I didn’t want to have ADHD | 1

Summary

Climbing the Walls: Episode 1 – "I Didn’t Want to Have ADHD"

Introduction to the Rising ADHD Diagnoses in Women

In the premiere episode of Climbing the Walls, hosted by Danielle Elliott from Understood.org, the spotlight is cast on a significant and timely issue: the dramatic increase in ADHD diagnoses among adult women since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elliott sets the stage by recounting a personal anecdote that underscores the pervasive nature of distraction in the digital age.

Danielle Elliott [00:00]: "I've never been all that good at listening to instructions... I usually scroll Instagram until we lose service."

This initial story not only humanizes the discussion but also segues into the broader investigation of why ADHD diagnoses in women have surged and how this shift is reshaping our understanding of the condition.

Danielle Elliott’s Journey to Diagnosis

Elliott delves into her personal experience, beginning in early 2024 when she starts receiving mysterious Instagram messages that pique her curiosity. Amidst her work on a film about affirmative action, these messages lead Elliott to question her own cognitive patterns.

Brooke Schnitman [00:57]: "Adult women are being diagnosed with ADHD at a record pace. In just two years, diagnosis rate has nearly doubled."

This revelation leads Elliott to explore the factors driving this increase. She introduces Brooke Schnitman, an ADHD and executive function coach, who suggests that the pandemic provided people with the downtime necessary for self-reflection, thereby increasing mental health awareness and diagnoses.

Brooke Schnitman [01:30]: "Diagnosis in ADHD is going up. People are understanding more about themselves since the pandemic."

Elliott's narrative takes a poignant turn as she recounts a tumultuous breakup that left her grappling with intense emotions. This emotional upheaval propels her to research Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), a condition closely linked to ADHD, which ultimately leads her to question whether she might have ADHD herself.

Danielle Elliott [05:41]: "Rejection sensitivity is part of ADHD."

Understanding ADHD in Women: Historical Context

The podcast delves into the historical underdiagnosis of ADHD in women. Elliott explains that traditional diagnostic criteria were primarily based on male presentations of ADHD, characterized by hyperactivity, which is less prevalent in females. This oversight led to many women being undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for decades.

Expert [07:05]: "It's often harder when it's more the attentional, right?"

Elliott shares her own diagnostic journey, highlighting the complexities and emotional toll of seeking a diagnosis. She emphasizes that ADHD is a spectrum, encompassing not just attentional issues but also emotional regulation, organization, and sustaining interests.

Danielle Elliott [10:25]: "I learned that it was so much more than what I had thought it was... It's also about emotional regulation and scheduling and your ability to stay organized and sustain interests."

Interview with Emily Mitchell: A Case Study

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the interview with Emily Mitchell, a graphic designer from Traverse City, Michigan, who provides a personal account of living with ADHD. Emily recounts her early experiences with hyperactivity and the initial prescription of Ritalin during her childhood, which helped her manage her symptoms.

Emily Mitchell [16:04]: "She tried things that would help me not conform, but to participate in the structure of the day."

Despite early intervention, Emily's ADHD was misinterpreted as she grew older, particularly when societal expectations for adult women are stricter regarding organization and emotional control. Her struggles in her professional life, particularly in a high-stakes creative environment, highlight the ongoing challenges faced by adult women with ADHD.

Emily Mitchell [21:09]: "I was suffering at work also... So I started wondering."

Emily’s story underscores the often-overlooked emotional aspects of ADHD in women, such as Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and the societal pressures that exacerbate these challenges.

Sari Solden’s Contributions

The episode also highlights the pivotal role of Sari Solden, a trailblazing author and psychologist who has significantly contributed to the understanding of ADHD in women. Solden’s work, particularly her book Women with ADHD, provided Emily with crucial insights into the emotional dimensions of the disorder, helping her piece together her experiences.

Sari Solden [28:10]: "You don't usually get to be there at the birth of a whole new way of looking at human beings."

Solden’s pioneering efforts challenged the existing narratives and opened doors for a more nuanced understanding of ADHD, particularly as it pertains to women.

Conclusion and Looking Ahead

Danielle Elliott wraps up the episode by reflecting on the complexities surrounding ADHD diagnoses in women. She acknowledges the strides made in recent years but also points out the lingering misconceptions and the need for continued research and awareness.

Danielle Elliott [28:26]: "That's next time on Climbing the Walls."

The episode concludes with credits, highlighting the dedicated team behind the podcast and encouraging listeners to support Understood.org's mission to empower individuals with learning and thinking differences.

Key Takeaways:

• The pandemic has been a catalyst for increased ADHD diagnoses in adult women.
• Historical biases in ADHD diagnosis have led to underrecognition in women.
• ADHD in women encompasses more than just attention deficits; it includes emotional regulation and organizational challenges.
• Personal narratives, like that of Emily Mitchell, illustrate the diverse experiences of women with ADHD.
• Pioneers like Sari Solden have been instrumental in broadening the understanding of ADHD in women.

This in-depth exploration sets the foundation for subsequent episodes, promising to delve deeper into the scientific, social, and personal dimensions of ADHD in women.

Transcript

[Danielle Elliott]

I've never been all that good at listening to instructions. When flight attendants ask passengers to put their phones on airplane mode, I don't. I usually scroll Instagram until we lose service.

That's what I was doing.

One morning in February 2024, I was scrolling Instagram when the little red icon appeared in the top left corner of the app. A new message. I opened it. It was a link to a video. My thumb was hovering over it. As the wheels lifted off the Runway, I saw the top half of a news anchor's head and the logo for Fox News. The screen froze like that. At the time, I was working on a film about affirmative action, so I assumed that the link had something to do with that. We were in the air for about six hours, and as we landed, I opened Instagram again. I saw four more messages. Everyone was sending me the same link. As it loaded, I realized it had nothing to do with affirmative action.

[Brooke Schnitman]

Adult women are being diagnosed with ADHD at a record pace. In just two years, diagnosis rate has nearly doubled.

[Danielle Elliott]

So what's driving adhd? Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

[Brooke Schnitman]

Phones could be a root cause, but ironically, it's also what's raising awareness about it.

[Danielle Elliott]

It was all over the news that week.

[Brooke Schnitman]

Joining us now is Brooke Schnitman. She's an ADHD and executive function coach. It's great to have you here. So tell us why. Why women? Why now? Why are these diagnoses going up?

[Expert]

Diagnosis in ADHD is going up. People are understanding more about themselves since the pandemic. So when we had so much downtime to really understand ourselves, that's when mental health was on the rise.

[Danielle Elliott]

It seemed like Brooke had more to say. But the anchor jumped in.

[Brooke Schnitman]

All of us are distracted because of our phones, right? I can be reading the Wall Street Journal editorial page at night. I'm like, wait, let me check what my sister just sent me on Instagram. But where's the line between someone who feels distracted because of their phone and someone who actually has ADHD and gets a diagnosis like that? And if at that point, I knew.

[Danielle Elliott]

Exactly why my friends were sending me this clip, why are so many women being diagnosed with adhd? Do they really have it? I started asking these questions sometime in the summer of 2022, a few months after I joined the ranks of the recently diagnosed. Listening to a news anchor question the rise in diagnosis, I realized I really do want to know why women? Why now? For the last year or so, I've tried to answer these questions. I've talked to scientists, doctors, and I've.

Talked to many, many women who have.

Adhd, some who were recently diagnosed, others who have known for decades. This is a story about science, social expectations, stress and the way we live. It's about who we trust. Most importantly, it's a story about.

This.

Is Climbing the Walls I'm Danielle Elliott.

I had a fairly unique pandemic experience. I started dating someone in the first week I was 35 and this was honestly my first relationship. Unless you know, you actually want to count the revolving door of four month situations I've been in for the last ten years. Anyway, everything was new and it was distracting me from everything else happening in the world. We moved in together. Things were good for a while. I remember waking up one morning and just staring at the wall, not really moving. I laid there long enough that my partner looked at me and said, are you okay? And still without moving. I said, we used to be able to get on planes and a few hours later land in a completely different part of the world. I just missed being able to be anywhere else. A few months later we got vaccinated. A few months after that we broke up. I stashed a few boxes at my parents house, booked a flight and left. I spent the next two months working remotely from Mexico and Belize, then went to California and Colorado for work.

It was fun, but the whole time I kept thinking about the night we broke up. We needed to break up. We both knew this was coming. He initiated a conversation and I exploded. I had this visceral reaction. I said things that I knew would cut deep. I couldn't look at him. I started packing, taking frames off the walls. I felt out of control and it felt really out of character. I don't yell at people.

Ever. I thought I'd learned to control my.

Emotions, but that night I acted like a child. So three months later I was still beating myself up over it.

One night I googled extreme reactions to rejection and this article popped up about something called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Rsd. I'd never heard of it. One magazine article described it like it.

Is always triggered by the perceived or.

Real loss of approval, love or respect. It looks like an impressive instantaneous rage at the person or situation responsible for causing the pain. Some people use the pain of RSD to find adaptations and overachieve. They constantly work to be the best at what they do and strive for idealized perfection. The last section of the article started with this sentence.

Rejection sensitivity is part of adhd.

I remember reading that sentence and thinking.

Wait, do I have adhd?

I didn't really think I could because as far as I knew, ADHD meant you couldn't focus. When I'm interested in something or I have a deadline, I focus so well.

That I sort of forget the rest.

Of the world exists. I found an article on adhd. It explained that ADHD is a spectrum of attentional issues.

The next day I talked to my therapist. She suggested I take a self screener. So I took it and it said that I have symptoms of adhd. And I, for lack of a better word, I pouted.

I didn't want to have adhd. Everything I read said that women with ADHD struggle in relationships, careers, and as parents. I wanted to believe I'd figure these things out and to hear I might have a condition that apparently makes it harder to do these things. It felt scary. I booked a telehealth appointment with a psychiatrist. On a cold morning in February 2022. I sat down in front of my computer, logged into a video platform and started talking to a psychiatrist.

[Expert]

It's also tricky. How do you make the diagnosis if it's not like, so glaringly obvious to a child? Usually it's the hyperactivity symptoms that draw attention.

[Danielle Elliott]

There was a cop outside my window. I looked back at the screen and tried to focus on what the psychiatrist was saying. She seemed to be sitting on a bench at a kitchen table. I could see a green lawn behind her and wondered where she lived. I realized I was distracted and tried to tune back in. She was still explaining how teachers or doctors usually spot ADHD in kids.

[Expert]

The teacher is saying, oh, Billy, you're really wet.

[Danielle Elliott]

Right?

[Expert]

It's often harder when it's more the attentional, right?

[Danielle Elliott]

I was recording on my phone because I wanted to be able to listen back to what she said about treatment. I wanted to get this right.

She explained that girls with ADHD are usually not as hyperactive or disruptive as boys with adhd. And since they're not disturbing their classmates or their teachers, their symptoms go unnoticed.

She asked me about my childhood. How did I do in school? Did I make friends? Do I have any specific memories? I told her stories from preschool. Kindergarten, second grade, fifth grade, seventh grade. I asked her if ADHD is why I didn't talk or walk until a year after most kids my age. My mom says she had me tested for special education preschool, but I didn't get in. In grad school, my advisor always said, danielle, I think you have shiny ball syndrome. None of us suspected an actual syndrome. I just like chasing new ideas. Usually before finishing whatever I'm working on. Ten minutes into the call, the doctor said she thinks I have adhd. I wanted this to be much more complicated. I wanted her to do a whole series of tests. But there are no definitive biological markers for adhd, no blood test that says, yep, you have it.

Instead, the diagnosis is based on your experiences throughout your life and your family history.

The official criteria is listed in a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the dsm. It's published by the American Psychiatric Association. The DSM says that symptoms of ADHD develop by the time a person turns 12. If the symptoms begin after that, it's not ADHD.

[Expert]

Basically our executive function, right? So the French alope is the seat of a lot of this and it's tricky. Our frontal lobe is not fully developed into, well into teenage years. So the way. So again, this is a lot of executive function. So executive function is a lot of part of our cognition.

[Danielle Elliott]

She went on like this a little bit longer, talking about something called executive function, which I'd never heard of. Then she prescribed a stimulant, which is a type of medication often used to treat adhd. And with that, I joined the ranks of what seemed to be a rapidly emerging demographic. Women diagnosed with ADHD during the pandemic. One $500 video appointment, and I was now one of those women Fox News was talking about. My insurance didn't even cover it. I wasn't sure I wanted to be on a stimulant. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear any of this, honestly. But I dug into it anyway, doing my research alongside self discovery. That's what I do, after all. I should mention I'm a science journalist. I also produce documentaries and podcasts. The more I learned about adhd, it.

Was clear that I have it.

And I learned that it was so much more than what I had thought it was. I thought it was about focus and attention, but it turns out it's also about emotional regulation and scheduling and your ability to stay organized and sustain interests.

I read things that said people with ADHD have a constant battle between structure.

And stimulation and that we have strong internal voices that are often completely set on telling us that we're doing everything wrong. On social media, there were a lot of women talking about adhd, and honestly, they all seemed a lot like me. College educated, mostly well adjusted white women who apparently wanted to be more adjusted. And that started to give me doubts. I would scroll through Instagram and TikTok and think, you all seem to have partners. And children and big enough careers to help you reach large audiences on social media. If you have adhd, how do you stay organized enough to create all this content? Is there any chance you're just capitalizing on this moment when ADHD seems to be trending? I don't like to minimize anyone else's experience. I think I was just pushing back against the idea that I had ADHD by proposing that maybe none of us women had it, that maybe we just weren't good enough. As if that's somehow better. You can't spell Danielle without denial. My notion of who was talking about ADHD started to expand when I moved into a new apartment that summer. Great light, closet space, friendly building. I got to know three of the women on my floor. We were watching TV one night and one of them mentioned her adhd. Another one of the women jumped in and said, oh, I was diagnosed last year. Over the next few months, I started hearing this everywhere. A bartender at my favorite spot, two friends talking on the train. Friends telling me about their moms being diagnosed. Unlike what I saw on social media, they weren't all white women. Then researchers published data that supported what I was seeing around me. Tons of women are being diagnosed with ADHD. From 2020 to 2022, the rate of diagnosis skyrocketed. Okay, let me get inside your head for a minute. You're probably thinking, what's the big deal? A lot of women were diagnosed with ADHD in the past few years. So what? Sounds like you made some new friends and got some helpful meds out of it. Why are you so mystified? Like this subject needs a podcast. Mystified? Is this your latest shiny ball? It goes back to what the psychiatrist told me on the phone about why my own ADHD wasn't identified when I was a kid. Girls tend to have different symptoms, she'd said. Hyperactivity is much less common. Our brains, though no less unique than that of any rambunctious boys, slipped under.

The radar for many, many years. This was the accepted wisdom. Doctors weren't diagnosing ADHD in girls because they simply didn't know they had it. One doctor told me that in the 1970s and early 80s, he was taught the ratio of boys to girls with ADHD was 10 to 1.

On top of that, the medical community also firmly believed that people outgrow ADHD in adulthood. Those two beliefs together meant that very little thought was ever given to women, grown up adult women having ADHD. When I was in grad school in 2013 and my advisor joked that I had shiny ball syndrome. She didn't consider that I might have adhd. I was studying science journalism. I read so many journals and articles that year and never came across anything that would suggest such an idea. Obviously, something had changed in the last few years. Women with ADHD were now being found everywhere from my apartment building to Fox News. I talked to dozens of women who, like me, went undiagnosed until recently. Women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s. One woman in her mid-70s. So, yeah, that's my shiny ball. My podcast worthy question, why women? Why now? One day I was at a friend's birthday party and someone said something I've never heard before. He said his mom was diagnosed with ADHD early, back in 1963. I couldn't resist. A week later, I was in Michigan meeting his mom. If I wanted to figure out how we missed this in an entire generation of women, I felt like talking to someone who hadn't missed it was a.

Pretty good place to start.

[Emily Mitchell]

I was a famously active child. Kinetic. The word then was hyperactive.

[Danielle Elliott]

This is Emily Mitchell. She's a graphic designer in Traverse City, Michigan. We met at her house and sat in a basement office.

[Emily Mitchell]

So I was famously hyperactive. Kinetic, always moving. When you hit public school and you're in kindergarten, as I was, there is nap time, and I couldn't sit still, lay still on my mat. My mother made me a chain of safety pins that we attached to my mat so I would have something to.

[Danielle Elliott]

Do that's like something to play with somewhat quietly.

[Emily Mitchell]

She tried things that would help me not conform, but to participate in the structure of the day. And because I was young, I don't know how it went, but say the teacher complained. And then my mother took me to our doctor who was a pediatrician, who was young. He was just out of med school. I mean, he was in a young crop of new pediatricians. And this is in Michigan, In Michigan, in the Detroit area. Oak Park, Michigan. And he, I remember him. I was fond of him and I felt special in his office, you know, and he, he said to my mother, you know, Emily likes people, and the last thing she needs is to be a problem to her teacher as she starts her public education. That's not gonna be good for her. So I have something that we should try. And it was Ritalin. And I took it. And it helped. It helped.

[Danielle Elliott]

The first time we know of a.

Doctor giving stimulants to kids is in 1937. About 20 years later, in 1955, the FDA approved Ritalin. As a medication for adults battling depression and a handful of other conditions. Then in 1962, the FDA approved it for use in children with attentional deficits and hyperactivity. A year later, in 1963, a young pediatrician recognized this in six year old Emily and he prescribed Ritalin.

[Emily Mitchell]

I called it my silly pill. My silly pill. And it was just part of my life. So it helped me be a good student. And we didn't realize that until I stopped taking the Ritalin.

[Danielle Elliott]

The American Psychiatric association published the second edition of the DSM in 1968 when Emily was in fifth grade.

This edition described a condition called hyperkinetic reaction of childhood. It's characterized by overactivity, restlessness, distractibility and short attention span. The DSM said children outgrow this by the time they become teenagers. Emily was 11 years old and she was starting to feel self conscious about her silly pill.

[Emily Mitchell]

So when I was in fifth grade, I stopped taking it and my grades immediately went down and it didn't alarm my parents. You know, I think it was just the thing to do at the time. You just, you grow out of that. You don't have to take that anymore.

[Danielle Elliott]

Did you feel like you had grown out of it? Like did you as a fifth grader, do you remember than having a harder time sitting still or you're nodding, couldn't.

[Emily Mitchell]

Focus on, you know, the evidence is that my grades went down and I graduated high school undistinguished academically under 3.0.

[Danielle Elliott]

No one suspected that Emily's grades might somehow have been affected by this hyperkinetic energy because doctors thought kids outgrow the condition. She was in high school in 1971 when a Canadian psychologist named Virginia Douglas gave a speech that would change everyone's understanding of hyperactivity, hyperkinesis and attentional disorders. This was at the annual meeting of the association of Canadian psychologists.

Dr. Douglas explained research she'd conducted at Montreal Children's Hospital where she determined that hyperkinesis is associated with attentional deficits and impulsivity. Hyperkinetic reaction of childhood became known as attention deficit disorder.

Add.

In 1980, the third edition of the DSM updated the diagnostic criteria and officially changed the name.

By then, Emily was a recent art school grad living in Toronto. She was married, building a life as a textile designer and weaver.

[Emily Mitchell]

I wasn't even interested in the fuzzy stuff. It was the structure and the fact that you could do something with a slim piece of thread and turned it into a whole humankind's history of, you know, both art and function. It's an amazing history and it was interesting to do.

[Danielle Elliott]

Emily started to gain a reputation in the art world. One of her pieces was exhibited at a museum in New York. But she and her husband were feeling the pull to move home to Michigan.

They bought an old schoolhouse in Traverse City. It's a picturesque town, right on the water. It's dreamy. And in many ways, so was their life. Financially, though, it was tough. Emily waitressed and continued making art. But being an artist in Traverse City, Michigan wasn't the same as being an artist in Toronto. Her husband had started a graphic design firm.

[Emily Mitchell]

So I joined the company and we've been together as creative and life partners ever since.

[Danielle Elliott]

What a life. She met someone and fell in love, built a creative career, moved to this beautiful place. They had two little boys. Emily absolutely loved being a mom. But a few years into joining her husband at the design firm, Emily was struggling at work.

[Emily Mitchell]

So I'm in a business now with deadlines. I'm in business with a partner, someone who in his case was a champion workhorse, could get things done in a very structured way, on time, reliably and at a high level of, at a high professional standard. I am very good at generating ideas, but you have to close it up.

[Danielle Elliott]

Meaning you have to hit deadlines and to hit those deadlines you have to be decisive.

She would start with lots of ideas.

She could whittle the ideas down to three front runners.

[Emily Mitchell]

And I might get stuck on the three and say, someone else will say.

[Danielle Elliott]

This is the final.

[Emily Mitchell]

Yeah, I just see the potential in everything. I might say, well, I really need to run out all three. You know, I need to take these three to the next level or. And then while you're looking at the three, you might say, you know, this, this one has led me to a variation that and so on.

[Danielle Elliott]

It was a problem because the schedules only allowed her to run through one final choice. She was doing three times the work and it wasn't working. Emily was figuring this out as it was happening. The company was successful and the work was demanding. She was in a high stakes environment. She loved it most days. But when deadlines approached, I suffered.

[Emily Mitchell]

So I was suffering at work also. Just the office environment, you got a list of things you have to get done every single day. So I found myself often staying up all night. And that wasn't. In some people's lives, that's not a problem. But it was difficult for my partner. It caused a lot of anxiety for him. That was painful for me. It was painful for me because I don't like letting people down. Which, if you remember the doctor and kindergarten. Emily likes people. She does not like to be a problem to people. And I didn't when I was 24 or 38 either. So I started wondering. It was just.

[Danielle Elliott]

And you felt like you were letting him down?

[Emily Mitchell]

Yeah. Yeah. And. But in the meantime, we know we're starting to have a family of small children and we're running this business. So I think I spoke to a guidance counselor, the local college, to double check that I had made a good decision. You know, it wasn't the profession. It was office work.

[Danielle Elliott]

A good decision was in the job that you chose.

[Emily Mitchell]

Yeah. Why am I unhappy in my job? You know? You know, why does this feel. It's just so stressful. I ended up speaking to my family doctor. Annual physical.

[Sari Solden]

How are you?

[Emily Mitchell]

How you doing? And he said, you know, you. Let's have a look at your brain. It might be just your brain, the way your brain is.

[Danielle Elliott]

It's the mid-90s. Emily stopped to do the math. She counted on her fingers, and we laughed because this is something I do, too. Emily thinks she talked to her doctor when she was 30. So that would be 1987 or 88. They talked about her medical history, including the diagnosis in kindergarten and her silly pill. By then, doctors were starting to recognize that adults often have symptoms of adhd. But officially, it was still considered a condition of childhood. Emily was lucky to have a doctor who was up to date on the clinical findings.

[Emily Mitchell]

So at 30, I was diagnosed with ADD. There's no mention of H. There's no H in there.

[Danielle Elliott]

A revised edition of the DSM Combined ADD and Hyperactivity in 1987, now officially calling it ADHD. It was a controversial update, and one that didn't quite reach Emily at the time. She still thought of her childhood condition and her ADD as separate things. It would be a few more years before she connected them. Still, she had her diagnosis, and it helped.

[Emily Mitchell]

It answered a lot of questions about my path to that point. And it did help me make a list in my day job and stick to the list and to just use my time differently. There was impulsivity. It helped with that. Less interrupting. So it was about work. The goal was to be productive at.

[Danielle Elliott]

Work, and it worked. Emily is my idea of the best case scenario. Each time she recognized a challenge, she sought help, and she was diagnosed according to the most advanced scientific understanding of the time. Most women didn't have this sort of luck or privilege. Emily is quick to acknowledge that she comes from A highly educated, open minded family.

She had access to great doctors and.

They treated her appropriately. It helped that she had symptoms most commonly associated with boys, but still, her experience is rare. Ideally, the science would have moved faster, but it advanced quickly enough to meet most of her needs. There was still one complication of her ADHD that she couldn't quite figure out. It wasn't about her ability to make deadlines. It had more to do with the way people treated her when she struggled with those deadlines. She grew up in a family where she was cherished and celebrated. She said she didn't really know criticism until she became an adult. Now people, including her husband, expected her to do things in certain ways, and when she didn't, they were harsh. She struggled with this. For once, her doctors didn't have a new diagnosis. She read everything she could find on adult adhd. She saw that someone was hosting a conference in Michigan to discuss adult adhd, and she went.

[Emily Mitchell]

I just was very curious about how to really thrive, you know, to really stay with it, about that brain trait and to be in the company of people who were putting on workshops and conferences. They happened to be almost entirely brain by women about women.

[Danielle Elliott]

At one of these conferences, Emily picked up a book called Women with add.

[Emily Mitchell]

My copy of that book is full of pencil on every page. It was about my job. It was also about my marriage and my partnership and what kind of partner I chose and how it was playing out that way.

[Danielle Elliott]

The book was written by a woman named Sari Solden. It was published in 1995. Emily said it helped her understand the emotional side of adhd. For her, it was the final piece of the puzzle. But wait, 1995. What about that common story? I'd heard that women were only now being diagnosed because up until recently, no one understood how ADHD impacts girls and women. I've seen versions of this story reported in the New York Times, the Guardian, the New York Post, and all over digital media. I've heard it in newscasts. Friends say it. A psychiatrist said it to me as she diagnosed me. It's a clean story. I bought it and repeated it. Then I read Sari Suldon's book and I realized there's a problem with this version of events in which doctors just didn't know how women experience adhd. The problem is it's not true. Sari lives a few hours from Emily. So I went to see her. And that day she helped me understand my questions. Why women? Why now? In new ways. There was a huge fight keeping out adults. And then women. Sari was deep in this fight. She never planned to be a pioneer, but she became one when she wrote about what it's like for women with adhd.

[Sari Solden]

You don't usually get to be there at the birth of a whole new way of looking at human beings. And that was what it was. That was why it was eye opener. It was like, wow, we can look at these people and ourselves through this new lens.

[Danielle Elliott]

That's next time on Climbing the Walls.

Climbing the Walls was written and reported by me, Danielle Elliott. It was edited by Neil Drumming, Sound design by Cody Nelson. Brianna Berry was our Production director, Ash Beecher was our supervising producer and Diana White was our Associate producer. Fact checking by Mary Mathis Research by Karen Wainabe Our music was composed by Kwame Brant Pierce with additional music provided by Blue Dot Sessions and our mixing was done by Justin D. Wright. This series was brought to you by Understood.org, a non profit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences like ADHD and dyslexia. From Understood.org Our executive directors are Laura Key, Scott Koshier and Seth Melnick. A very special thanks to Ray Jacobson, Julie Zets, Jordan Davidson, Sarah Greenberg and Kathleen Nadeau. If you want to help Understood continue this work, consider making a [e-mail] give.