“So who the hell is this woman and what gives her the right?” You may be asking yourself. Who is this rando who thinks she knows everything about late diagnosis ADHD and autism?

Fair question.

I wouldn’t take advice from me either — I mean, look at me.

Well let me tell you, I come by it honestly. Here are few things about me that might put things in perspective and explain why I am crowing about this late-diagnosed ADHD stuff:

I didn’t get diagnosed until I was 42 - and boy did it turn things upside down for awhile - as I’m sure it did/is for you, if you’re here.

When I got diagnosed I didn’t get a lot of direction or guidance or information about ADHD or how to live with it, except from videos and social media. I was given the diagnosis (out of nowhere, for me), and kind of sent on my way to figure it out on my own. Which is weird, right?

I was already in a creative nonfiction program, so I was in the perfect position to be able to do a lot of research about how ADHD (and autism) work, and why it’s so life-changing when we’re finally diagnosed late in life. I did a lot of bad writing about it.

I had several friends around me - also (mostly) women in their late 30s/early 40s-50s - who were getting diagnosed late too (go figure, we tend to run in packs, did you know that?) and I watched firsthand how they struggled to keep going, aware of being neurodivergent now, but not really doing anything to help themselves - not because they didn’t have to or want to, but purely because they didn’t have time, energy or space to figure it all out.