We’ve Come a Long Way: Advances in ADHD Care for Women

In this episode, Jane Indergaard, DNP, RN, explores the growing recognition and understanding of ADHD in women. Historically, ADHD has gone unrecognized in girls and women, many of whom were misdiagnosed with other conditions, often leading to years of confusion, self-doubt, and unnecessary struggle. This conversation highlights how increased awareness is helping women finally connect the dots later in life and how diagnosis can transform self-understanding. Dr. Indergaard discusses what we’re learning from recent research on hormone fluctuations, medications, treatments, and other factors. Science is finally catching up to what women have been saying for years. Dr. Indergaard describes how women with ADHD can benefit from this information throughout their lives. Yet although our knowledge has advanced in remarkable ways, too many girls and women still don’t receive the care and support they need. How can we do better? Ultimately, her message is one of hope: Late diagnosis doesn’t define you, it explains you. Understanding how the ADHD brain works can help women rewrite their stories and move forward with greater self-compassion and possibility. Jane Indergaard, DNP, RN, is a retired associate professor of nursing and scholar in residence at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. She has more than four decades of clinical nursing practice and thirty-seven years in higher education. Her expertise spans behavioral health nursing and critical care/emergency trauma nursing, as well as research review, evidence-based practice, psychoeducation, and translating research into practical clinical and educational applications. A nationally and internationally recognized speaker, Dr. Indergaard has more than twenty-two years of experience in education, advocacy, and outreach for individuals and families affected by ADHD and is a frequent contributor to Attentionmagazine. She serves on CHADD’s board of directors, the editorial advisory board for Attention, and as co-chair of the advocacy and public policy committee. She is a co-founder of the award-winning Red River Valley CHADD chapter. Her advocacy and policy work is grounded in nursing, education, governance, and community leadership and informed by global health and education initiatives, with a focus on human-centered, evidence-informed outcomes across the lifespan. Dr. Indergaard’s work is further shaped by her lived experience as a woman diagnosed later in life with ADHD and as a parent, along with her husband, of three children who have ADHD, strengthening her commitment to bridging research, clinical care, and public policy to drive meaningful, sustainable change for individuals and families.