Head, heart, hormones: Why women’s ADHD care should treat the whole person
Hyperfocus with Rae JacobsonShow Notes
Earlier this year, Hyperfocus took a field trip to San Diego for an ADHD conference called APSARD, which stands for the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (quite a mouthful).
A conference of ADHD professionals might not sound fascinating, but it was — and we learned a ton. But there was one person and one talk I really wanted to find: A keynote speech about how ADHD affects women’s bodies by Dr. Sandra Kooij.
What Sandra is doing is something so sensible and radical: Looking at ADHD as a whole-body issue. Digging into how it can affect women’s hormones, our health, and especially our hearts.
I find Sandra’s research fascinating and was thrilled when she agreed to sit down for a conversation with me. We didn’t waste any time and quickly set up a makeshift studio for this week’s episode of “Hyperfocus.”
Also, a quick note on the audio this week: We had to record this episode outside the conference hotel, on a bustling patio full of ADHD professionals and some noisy birds. So, please forgive the extraneous sounds.
More from Hyperfocus with Rae Jacobson
“Isn’t everyone a little ADHD?” If you have ADHD, you’ve heard it. Maybe you’ve felt the flash of rage, and the sadness underneath, because the question can make it sound like your life-altering brain difference is being reduced to a personality quirk. But there’s a more thoughtful version that could be worth asking: Is ADHD a spectrum?
Are you mad at me? It’s a question “Hyperfocus” host Rae Jacobson has asked more times than she can count.
We’re dropping into your feed a week early to announce a new investigative podcast from Understood.org. It’s called Zero Reject: The Uncertain Future of Special Education. This is episode 1. If you like it, follow Zero Reject wherever you get your podcasts. Beth Gellman-Beer spent her whole career fighting for kids with disabilities — first as a student written off as “lazy,” then as a federal civil rights attorney who found her dream job protecting students like her younger self. Then her entire office was eliminated. Reporter Anya Kamenetz traces Beth’s journey from an unfair fourth-grade classroom to the front lines of a sweeping overhaul at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights — and what it means for the 25,000 families still waiting for a response to their complaints. With fewer people to enforce the law, what happens to the students the system was built to protect? For more on this topic Listen: Zero Reject Read: What is HHS, and what does it have to do with special education? Read: What is the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and what’s its role in special education? For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at [email protected].
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How does ADHD collide with femininity and gender expression? This has been a big question on Rae’s mind. So recently, she sat down with her friend and colleague Cate Osborn for a chat on her podcast, Sorry I Missed This. We’re sharing that episode with you today.