What Gets Missed: Understanding ADHD Beyond the Diagnostic Criteria

Speaker: Caroline Carrier

Description

Many adults with ADHD go years—sometimes decades—without a diagnosis, not because they don’t struggle, but because the criteria used to assess them weren’t written with adult experiences in mind.

What Gets Missed: Understanding ADHD Beyond the Diagnostic Criteria unpacks why so many adults fall through the cracks when seeking support. We explore how ADHD can present in ways that are easily misunderstood—especially in women, people of colour, and those who’ve learned to mask their difficulties. We also look at how outdated assumptions shape the way GPs, workplaces, and even individuals themselves recognise (or miss) the signs.

In this session, we’ll cover:

• How diagnostic criteria rooted in childhood behaviour often fail to capture adult ADHD

• Why many adults are dismissed or misdiagnosed—and what they can do about it

• How to describe lived experiences in ways that improve self-advocacy and access to support

• What managers can look for, and how they can offer meaningful help—diagnosis or not

• Inclusive strategies for supporting focus, emotional regulation, and executive function at work

  
  

This talk is for neurodivergent individuals navigating the system and for the managers and allies

who want to create workplaces that don’t wait for a label to offer support.