficiencies, a smaller prefrontal cortex and a 30% delay in brain maturation — as well as many other structural differences in ADHD brains — result in something called Executive Dysfunction.

Executive Function can be described as all the cognitive processes that are required to make you think and act now, so that you can be a better/happier/safer/more stable you in your future. In other words — self control.

In ADHD, the Following Cognitive Processes May be Impaired:

• Working memory 
• Motivation
• Task initiation 
• Persistence
• Prioritization
• Organization
• Emotional control
• Impulse control
• Sense of time 
• Regulation of alertness 
• Response inhibition

Due to Executive Dysfunction, traditional therapies, methods of organization, systems of rewards and punishment, etc., do not work. Often suggestions like, “have you tried using a planner?” drive the nail deep in the low-self-image-coffin. 

As Russel Barkley, PhD (my personal favorite ADHD expert), likes to say, “ADHD is not a disorder of knowing how to do things, it’s a disorder of doing what you know.”

It runs in families. So when a child gets a diagnosis, it makes sense for siblings and parents to explore this for themselves as well.

Most of the millions of undiagnosed adults in the United States had likely been getting by, barely, with the help of external scaffolding (external structures, routines and timelines society had in place) — getting kids to school, going to the office for work, attending social functions, holidays, etc. These structures enforce what activity a person should be doing, where they should be doing it, when and, for the most part, why. Executive Functioning is how one does the right thing at the right time.

During the 2 years of COVID lockdown, that scaffolding was yanked away pretty much overnight. A large percentage of (neurotypical) people experienced a sensation known as languishing as the lockdown dragged on.

But, ADHD brains tend to experience languishing as a baseline mental state. Some describe this as a constant state of being underwhelmed and overwhelmed at the same time, chronic low grade frustration, ADHD paralysis, etc.

It’s a bit more than just feeling bored …

So it stands to reason, there is now a major uptick in adults (and females) who believe they have this disorder. COVID lockdown exacerbated all of their symptoms to an absolutely intolerable level and even with things returning somewhat to normal, they’re still not ok.

And what about the teens who were previously undiagnosed, and even those who were?

They are DEFINITELY not ok. Throw puberty into that mix and now you have Executive Dysfunction in full swing.

Recall the 30% delay in brain maturation mentioned earlier? This is why a teen may be 18-going-on-12.

The college years are a particularly delicate time for ADHD. Again, take away all that structure and scaffolding of mom/dad/guardian, school, sports, social life, clubs, family, etc., and young adults start to say, “I’m just not doing well.” This can be mistaken for anxiety or depression if they haven’t come to school already bearing the ADHD diagnosis.