Yesterday morning I had an MS Teams meeting with a very lovely research student who is writing her Master’s thesis on recent late diagnosis of ADHD in women aged 35-65 years old. I had responded to a flyer on an ADHD Facebook page requesting participants. As this area of research is reasonably new, and women being diagnosed is also a comparatively novel development, there is not a lot of material out there for fresh, mature, female ADHDers wanting to understand their neurodevelopment condition.
The format of the meeting was informal and I had received the questions in advance, so was able to jot down some notes before we started. Sitting down to do this preparation, I felt like I had given quite a lot of thought to my diagnosis and my response. But, the questions were far more eloquent than the mess of jumbled confusion and half-baked self-realisations in my head. The organisation and focus of having someone else inquire about how my journey has unfolded, in black-and-white and numbered simplicity, allowed a different level of self-investigation.
The researcher, George, also informed me that while many people exhibited interest in the study, the follow through, after receiving forms and information, was understandably mediocre. The participants have ADHD. Filling out forms and following through are not strengths generally possessed by this cohort.
I’m happy I made the effort to respond and participate. Not only because the more voices that are added to the conversation, the more understanding there will be around this subject. But, also because by interrogating my own thoughts and feelings, I have progressed toward a better understanding of myself.
I read an article this morning which suggested ADHD in women could be called ‘hyper-curiosity’ as deficits in attention are lacking in most presentations. This label resonates with me, and I’m sure most of my family and friends would agree that hyper-curious is a good descriptor. That’s why I’m a writer. I have so many questions and am on a never-ending quest to find the answers.
If you are female, have been diagnosed with ADHD in the last five years, are between 35-65 years of age, and live in Australia, consider joining the study. It’s helpful to the study, but may also be great way to answer some questions about yourself. Scan the QR for link.
Kylie Eklund-Denman 