René Brooks was diagnosed with ADHD three separate times — at ages 7, 11, and 25 — so she’s had plenty of “aha” moments.
When René was a child, mental health and medication stigma kept her family from receiving vital education about ADHD. But when she was diagnosed at age 25, she was ready to tell everyone about her ADHD diagnosis.
René started Black Girl Lost Keys to empower Black women with ADHD. She’s an advocate, a content creator, and the host of the Life With Lost Keys podcast.
In this week’s episode of ADHD Aha!, René unpacks her childhood ADHD diagnoses. She shares how she’d mask her ADHD symptoms, and how that led to anxiety and depression in adulthood. Also in this episode: Is ADHD really a superpower?
To find a transcript for this episode and more resources, visit the episode page at Understood. We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].
Related resources
Getting your child the support they need at school shouldn’t feel like a fight. But for millions of families, it does. In Zero Reject, an investigative podcast from Understood.org, award-winning journalist Anya Kamenetz looks at how changing federal policies are reshaping special education — and what’s at stake for families trying to access the support their children are legally entitled to. Start listening now.
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