Diagnosed with ADHD as adults, a new generation discovers neurodivergence

By Steve Young, for Pigeon605

There’s a growing consensus in the mental health world that children who can’t sit still, who talk over others and struggle to focus are bringing those behaviors into adulthood in much greater numbers.

Forbes Health reported in August 2023 that a growing number of Americans – more than 8.7 million adults – have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and that the rate of increase in diagnosis has gone up from 6.1 percent to 10.2 percent over the past two decades.

More diagnoses are happening, the magazine reported, as more and more adults question why it is they are forgetful, easily distracted, unorganized, inattentive and unable to follow through on tasks. The generic answers cast about for years – that they just need to try harder, or they procrastinate too much, or they’re lazy – ring much too hollow, said Veronica Sherwood, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who co-owns a psychiatric patient care business in Sioux Falls.

“I think one of the main reasons today why adult diagnoses are on the rise is because the hyperactivity kids, the ones that were bouncing off the walls and can’t sit still, are the ones that are easily diagnosed,” Sherwood said.

“Teachers are pointing out that there’s an issue with these kids because they’re causing disruptions in the class, so they’re getting diagnosed. The ones that have inattentiveness with almost little to no hyperactivity are getting missed and bringing those symptoms into adulthood.”

The evolution of social media has shined more light on the issue as well, said Alicia Schumacher, who started a venture in August 2024 in Sioux Falls called Alicia Schumacher Co that concentrates on leadership and ADHD coaching.

“Social media and the discussion of ADHD on it has made more people question whether they are struggling with it too,” Schumacher said “They are seeing these conversations, and it’s like a light going off.”

Schumacher’s coaching work with ADHD focuses mainly on women age 35 to 55, a demographic identified through research as “The Lost Generation of Women” who are finding out through their children’s challenges that they have ADHD as well, she said.

Interestingly enough, among the 60 percent of adults nationwide who were identified with ADHD as adolescents, the diagnosis rate among men is 69 percent higher than women. In many ways, that’s because women more typically internalize their struggles, while men present more externally, Schumacher and Sherwood said.

“It’s almost like with males, they have a lot more anger and irritability and impulsiveness that affects their workplace,” Sherwood said. “Women seem to be able to get through work well enough that they’re functioning, but then they get home when nobody is looking, and they shut down completely.”

Many of those women are very high-functioning, accomplished people, Schumacher said. They are very good at what is called “masking,” striving for perfection and success in the workplace while at the same time internalizing the anxiety, inattentiveness and distractions that plague them.

“Of course, what comes with masking is the mental exhaustion because you’re trying to be like those around you,” Schumacher said. “So with that comes anxiety and oftentimes depression.”

Sherwood said a common symptom she sees among women with ADHD is procrastination, or what she calls task paralysis. They struggle to take the first step in accomplishing a task. For example, they have piles of stuff sitting around to be put away and can’t organize them, she said. Or they can’t clean the countertop off because there’s so much junk on top of it.

“There’s so many steps it takes to get something done, they don’t know where to start,” Sherwood said. “And then we have that where their self-esteem has dropped. Their self-confidence has dropped. And so, they’re just not functioning very well overall.”

For women who have struggled with undiagnosed ADHD symptoms for years, maybe decades, medications can do only so much, Sherwood said. Changing coping mechanisms that evolved over those decades means “you don’t take a medication and all of a sudden everything is better,” she said. “We need to go back and say: ‘OK, instead of shutting down as soon as you get overwhelmed, let’s work through this. Let’s come up with steps and procedures and new ways of thinking that you are not accustomed to.’”

That approach is exactly what Schumacher brings to the mental health table.

Her coaching expertise has been forged through 18 years of working in marketing and leadership roles with Avera Health and Midco. It comes about as well from having tried to find answers for her own child, who was diagnosed with ADHD and sensory processing disorder – and from seeing some of those same symptoms in herself. And it’s borne, too, from her own life experiences with such things as grief and loss – losing a sister to cancer suddenly 15 years ago and having undergone dramatic weight reduction herself in the past six years, losing 130 pounds.

“Frankly, the life experiences I bring to the table help me understand different pieces of people’s lives that they might be challenged with,” Schumacher said. “Grief, loss, change, risk … however you want to define those. Through some of these challenges that I’ve experienced personally, mental wellness has been such a focus of mine. And the more people I speak with and talk to, it’s continually apparent to me that this is something that is so under the surface for most people.”

When Schumacher created her business in August 2024, she intended the “Co” at the end of “Alicia Schumacher Co” to represent something more than just “company.” Collaboration, community, coexistence and co-creation all fall within the realm, she said, of those two letters.

“Co” then means a number of things for her. In a nod to the power of community, Schumacher has established what she calls Bold Minds, a network designed exclusively for female leaders and professionals with ADHD. Within that framework, she offers expert guidance, practical tools and a community of like-minded women to provide each other support and accountability.

She does one-on-one coaching in the areas of business leadership and managing ADHD too. She’s developing workshops and digital online courses. The one thing she doesn’t do, Schumacher said, is give medical advice.

“I am not a medical professional,” she said. “It’s just through research that I’ve learned and understood that, oftentimes, anxiety and depression will be diagnosed first, and the root of it can actually be ADHD and the symptoms that go along with it.”

As she works toward acquiring specific certifications through an International Coaching Federation-approved program, Schumacher said she emphasizes a holistic approach in her services. To start, there are questions to be answered when someone first reaches out to her. Are they a good fit for each other? Is the person really ready to get help? Are there issues that might require therapy outside of her purview?

Women she sees need to understand that working through behaviors forged over decades won’t be resolved in the first days or weeks. Goals are set. Over time, they measure what she calls micro-progressions. And there is an emphasis on self-accountability.

“I can act as a guide to provide tools and resources,” Schumacher said. “And the truth is people often have the answers already. I’m not there to give solutions but more to ask helpful questions for them to think about and come up with the answers on their own. And if they’re ready to do the hard work of digging in and identifying what type of strengths they have and can bring to the table, I will help guide them along.”

While they do not work directly together, Schumacher and Sherwood have collaborated and have a referral relationship. Sherwood said she’s not aware of many similar services in Sioux Falls to what Schumacher is providing. Mental health therapists might do a little bit of work in ADHD, she said, but they focus more on processing, healing and moving on from specific events or episodes that occurred in the past.

“When it comes to ADHD specific, it’s not so much about processing something that happened to us years ago,” Sherwood said. “It’s about figuring out a way to overcome our many, many years of negative coping mechanisms.”

There are people outside of Sioux Falls and South Dakota who are doing something similar to what Schumacher provides, but that often involves simply buying into an online curriculum program with little to no face time or accountability, Sherwood said.

“I don’t know that a lot of people are successful in doing that because you don’t have anyone holding you accountable,” Sherwood said. “Alicia is really good at accountability, helping people get out of that stuck feeling. And you just can’t get that from a book.”

The number of women she has spoken with in the first several months of her work leave her hopeful about being able to make a difference in this community, Schumacher said. It makes her hopeful about the future of ADHD diagnosis and treatment in Sioux Falls as well.

She is new enough to her work that she isn’t totally clear yet on how the personal journeys of those with ADHD will play out over time. But she fully intends to continue spreading awareness about the realities and legitimacy of the day-to-day challenges of ADHD, both through her work with individuals and by connecting with businesses and employers.

“I really hope to spread that awareness for employers to be able to work with employees who can be very high-achieving and valuable if given the right support,” Schumacher said. “And if employees and professional women can support the people around them, and their families, I think you will see a lot of visionary and creative mindsets that will be allowed to grow and thrive.”

Of course, all that depends on those who think they may have ADHD taking that first step and breaking through the walls of self-doubt, Sherwood said. If there’s a lesson to be learned in the rising numbers of adults seeking diagnoses, it’s this, she said: Follow the lead of those who have already taken that first step.

“I would just really like to tell people to step out of their comfort zone and go get assessed, whether it’s for ADHD, depression, anxiety, whatever,” Sherwood said. “The way we’re functioning through life without fully understanding that piece of ourselves is stealing our happiness, I think. It really is stealing our joy.”