Masking ADHD symptoms (René Brooks’ story)

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 ADHDAha@understood.org.  
Related resources

René Brooks’ podcast: Life With Lost Keys

All about ADHD medication

From The Opportunity Gap podcast: ADHD and race: What
Black families need to know



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empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like
ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work,
donate at understood.org/give


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