Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is now one of the most diagnosed neurological conditions in children and can have significant impacts on individuals throughout their lives. Symptoms were once thought to reduce with maturity, however it’s now recognised that symptoms persist throughout the lifecourse. This has resulted in many people not being diagnosed until later in life, and I am one of those people.
In early 2019 my partner was looking into explanations for some of the difficulties my son (now 11) was facing in school and completed a parent-report ADHD questionnaire, but it wasn’t just my son that scored high. I was at work when she texted and asked me to complete the adult questionnaire for myself – it was life-changing. I was diagnosed by a psychologist in 2019 and have been receiving ADHD-specific psychotherapy and taking stimulant medication for the last 2 years. I have embarked on a process of self-discovery, recognising that many of the challenges I’ve faced in my personal and professional life are related to this specific neurological impairment. In this talk I will talk about some of these challenges, how I’ve adapted and ‘masked’ in the past, and what workplace supports have helped now that I have a diagnosis.
About the Speaker
Dr. Paul Peters (PhD, U. Texas at Austin) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences. My research is on the spatial and statistical patterns of mortality, the environmental impacts on health, and health in small rural places within a context of structural inequities and social inequalities. I am the Principal Investigator of the Spatial Determinants of Health Lab, which is currently supporting 9 PhD, 6 MSc, and 5 BSc students from across the university. I have consciously chosen to be open about my ADHD diagnosis with colleagues and students and I seek to provide mentorship to students from diverse backgrounds and to place value on personal growth and learning.