Plymouth woman's campaign to highlight ADHD misdiagnosis
Leah Leaves was 43 when she found out she had ADHD and says women tend to be diagnosed later in life
Last updated 8th Mar 2021
A campaign has been launched to highlight how Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not being taken seriously enough in women and is costing lives.
Campaigners, led by Leah Leaves from Plymouth, say that 24% of women with ADHD will attempt to take their own lives in their lifetime compared to 3% of women without ADHD and 9% of men with ADHD.
They say that women with ADHD are usually diagnosed later in life which means they are not getting the help, advice, care and support that they need early enough.
As part of International Womens' Day (8 March), they are launching a campaign to raise awareness and to ask women with ADHD and their families to support them.
The campaign #iamADHD aims to raise awareness about the mental health condition and to get more people involved in a cutting-edge pilot survey to try to find out how widespread the problem is.
Leah Leaves is leading the campaign and was diagnosed herself when she was 43.
She said: "Women with ADHD are usually diagnosed later in life, and aren't spotted at school because they are less disruptive in general than their male counterparts.
"We also tend to internalise our symptoms, and put a lot of effort into 'fitting in' which is called 'masking' and this has an impact on self esteem and confidence.
"We started our survey during the Covid lockdown and it is already showing up some stark statistics, we now need to expand this pilot research to continue to raise awareness and get a larger number of participants and respondents to work with."
Leah told Greatest Hits Radio about being diagnosed aged 43:
Current data from the #iamADHD survey team shows that:
95% of the women we surveyed said that ADHD has had a significant negative impact on their life.
79.5% said that they had experienced shame.
68.4% said they had experienced isolation.
90.6% said that getting an ADHD diagnosis had positively affected their life.
But diagnosis is, according to researchers, a 'postcode lottery' and without it treatment and support is unlikely and inaccessible.
The survey also found that many women who are diagnosed with depression and anxiety go on to find they did in fact have ADHD.
Leah said: "This is a real problem because without addressing the root cause, then you're potentially making things worse, and certainly unlikely to improve the depression and anxiety. It can also contribute to the feelings of failure women experience."
The survey is reaching out to anyone, anywhere in the world, to share their experiences, and can be accessed through their new website and newly-founded Community Interest Company Iridescent Minds.
The biggest UK charity helping people with ADHD is the ADHD Foundation.
They are welcoming the campaign and support Leah's new awareness-raising project.
Their Chief Executive is Tony Lloyd, he said:
"The emergence of 'Iridescent Minds' is long overdue here in the UK.
"Too many women for too long, have struggled because of the lack of awareness and understanding about how unmanaged ADHD impacts on women. I am also delighted to see more women like Leah Leaves and others who have thrived and created successful lives and careers for themselves.
"We need to shine a light on the many women who have overcome the challenges they have faced in life, overcoming any embarrassment or shame, to challenge the stigma and stereotype that has prevented many women from seeking help from their GP.
"Most important is that we need to ensure that all women - especially young girls, learn how to manage ADHD successfully, thrive and achieve their potential and become the visible role models we need to see."