Danielle Elliott

Yeah. Tell me about.

Yeah. Tell me about.

As Parker learned more about ADHD and how it showed up in daily life, she started to see her mom in a sort of new way.

As Parker learned more about ADHD and how it showed up in daily life, she started to see her mom in a sort of new way.

This is so familiar. I had the same reaction with my mom. Different details. Same story.

This is so familiar. I had the same reaction with my mom. Different details. Same story.

Parker thinks her mother has undiagnosed ADHD. We're no doctors, but I think mine does, too. It's a thing. Honestly, I think this is yet another reason diagnosis rose among women during the pandemic. As more women recognized their own ADHD, they started to notice it in their moms. My mom didn't seek a diagnosis. Neither did Parker's. But many women did.

Parker thinks her mother has undiagnosed ADHD. We're no doctors, but I think mine does, too. It's a thing. Honestly, I think this is yet another reason diagnosis rose among women during the pandemic. As more women recognized their own ADHD, they started to notice it in their moms. My mom didn't seek a diagnosis. Neither did Parker's. But many women did.

I have two friends whose moms were recently diagnosed in their 60s. Sari Solden told me about a client who was diagnosed at 83. Regardless, conversations on TikTok and, yes, for-profit companies offering screeners on TikTok helped Parker and thousands of women begin to consider ADHD during the pandemic. The pandemic opened more doors to these conversations, and TikTok helped them spread.

I have two friends whose moms were recently diagnosed in their 60s. Sari Solden told me about a client who was diagnosed at 83. Regardless, conversations on TikTok and, yes, for-profit companies offering screeners on TikTok helped Parker and thousands of women begin to consider ADHD during the pandemic. The pandemic opened more doors to these conversations, and TikTok helped them spread.

But ultimately, it's the conversations themselves, the normalizing of talking about ADHD, that helped women from all different communities access information that they took to their doctors or to their therapists and said, please help me consider if I have ADHD. These conversations are still happening. I hear them everywhere. On the train, in bars, at birthday parties.

But ultimately, it's the conversations themselves, the normalizing of talking about ADHD, that helped women from all different communities access information that they took to their doctors or to their therapists and said, please help me consider if I have ADHD. These conversations are still happening. I hear them everywhere. On the train, in bars, at birthday parties.

I always wonder if this is some sort of Brooklyn phenomenon. I remember Parker once telling me she's sort of the cool cousin in the big city. I ask if that role has come into play in terms of ADHD. Does she bring it up when she's back in Baltimore? Though her mother didn't bite, Parker has become a role model for others in her family.

I always wonder if this is some sort of Brooklyn phenomenon. I remember Parker once telling me she's sort of the cool cousin in the big city. I ask if that role has come into play in terms of ADHD. Does she bring it up when she's back in Baltimore? Though her mother didn't bite, Parker has become a role model for others in her family.

Not just because she's a self-determined, professional woman with an impressive career, but because she's open about her ADHD.

Not just because she's a self-determined, professional woman with an impressive career, but because she's open about her ADHD.

They will all be fine. Perhaps more than fine. Because they're years ahead of either of us in knowing they have ADHD. They're years ahead of the many women diagnosed during the pandemic. many with the help of something they saw on TikTok. Parker doesn't know it, but this advice she gave her family member, I think it explains one other element of this massive rise in diagnosis. Listen closely.

They will all be fine. Perhaps more than fine. Because they're years ahead of either of us in knowing they have ADHD. They're years ahead of the many women diagnosed during the pandemic. many with the help of something they saw on TikTok. Parker doesn't know it, but this advice she gave her family member, I think it explains one other element of this massive rise in diagnosis. Listen closely.

The little kid's fine. They got superhuman strength. Superhuman strength. Before I was diagnosed, I don't remember hearing anyone describe ADHD as a strength. Maybe that's because I wasn't paying attention. Regardless, I don't know where that rhetoric started, but it gained a ton of popularity during the pandemic.

The little kid's fine. They got superhuman strength. Superhuman strength. Before I was diagnosed, I don't remember hearing anyone describe ADHD as a strength. Maybe that's because I wasn't paying attention. Regardless, I don't know where that rhetoric started, but it gained a ton of popularity during the pandemic.