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In Episode 6, Jannine is joined by her daughter and colleague, Becca Channon, for a personal and research-informed conversation about ADHD in women and girls.
Becca shares the focus of her psychology dissertation, which explored ADHD, sex-based social expectations, and attitudes towards traditional and egalitarian roles. Together, Jannine and Becca reflect on why girls with ADHD are so often overlooked, how hyperactivity may be missed when it appears in socially acceptable ways, and how shame can build when women are expected to manage time, organisation, birthdays, homes, emotional labour, and relationships in ways that may not match their neurobiology.
The episode explores the hidden signs of ADHD in girls, including masking, helpfulness, movement, daydreaming, anxiety, perfectionism, time blindness and trying very hard not to be seen as a problem. Jannine and Becca also consider how the same behaviour may be interpreted differently depending on whether it is seen in a boy or a girl.
Importantly, this conversation also explores the impact on boys, particularly those who are identified early but then treated as “naughty” rather than supported. Becca reflects on watching her twin brother being repeatedly misunderstood, while also learning to mask her own ADHD in order not to be treated the same way.
This episode challenges the idea that rising ADHD diagnoses represent “overdiagnosis”. Instead, it asks whether many women, girls, and quieter or more compliant children are finally being recognised after years of being missed.
A thoughtful, honest and deeply personal conversation about ADHD, shame, diagnosis, masking, social expectations, and the relief that can come from finally understanding yourself.
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