Struggling to keep track of all the things? 😵💫 You’re not alone—and there’s a better way. In this video, ADHD coach and occupational therapist Donae introduces a powerful executive functioning tool: the Dump List Weekly Planner. This simple, ADHD-friendly system helps you organize your mental clutter, break down overwhelming tasks, and plan your week without burnout.Whether you’ve been officially diagnosed with ADHD, suspect you might have it, or just find adulting and executive functioning exhausting, this strategy is designed for brains like yours.
🔹 What You’ll Learn:
- How to use a "dump list" to declutter your mindWhy looking at everything every day is hurting your productivityHow to break multi-step tasks (like taxes and returns!) into doable pieces
- When (and why) to ignore your to-do listA system that works with your brain—not against it
Read more...ADHD in Girls: Why It's Missed and Why It Matters
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning it starts in childhood. But many women aren’t diagnosed until adulthood—if at all—because their traits didn’t match the stereotype.
They're more likely to be diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD and may miss details or struggle to keep up. But if they’re not disruptive, their struggles can get overlooked or misinterpreted.
Instead of support, they get labels: lazy, sensitive, dramatic, spacey, etc.
Their History Has Been Replaced with Self-Judgment
Over time, they start to believe those labels. They may even go to great lengths to “compensate” for them; developing patterns of people pleasing, perfectionism, and constant hypervigilance that carries on to adulthood.
By the time many women reach out for support, they’ve spent years trying to “fix” things they thought were character flaws—but they were missed signs of ADHD.
Understanding the Past Leads to Present Solutions
When girls are missed, they grow into women who are still trying to make sense of themselves while carrying stories shaped by shame, misunderstanding, and self-criticism.
That’s why understanding the many ways ADHD can show up in girls is so important. Recognizing these traits early and getting real tools for ADHD can change everything.
Meet the Girls
To help paint a real-world picture, I'm introducing eight girls based on real-life experiences. Each one reflects different ways ADHD can impact everyday life:
Ellie
Ellie is sensitive and emotional. She cries easily, gets overwhelmed, and melts down- both at home and in school. At home, she’s explosive. At school, she tried holds it together—with varying degrees of success.
Her emotional regulation and impulsivity struggles are interpreted as her being “too dramatic,” and she’s losing friends because of it.
She needs support and tools to regulate big emotions—not messages that she’s “too much.”
Natalia
Natalia is social and makes friends easily—but her friendships are starting to falter. She interrupts, misses social cues, and doesn’t realize how her impulsivity is impacting others.
Natalia also has a hard time with working memory- so she interrupts because she knows she won’t remember what she wants to say if she waits.
One day, she overhears her friends saying she’s “annoying and selfish”. She’s heartbroken—and totally blindsided. She cares about her friends and wants to connect with them, but without context, her behaviors look inconsiderate.
Her impulsivity is misread as rudeness, but it’s a gap in executive functioning skills, not character.
Meg
Meg is a straight A student. Quiet, careful, and invisible. But under the surface, she’s constantly anxious. She leans heavily on a friend for help remembering what the teacher said, or understanding the homework instructions.
She’s exhausted by the end of the day—and no one sees it. Her anxiety has helped her compensate for ADHD traits. But the cost is high.
Her success hides her struggles— she’s silently suffering and on the path to burn out.
Jessie
Jessie has the hyperactive/impulsive ADHD profile. At home, she’s constantly in motion—flipping off couches, getting up during meals, unable to sit still. Self-care is rushed or incomplete, and everyday routines are a struggle.
In the classroom, Jessie rushes through work, makes careless errors, and is disruptive—often talking loudly, touching others, or even walking out mid-lesson.
While her behavior increases the likelihood of being identified with ADHD (because it’s so externalized and disruptive), Jessie often receives negative feedback: “too much,” “too loud,” “annoying.”
Traditional reward systems don’t work well for her, and this mismatch between her needs and the support available adds to the frustration and misunderstanding.
She needs tools tailored to her unique brain—not punishment for her wiring.
Shreya
Shreya also seeks out movement, but in subtler, more sensory-based ways. In class, she fidgets—doodling, folding paper, playing with shoelaces—not to be distracted, but to pay attention.
These stimming behaviors help her regulate and stay alert, though they’re often misread as disrespect or inattention. At home, she hums, plays with her food, or fidgets while doing homework, which can annoy others but is often unconscious.
Shreya’s brain seeks sensory input to stay engaged. When that input is suppressed—by discipline or shame—she loses a key self-regulation tool.
Supporting her means understanding her stims as adaptations, not problems and helping her problem solve if they get in the way of her neighbor’s learning.
Jada
Jada lives with both ADHD and sensory processing challenges. Her nervous system is highly reactive to things like clothing textures, bus rides, and noisy environments.
These constant sensory assaults dysregulate her, making it hard to focus, connect, or learn—even after the input stops.
Because she’s so often overstimulated, Jada may seem irritable, rigid, or controlling. Her day is marked by trying to cope with an overwhelming world, which leaves little energy for learning.
While sensory processing issues don’t always mean ADHD, they’re common together—and for Jada, they shape her entire school and social experience.
Faith
Faith flies under the radar with inattentive-type ADHD. In class, she appears low-energy, quiet, even sleepy. Though very intelligent, she processes information slowly, and when the classroom moves fast, she gets left behind.
This leads to discouragement and disengagement. By the time she gets home, she’s exhausted—emotionally and mentally drained—and often melts down.
Faith struggles not just with attention but with regulating her energy level. Auditory distractions make things worse; she can’t filter them out, so her focus and mental stamina plummet.
Faith isn’t lazy—she’s overwhelmed in an environment that moves too fast and too loud for her brain.
Lily
Lily is what some might call “a master of disaster.” Her spaces—room, locker, backpack—are chaotic. She loses things constantly and struggles to begin or complete tasks, despite motivation.
It’s not that she won’t clean her room or do her homework—it’s that she can’t.
Lily’s executive functioning challenges make organizing, sequencing steps, and remembering systems incredibly difficult. She often shuts down when tasks feel too big.
Adults may assume she’s defiant or lazy, but in reality, she lacks key skills and needs more support than peers her age. With scaffolding and skill-building, Lily can gain the structure her she needs.
Early Diagnosis is Key
This is a complicated issue. ADHD doesn’t have one “look.” It’s shaped by personality, social context, masking, gender roles, masking and more.
But what’s not complicated is this: when we understand how ADHD traits show up differently in girls, we can change lives.
We can stop missing the Ellies, the Natalias, and the Megs.
We can give women a way to reconnect with their childhood experiences and rewrite the stories they’ve carried for too long.
We can recognize that “doing well” on the outside doesn’t always match what’s going on inside and empowers girls with the tools they need to be successful.
