These are stories shared with us directly, or found online. All stories are de-identified.
Please feel free to share your story if you would like to contribute to this picture of your community.
Please feel free to share your story if you would like to contribute to this picture of your community.
** This information reflects only stories collected through voluntary contributions**
It should not be considered a statistically robust representation of any adult ADHD populations.
It should not be considered a statistically robust representation of any adult ADHD populations.
July 2025 - Adelaide, female, 71, single, mother of 2 adult sons, one who also has ADHD.
I was diagnosed at the end of 2024, at 70 y.o., after I watched the SBS Insight program on ADHD, determined to learn more about what my adult son thought was troubling him.
Ten minutes into the program, I could see he was correct. Here was a diverse and comprehensive group of adults, of different ages, backgrounds, education levels, careers, ethnicities and personal situations, and yet when one of them - say the successful young lawyer - answered a question, the 50 y.o. truck driver, the part-time accountant and the young Arts student all nodded. They shared so many ways of seeing the world. This was a homogeneous group, and their stories and ways of looking at their lives echoed my son's experience.
Another ten minutes and I saw myself. A combination of 2 helpful books (The Year I Met My Brain and Your Brain's Not Broken, medication (Dexamphetamine works well for me) and various strategies and tricks from those books and a savvy psychologist (new to Adelaide, who specialises in ADHD) and I feel like I am clear who I am, for the first time in forever. This might come as a surprise to friends and family, as I am a confident, articulate woman who leads a rich and interesting life. It's difficult to explain.
There's so much of the way I ran my life that was far too hard, but I didn't know that. Ways I'd worked around problems without realising I'd done so. Ways I'd set up elaborate reminder systems to ensure that I could run my PR training business, and manage two boisterous growing sons, despite problems inside my brain that I didn't know existed. I ran my own business, and there's no right way to do that, but I had worked in another small PR firm before that, so I used their fee structure, their daily timesheet etc, to record things in a similar way for my clients. I often worked out of Adelaide for a few days, occasionally overseas, and that wasn't "normal", so I created systems that helped it all work.
I juggled a roster with my teacher partner, and we even hired a nanny a few times, when my work took me away too much, or there was more home "stuff" than two working parents could handle. Fortunately, we made decent money; fortunately, we complemented each other and made up each other's shortfalls - none of which had a name, they were just responsibilities on a list that our parental team needed to juggle between us. I knew what was expected of me at home, to run and feed a busy family, and empower and cherish my children, so I did it.
I was an appalling morning person, but I wanted the boys to have home cooked food for school lunches, so once a month I roasted a few legs of lamb, for example, cooked homemade chutneys, etc, and spread out 12-15 loaves of bread on the table to prepare and wrap a month of sandwiches for the freezer. This wasn't weird behaviour, just the way I got things done.
I've worked and volunteered overseas for ten years, supporting Australian, Indonesian and German govt aid programs by improving their skills in communication, and the way I did it wasn't "wrong", because I was the visiting adviser. But in retrospect, getting everything so it felt sufficiently professional for my clients was so, so hard. At the time, I thought that was just the life of a professional working solo, overseas.
In the past six months, the AWARENESS of all this in my life has been liberating and empowering. After a smidge of "Poor me, I didn't know it was so hard. Why wasn/t life easier for me? Life could have been so different!", I moved on. We can rue the missed opportunities, we can certainly acknowledge the extent of our challenges, but I've come to understand that to dwell on it is completely pointless.
By luck or fate or hard work (all 3?), I've had a life rich with adventures, challenges and friends from all cultures. I've had trauma and misadventure too, but who hasn't? What's happening now is that, mostly with the clarity provided by the meds, I'm becoming clear on who I am. I'm a wise woman. I'm a community builder. I create human "seed-raising mixture" (a term I created a very long time ago, which is true now more than ever), where I encourage and empower people to do something great with their lives.
I'm not boasting. I'm not saying, "Look at me, Look at me!". I'm just NOTICING this is what I do. If I describe this awareness process to people who have known me well, either in Australia or overseas, they just nod: "Of course you are, you always have been." At some level, I did too, but there were layers I'd put up, between myself and the world.
My psychologist spoke of "masking" and for a few months, I couldn't see that it applied to me. Neither could I related to myself as "embarrassed" or "ashamed" about any aspect of myself (which he told me were both typical adult ADHD issues). I've always been proud of myself. Though often frustrated at the range of things I haven't ended up achieving, I thought it was normal to feel frustrated, and to regret the number of unfinished projects that stretched behind me. After all, other people have unfulfilled projects, and I have achieved/ completed a LOT, too.
Neurotypical friends and family are often guilty (yes, guilty) of downplaying your "coming out" descriptions of what makes you so sure that you have ADHD. "Oh but I sometimes feel like that too", and they do, but NOT SO OFTEN, NOR SO DEEPLY. And now I know all this, I'm very comfortable with myself.
The combination of structure, support, meds and tools is powering me to work on and FINISH some of the projects that I was embarrassed (yes, I can admit it now) to have let slide, in cycle after cycle of incompletion.. I suspect many high functioning people with ADHD can relate to this. I'm competent at a lot of things, but some of those excite, inspire and stimulate me. As a sole operator, when I was being paid to complete a project, I was everything from budget coordinator to logistics team to media liaison to trainer to detail sorter and filing clerk. I CAN DO ALL OF THAT, and did so, in every one of my client's projects. If I didn't do ALL of them, my clients were unhappy, they didn't refer me to other people, and so on. So I got it all done. What I didn't know was that parts of my brain are unnaturally wired, so to do ALL these tasks is challenging. Some are glorious, some are stimulating, fun, puzzling and so interesting that it's hard not to excel in them. Yet I had to PUSH through an incredibly stubborn disinclination to complete the fiddly last minute tasks in a job, write a report and SEND THE INVOICE. But of course I pushed myself to do them, or I didn't get paid!
Move over to other areas of my life ... I created a very successful training program about public relations and media management, that began as a five day program to teach the staff of the Commissioner of Equal Opportunity how to support her, when the Equal Opportunity Act became law and she had no budget for a PR consultant. I don't know exactly how many times I've run that course, definitely more than 500, and that's all over Australia and in five other countries. In three languages! And for DECADES, I've talked about putting it online. Decades of muttering about it, of saying, "I don't know why, but I haven't done it". I'm going to do it." And now, it's on the way. All the offline content is online and I'm beginning the process of updating it all, and redesigning the training modules for the 21st century and an online audience, aiming at Australia, Indonesia and Latin America.
My meds are helping me keep moving on it. My awareness of my old ADHD habits is alerting me when I seem to procrastinate, and I'm working with an excellent AI tool to do the tasks that I don't like. It will happen. Once that is done, or perhaps sooner, I'm going to do an ADHD coaching course. I've done a lot of informal coaching and mentoring, and I'm looking forward to this next role. NOT working from an office. Sitting comfortably on a rattan chair on my back veranda, looking out the birds swooping down to pick at seeds in the vege patch and splash in the birdbath, I'm going to help other people work their way through to understanding their own brain and life, and to be more comfortable and proud in their own skin.
I was diagnosed at the end of 2024, at 70 y.o., after I watched the SBS Insight program on ADHD, determined to learn more about what my adult son thought was troubling him.
Ten minutes into the program, I could see he was correct. Here was a diverse and comprehensive group of adults, of different ages, backgrounds, education levels, careers, ethnicities and personal situations, and yet when one of them - say the successful young lawyer - answered a question, the 50 y.o. truck driver, the part-time accountant and the young Arts student all nodded. They shared so many ways of seeing the world. This was a homogeneous group, and their stories and ways of looking at their lives echoed my son's experience.
Another ten minutes and I saw myself. A combination of 2 helpful books (The Year I Met My Brain and Your Brain's Not Broken, medication (Dexamphetamine works well for me) and various strategies and tricks from those books and a savvy psychologist (new to Adelaide, who specialises in ADHD) and I feel like I am clear who I am, for the first time in forever. This might come as a surprise to friends and family, as I am a confident, articulate woman who leads a rich and interesting life. It's difficult to explain.
There's so much of the way I ran my life that was far too hard, but I didn't know that. Ways I'd worked around problems without realising I'd done so. Ways I'd set up elaborate reminder systems to ensure that I could run my PR training business, and manage two boisterous growing sons, despite problems inside my brain that I didn't know existed. I ran my own business, and there's no right way to do that, but I had worked in another small PR firm before that, so I used their fee structure, their daily timesheet etc, to record things in a similar way for my clients. I often worked out of Adelaide for a few days, occasionally overseas, and that wasn't "normal", so I created systems that helped it all work.
I juggled a roster with my teacher partner, and we even hired a nanny a few times, when my work took me away too much, or there was more home "stuff" than two working parents could handle. Fortunately, we made decent money; fortunately, we complemented each other and made up each other's shortfalls - none of which had a name, they were just responsibilities on a list that our parental team needed to juggle between us. I knew what was expected of me at home, to run and feed a busy family, and empower and cherish my children, so I did it.
I was an appalling morning person, but I wanted the boys to have home cooked food for school lunches, so once a month I roasted a few legs of lamb, for example, cooked homemade chutneys, etc, and spread out 12-15 loaves of bread on the table to prepare and wrap a month of sandwiches for the freezer. This wasn't weird behaviour, just the way I got things done.
I've worked and volunteered overseas for ten years, supporting Australian, Indonesian and German govt aid programs by improving their skills in communication, and the way I did it wasn't "wrong", because I was the visiting adviser. But in retrospect, getting everything so it felt sufficiently professional for my clients was so, so hard. At the time, I thought that was just the life of a professional working solo, overseas.
In the past six months, the AWARENESS of all this in my life has been liberating and empowering. After a smidge of "Poor me, I didn't know it was so hard. Why wasn/t life easier for me? Life could have been so different!", I moved on. We can rue the missed opportunities, we can certainly acknowledge the extent of our challenges, but I've come to understand that to dwell on it is completely pointless.
By luck or fate or hard work (all 3?), I've had a life rich with adventures, challenges and friends from all cultures. I've had trauma and misadventure too, but who hasn't? What's happening now is that, mostly with the clarity provided by the meds, I'm becoming clear on who I am. I'm a wise woman. I'm a community builder. I create human "seed-raising mixture" (a term I created a very long time ago, which is true now more than ever), where I encourage and empower people to do something great with their lives.
I'm not boasting. I'm not saying, "Look at me, Look at me!". I'm just NOTICING this is what I do. If I describe this awareness process to people who have known me well, either in Australia or overseas, they just nod: "Of course you are, you always have been." At some level, I did too, but there were layers I'd put up, between myself and the world.
My psychologist spoke of "masking" and for a few months, I couldn't see that it applied to me. Neither could I related to myself as "embarrassed" or "ashamed" about any aspect of myself (which he told me were both typical adult ADHD issues). I've always been proud of myself. Though often frustrated at the range of things I haven't ended up achieving, I thought it was normal to feel frustrated, and to regret the number of unfinished projects that stretched behind me. After all, other people have unfulfilled projects, and I have achieved/ completed a LOT, too.
Neurotypical friends and family are often guilty (yes, guilty) of downplaying your "coming out" descriptions of what makes you so sure that you have ADHD. "Oh but I sometimes feel like that too", and they do, but NOT SO OFTEN, NOR SO DEEPLY. And now I know all this, I'm very comfortable with myself.
The combination of structure, support, meds and tools is powering me to work on and FINISH some of the projects that I was embarrassed (yes, I can admit it now) to have let slide, in cycle after cycle of incompletion.. I suspect many high functioning people with ADHD can relate to this. I'm competent at a lot of things, but some of those excite, inspire and stimulate me. As a sole operator, when I was being paid to complete a project, I was everything from budget coordinator to logistics team to media liaison to trainer to detail sorter and filing clerk. I CAN DO ALL OF THAT, and did so, in every one of my client's projects. If I didn't do ALL of them, my clients were unhappy, they didn't refer me to other people, and so on. So I got it all done. What I didn't know was that parts of my brain are unnaturally wired, so to do ALL these tasks is challenging. Some are glorious, some are stimulating, fun, puzzling and so interesting that it's hard not to excel in them. Yet I had to PUSH through an incredibly stubborn disinclination to complete the fiddly last minute tasks in a job, write a report and SEND THE INVOICE. But of course I pushed myself to do them, or I didn't get paid!
Move over to other areas of my life ... I created a very successful training program about public relations and media management, that began as a five day program to teach the staff of the Commissioner of Equal Opportunity how to support her, when the Equal Opportunity Act became law and she had no budget for a PR consultant. I don't know exactly how many times I've run that course, definitely more than 500, and that's all over Australia and in five other countries. In three languages! And for DECADES, I've talked about putting it online. Decades of muttering about it, of saying, "I don't know why, but I haven't done it". I'm going to do it." And now, it's on the way. All the offline content is online and I'm beginning the process of updating it all, and redesigning the training modules for the 21st century and an online audience, aiming at Australia, Indonesia and Latin America.
My meds are helping me keep moving on it. My awareness of my old ADHD habits is alerting me when I seem to procrastinate, and I'm working with an excellent AI tool to do the tasks that I don't like. It will happen. Once that is done, or perhaps sooner, I'm going to do an ADHD coaching course. I've done a lot of informal coaching and mentoring, and I'm looking forward to this next role. NOT working from an office. Sitting comfortably on a rattan chair on my back veranda, looking out the birds swooping down to pick at seeds in the vege patch and splash in the birdbath, I'm going to help other people work their way through to understanding their own brain and life, and to be more comfortable and proud in their own skin.
June 2025
Being in my mid 70s, I am finally realising that ADHD has made me who I am.
So much about my personal life has been confusing, especially being an adoptee from birth and an only child in a household with parents being in older age group and grandparents over 80 as well as other family.
I knew that I lacked 'concentration' on things that didn't interest me, but other things like art and writing fully absorbed me and my life. And I couldn't relate well to other 'kids' during school years. I went to school to play, not learn. But topped entry exams in the state, to the point of being whispered about by teachers, and putting me into classes I was not suited for. I found 'solving things' easy, and loved the challenge if someone told me something was 'impossible' (like putting toothpaste back into the tube - create a vacuum!) My essays all got 24 out of 25. I aspired for 25 but gave up when teacher said she would never go higher than 24 3/4. I saw no sense in learning Latin when I was put in 'A' class in High school despite poor primary school exam results. Especially as I had no desire to be a doctor.
When I look back on all the documents I created, in jobs I had, the volume is enormous. Government procedures, and more. Creating documentation that had lacked prior, was almost life-saving in some instances. Once done, I became bored, and looked for other fields to get involved in.
And looking back, ADHD, while it can be distressing at times, and misunderstood, it can also be, what I call, 'my magic'. And it is still a learning process to take a bit of time when talking to others, to temper what I say and how much and what I say, rather than talk and expect others to understand.
But I am quite comfortable to know now that I exist as me - someone who has ADHD.
Being in my mid 70s, I am finally realising that ADHD has made me who I am.
So much about my personal life has been confusing, especially being an adoptee from birth and an only child in a household with parents being in older age group and grandparents over 80 as well as other family.
I knew that I lacked 'concentration' on things that didn't interest me, but other things like art and writing fully absorbed me and my life. And I couldn't relate well to other 'kids' during school years. I went to school to play, not learn. But topped entry exams in the state, to the point of being whispered about by teachers, and putting me into classes I was not suited for. I found 'solving things' easy, and loved the challenge if someone told me something was 'impossible' (like putting toothpaste back into the tube - create a vacuum!) My essays all got 24 out of 25. I aspired for 25 but gave up when teacher said she would never go higher than 24 3/4. I saw no sense in learning Latin when I was put in 'A' class in High school despite poor primary school exam results. Especially as I had no desire to be a doctor.
When I look back on all the documents I created, in jobs I had, the volume is enormous. Government procedures, and more. Creating documentation that had lacked prior, was almost life-saving in some instances. Once done, I became bored, and looked for other fields to get involved in.
And looking back, ADHD, while it can be distressing at times, and misunderstood, it can also be, what I call, 'my magic'. And it is still a learning process to take a bit of time when talking to others, to temper what I say and how much and what I say, rather than talk and expect others to understand.
But I am quite comfortable to know now that I exist as me - someone who has ADHD.
August 2024
I spent my formative years in remote areas of the Northern Territory in the 1980’s and child psychologist and psychiatrists were rare. I struggled controlling my emotions and at school academically. Throughout my life I have had trouble making interpersonal connections, having a stable relationship, and holding down a job.
I was living on a remote cattle property in Central Queensland when I decided to enrol in a law degree because I could not afford a lawyer. Law takes a great deal of reading and concentration and I found myself unable to sit down and concentrate for any period. Stressful situations like exams and assignment deadlines exacerbate my symptoms and I often completely shut down. Going to the
doctor because I was having trouble sleeping and coping with stress, I came away with a recommendation to tap my fingers and breath. Exams and assignment deadlines occur after the date to withdraw without academic or financial penalty, so I accumulated a considerable HECS-HELP debt due to failing subjects between 2010 -2013. Eventually the university unenrolled me due to my poor
grade point average.
I moved to Adelaide due to another failed relationship, I was homeless, and I was frustrated and depressed because I could not succeed in life. I was prescribed antidepressants by a GP which I found unbearable and so I was then referred to psychologist who referred me to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist listened intently and documented my life story. She referred me for neuropsychological
testing, a sleep study, blood tests, investigated all my education reports and transcripts and interviewed people close to me. All this in the public mental health system with long waiting lists. In 2018 when my psychiatrist died my case was taken up by a college who was a specialist in ADHD. He read all the reports and explained that I expressed all the traits, symptoms and unfortunately the
repercussions of undiagnosed adult ADHD in females. I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Aspen Dexamfetamine.
Medication was life changing. I enrolled back into university and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 2020 and then admitted into the Supreme court. I was then accepted into a graduate program with a government department that supports neurodivergent employees. Today I have a good job, saving money and contributing to my super. I am happily married with stable, secure
accommodation. All new accomplishments for me at the age of 47.
What I am not happy about is my large HECS-HELP dept. So, I applied to the university to remit my debt. My legal argument is if I was suffering from undiagnosed ADHD how could I possibly put in an application for remission back when I failed the subjects. It was only until now I had a diagnosis, a report from my psychiatrist and the contemporaneous evidence, being my before and after medication, academic transcripts, that I was able to put in an application. I was not successful, so I appealed to the university. I was again denied relief. I decided to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and I was also unsuccessful, and not surprising considering the many other students that suffered from ADHD before me.
I grappled with the decision to take the next step and appeal to the Federal Court because of two reasons. Firstly, going to the Federal court, I would lose my animality and the stigma could affect me professionally. Secondly, its expensive, if I lose, I must pay the legal fees of the Department of Education. I decided that I had to stick up for myself and everyone struggling with ADHD in the
higher education realm. So, I represented myself in the Federal Court against a barrister for the Department of Education in November 2023. To this date the judgement has not been handed down. This decision will set a precedent for people with ADHD if I am successful.
I hope my story gives hope to those struggling with undiagnosed ADHD and empowers those with a diagnosis to follow your dreams.
I spent my formative years in remote areas of the Northern Territory in the 1980’s and child psychologist and psychiatrists were rare. I struggled controlling my emotions and at school academically. Throughout my life I have had trouble making interpersonal connections, having a stable relationship, and holding down a job.
I was living on a remote cattle property in Central Queensland when I decided to enrol in a law degree because I could not afford a lawyer. Law takes a great deal of reading and concentration and I found myself unable to sit down and concentrate for any period. Stressful situations like exams and assignment deadlines exacerbate my symptoms and I often completely shut down. Going to the
doctor because I was having trouble sleeping and coping with stress, I came away with a recommendation to tap my fingers and breath. Exams and assignment deadlines occur after the date to withdraw without academic or financial penalty, so I accumulated a considerable HECS-HELP debt due to failing subjects between 2010 -2013. Eventually the university unenrolled me due to my poor
grade point average.
I moved to Adelaide due to another failed relationship, I was homeless, and I was frustrated and depressed because I could not succeed in life. I was prescribed antidepressants by a GP which I found unbearable and so I was then referred to psychologist who referred me to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist listened intently and documented my life story. She referred me for neuropsychological
testing, a sleep study, blood tests, investigated all my education reports and transcripts and interviewed people close to me. All this in the public mental health system with long waiting lists. In 2018 when my psychiatrist died my case was taken up by a college who was a specialist in ADHD. He read all the reports and explained that I expressed all the traits, symptoms and unfortunately the
repercussions of undiagnosed adult ADHD in females. I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Aspen Dexamfetamine.
Medication was life changing. I enrolled back into university and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 2020 and then admitted into the Supreme court. I was then accepted into a graduate program with a government department that supports neurodivergent employees. Today I have a good job, saving money and contributing to my super. I am happily married with stable, secure
accommodation. All new accomplishments for me at the age of 47.
What I am not happy about is my large HECS-HELP dept. So, I applied to the university to remit my debt. My legal argument is if I was suffering from undiagnosed ADHD how could I possibly put in an application for remission back when I failed the subjects. It was only until now I had a diagnosis, a report from my psychiatrist and the contemporaneous evidence, being my before and after medication, academic transcripts, that I was able to put in an application. I was not successful, so I appealed to the university. I was again denied relief. I decided to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and I was also unsuccessful, and not surprising considering the many other students that suffered from ADHD before me.
I grappled with the decision to take the next step and appeal to the Federal Court because of two reasons. Firstly, going to the Federal court, I would lose my animality and the stigma could affect me professionally. Secondly, its expensive, if I lose, I must pay the legal fees of the Department of Education. I decided that I had to stick up for myself and everyone struggling with ADHD in the
higher education realm. So, I represented myself in the Federal Court against a barrister for the Department of Education in November 2023. To this date the judgement has not been handed down. This decision will set a precedent for people with ADHD if I am successful.
I hope my story gives hope to those struggling with undiagnosed ADHD and empowers those with a diagnosis to follow your dreams.
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