Hannah Daly | ADHD, Autism, and Being Diagnosed Later in Life

About this episode

Hannah Daly shares her journey of discovering her ADHD and autism diagnoses later in life, reflecting on her experiences and the impact of perimenopause.

🎧 Episode Description Hannah Daly talks openly about the long path to understanding her brain. Growing up, she knew she experienced the world differently, but dyslexia and dyspraxia seemed to explain enough at the time. It wasn’t until much later that she began to question whether there was more to it. A period of intense physical and cognitive symptoms during perimenopause became a turning point. As her ability to cope and mask began to unravel, it led her to seek answers - and eventually to diagnoses of ADHD and autism. What follows is a process of looking back, reinterpreting her life, and starting to understand herself in a completely different way. 🔑 Key Points Growing up feeling different without the language for it Hannah describes always experiencing the world differently, but early diagnoses of dyslexia and dyspraxia seemed to explain enough at the time. Masking and the effort of trying to fit in Much of her life was shaped by adapting to environments and expectations, often suppressing her own needs. Perimenopause as a turning point A sudden wave of physical and cognitive symptoms made it harder to cope and brought everything to the surface. The link between hormones…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Dowling

Guest: Hannah Daly

Topics covered

• ADHD
• autism
• diagnosis
• neurodivergence
• perimenopause
• mental health

Keywords

• ADHD
• autism
• diagnosis
• perimenopause
• neurodivergence
• mental health
• dyslexia
• dyspraxia
• masking
• hormones

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