At first I was like, 'oh, she's kind of overreacting to the bad portrayals, it's no big deal'. Then it hit me. These bad portrayals are the reason I never thought I had ADHD! This is serious stuff.

The example with Bart is extra good because when he's explaining how he really did try his hardest he gives an example that shows he also really did absorb and understand the material, he just couldn't regurgitate it in the way the test demanded. It's *extremely* relatable.

“ADHD tingle” I have a friend who has ADHD and, before I got diagnosed with ADHD also, I was talking about my problems I have with school and he said with a so casual voice “Yeah, you have ADHD.” With zero hint of just saying it as a joke. And he was right.

I actually think that one of the best-written ADHD characters is Mulan from the 1990’s Disney movie. I could write a whole essay on this but I can’t find the time, but I remember watching the movie as a kid and identifying more with her than most of the other Disney heroines: we see that she is always late and that she forgets about the matchmaking meeting, and then as she goes to meet the matchmaker she gets distracted by everything around her including two little boys bullying a little girl, whom Milan defends, and a chess game which she helps with, then she goes back to the matchmaker and feels disoriented. I know a lot of people interpret this movie as the story of a woman who doesn’t fit into traditional gender norms, but I think it is also equally effective as a representation of an ADHD female trying to find her place in a world that is both patriarchal and neurotypical.

The thing about the Modern Family clip, too, is that she's reading off symptoms and talking about her brother while the mom is seeing it in the context of the dad. So it's also hitting on the common scenario of an undiagnosed parent who only becomes aware when their child is diagnosed.

For what it's worth, I find that the representation of ADHD leaves a lot of us with INATTENTIVE ADHD feeling misrepresented

i'm pretty sure Mabel from 'Gravity Falls' has ADHD, as well as Star from 'Star vs the forces of evil'. They both are impulsive and loud, get distracted very easily, are constantly moving (sometimes fidgeting) and sometimes get hyperfocused, but at the same time are really creative and empathetic

The Julie and Julia scene is really relatable to me because of how the character is sort of rambling on about things that interest her and what is going on in her life while the other character listens. I tend to find myself info dumping or rambling to people and it's always really validating when the other person just listens and maybe asks questions.

Maria in The Sound of Music absolutely had ADHD. Read the lyrics to "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" She's late, she loses track of time, gets distracted, is very creative. Sings a song about confidence to counter self-doubt & anxiety. I loved that movie from it's release when I was five. Now I realize why.

The Bart gets an F episode of The Simpsons wrecks me. The line "You don't understand, I TRIED this time!" ugh broke me. Julie & Julia might have some legitimate rep, If I'm remembering it correctly, she takes on a large project, there are meltdowns but it can go either way. Phil Dunphy in Modern Family, is my favorite rep so far, especially how they directed his actions. What you said, he's not just acting out symptoms, he has a goal to reach and all of the weird little obstacles come up along the way. VERY ACCURATE.

The Julie & Julia scene actually seemed very relatable to me. As my husband often says, "your brain comes alive at night." So it's very typical for him to be winding down and I'm there talking non-stop through my thoughts on something while he drops the occasional "okay". I don't have to mask with him and so it actually seemed like her rambling was her not masking with her partner.

Honestly I didn’t realize the mail thing was ADHD for years and it makes so much sense now. I’ve never done it with physical mail, but I’m notorious for opening texts/emails and going nope not dealing with that today

In the case of Jake Peralta, I think they did a good job portraying his work life like it actually can be for some people who are smart, but who suffer from ADHD symptoms. You can see him get all squirmy when he is forced to do large amounts of paperwork. He has trouble regulating his emotions. He suffers from executive disfunction on things he doesn't want to do. You can see barriers that pop up for him in different episodes with his work and his relationship with Amy. Her need for order and his aversion to crossing his barriers sometimes clash, and they have to work through that. But there is a lot that also really hits home on the creativity of thought and ability to hyper-focus when needed. He tends to make connections that a lot of other people miss. His brain is always working on a variety of problems in the background, which sometimes goofs up his conversations. He also has multiple times I can remember where he either fixates on something that is really interesting or mysterious to him, or he works through the night because he is so doggedly hyper-focused on some case. Basically, he works harder to overcome his shortcomings. He uses his intelligence and natural interest in his work to fuel those aspects of his life. It is all very relatable. He is not a failure because of ADHD. It prevents him from having all of his crap together, but it doesn't prevent him from living a good life.

My dad actually is a psychiatrist helping kids, teens and young adults and at some point when i was around 12 yo he told me that i had an attention disorder, same with my mum. So when i started researching about ADHD, i found my father actually always taught me how to handle my ADHD without me even noticing.. As an example he would always remind me i have a task going (and still does) if i get distracted... so i kinda learned focussing better and now i don't have as many problems as i would have without this "teaching how to focus better" and i am honestly so grateful for having him...

So far my favorite portrayal of someone with ADHD is Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I always related to her a lot growing up before I knew I had ADHD but when I watch the show now I’m like “oh this explains a lot.” And it’s very clear that some of her tendencies are played up for laughs but growing up it was nice to see like “hey if Pinkie Pie’s friends and loved ones can just shrug of her weird tendencies and accept her for who she is why wouldn’t mine?” And it was (and still is)a good reminder to give myself grace for when I get distracted or bored or impulsive and the show is really at its best when it’s highlighting her ADHD tendencies as some of her biggest strengths.

When I got diagnosed, I knew the kids with blatant ADHD and I didn’t want to be associated with them Bc they were “weird.” Now I realize they probably just had really good friends that helped them feel comfortable not masking.

As a woman, I honestly believe my delay in diagnosis was due almost entirely to the fact I wasn’t “stereotypically” ADHD. Looking back, I see the signs-the disorganization, the struggle to finish tasks in a timely manner, even the “you aren’t reaching your potential.” But because I wasn’t jumping off the walls, it wasn’t caught until I was in college, when my parents and I realized something was wrong. I wish they showed more women with ADHD as it may help future girls not have to struggle the same way I did.

I have wanted someone to do this for years! Media portrayals heavily contribute to the misconceptions and stereotypes us brains deal with. I'm so happy that more work is being done to accurately portray those on the autistic spectrum, and I think it's about time us ADHDers got some good rep too!

There is an episode of Bluey that shows a kid with ADHD. The first time I watch it it made me cry. It's excellent, and they show that kids with ADHD can overcome the difficulties. I think is the best representation that I've seen and is sooo important to kids that has ADHD.

I can usually tell if people have ADHD or not. I have ADHD and I had this one friend who showed all the obvious symptoms of ADHD. One day she came to school and said “I got diagnosed with ADHD” and in my head I was like “ah I knew it”

I always found that the characters who present as having adhd but its never explicitly discussed are the most accurate. A character that falls into this category to me is Andy from parks and rec. While he is kind of exaggerated, I definitely see so many adhd characteristics and relate to him so much, especially when he doesn't pass his police test. He really often feels shame because of his impulsivity.

I think Julie in that movie does have it. She spends a lot of time through the movie hyperfixating on her cooking project, to the detriment of everything around her. She clearly infodumps on her husband, who you can see is so used to it that he barely acknowledges. She's messy and scatterbrained, but in a subtle, realistic way rather than the usual played-up-for-humour way. It's a very subtle portrayal, but there are definite signs there.

I have severe ADHD. I always felt as if I had to mask. I knew I had to work harder in some areas than my friends and knew something was not right. I always got by being the funny scattered girl. It took so much energy to appear normal. I did well in college and my profession as a registered nurse. I was able to take good care of my patients and focus on patient care ( then fall in a heap after work from the shear exhaustion of over compensating.) I may have handled a life and death situation impressively only to lock myself out of my car after work. Or run out of gas on the way home. I am retired now. I am still ADHD. I still joke about some of my symptoms. Unfortunately, at my age funny and scattered looks like early dementia! Sigh.

trust the simpson's to have the representation that hits hardest for ADHD people, got me lowkey have goose bumps with many times i've said what he said :(

I actually really saw that that lady had ADHD. She was doing exactly what I do frequently, hyperfocusing and spewing an avalanche of thoughts towards my husband with little to no expectation of him responding. I laughed at how the guy was obviously used to it and just continued eating and getting ready for bed, nodding every once in a while. That's so much like me and my husband. It does affect our relationship negatively because I'll often keep him up really late talking about something, and he gets frustrated that I can't put it on hold for the next day. I also don't like it because I'm so emotionally affected by the thoughts I'm hyperfocusing on and really want to just let it go, but I can't stop thinking about it. And the rest of the lady's conversation, talking about needing a deadline, never finishing things, getting away from her boring life, struggling with housework, it was spot on for me. How she was talking pretty fast, kind of switching thoughts (although they all obviously are connected to her), and continuing to talk all evening were other clues.

The Julie & Julia one feels VERY relatable to me. "I need a deadline because i know i'll never really finish it" is so accurate. It comes from constantly doing what Bart did earlier, that "i'll really do better this time!" You do so much that eventually you loose all hopes for yourself and even while having that rush of a new exciting thing that's definitely going to be THE thing you'll always stay passionate about... you NEVER really expect yourself to succeed in anything and have constant nagging thoughts of "should i even try when i know i'm going to fail" and "i NEED to keep my expectations super low so i won't have to face that horrible feeling of disappointment ever again." And some of us mask even harder in front of romantic partners because a rejection from them is much harder to take than from others. And, some of us internalize the mask in a way we can't even shake it when we want to, we don't even know who we are without the mask.

Born female and diagnosed as a young kid. I've always hated how media portrays adhd. I never once saw myself in them. I'm good at masking. If you knew me in school though I was always seen as that kid. The one that would forget whole events and feel gaslit when someone spoke about it. The one that could only get work done if it needed to be or it would be late. The one that would get sent to the office for doodling on books and "daydreaming". The one that would never be able to finish tests in time because I'd forget most of what I'd just read. The one who was accused of cheating because I never payed attention or could show work that made sense to others. The one who'd find a niche topic and learn every single stupid detail of it. The one who had more hobbies than time or focus. The one who would be in trouble because I was never able to be fully there....

I think the Julie and Julia scene feels the most real to me. The number of project ideas I have come up with, rambled about and then dropped… my god. The only weird thing is that her husband is just now finding out. Another representation in media but is never actually labeled is both Andy and Leslie on Parks and rec. I think the most realistic representation is a mix of the two of them.

one thing I have never understood: how do neurotypical people deal with their mail?? I went most of my adulthood so far thinking everyone had heaps/bags/shelves full of paper

8:25 calling medication "special candy" is also actually dangerous because it could lead to kids getting into pills they find around the house, thinking they are candy. That can be life-threatening. The Julie and Julia scene is how I am. My experiences don't feel as severe, and for a long time I didn't realize it was ADHD because I've been downplayed my whole life or written off for other reasons to the point that I forgot I had gotten an ADHD diagnosis when I was 10 that my mom didn't believe (probably because she didn't fully understand it) and therefore didn't treat. I've got a lot of coping/masking going on just from how I was raised and what was expected of me, but the burnout is real.

I've re-watched "The Sound of Music" a couple times after my diagnosis and Maria is definitely a potentially missed character. Of course it's never stated in the movie (not even sure they knew what ADHD was, then).

The scene from Julie & Julia convicted me. Before my adult diagnosis, I had a VERY similar conversation with my partner. It read to me as the hyperfocus that can come with a new passion, along with the knowledge that you may never complete the project. For me, that was like the year I was planning my wedding. I spent 2 full weeks designing fabric to make steampunk vests for the men in the wedding party, and ordered samples of the fabric from a few printers in a few different fabric bases, but I couldn’t decide who to order from, and eventually there wasn’t time to custom order fabric and make vests, so we found a similar color solid vest for the guys to rent, and got one for my partner from Historical Emporium.

“Parents get shamed or feel ashamed, as if they’re taking the easy way out by treating their child’s medical condition” …that line really hit me. Why DO some parents feel as though medication is the wrong way to go for anything mental health related? It’s a treatment, just like advil for a headache or cold medicine for a cold.

As a huge How I Met Your Mother fan, I will say that ALL of Barney's personality is actually masking. It's established as part of his character that his bravado and acting like everything he does is awesome is actually a way for him to hide his insecurities. However, I've watched all these episodes at least a dozen times, and I'm pretty sure that was that only time they mentioned him having ADHD as a one-off joke, so that definitely is problematic. More like how you mentioned certain characters only seem to have it when they talk about it.

WAIT!! BARNEY HAS ADHD?? I always had a feeling we were similar 😭 but to be fair in that episode of How I Met Your Mother it’s not about adhd it’s about him not wanting to learn what TED was pushing Barney to learn it. It was well explained in the episode 😌

Just discovered your channel. I LOVE that you chose that Modern Family episode to show a great example of accurate ADHD portrayal in Phil (and Luke too). I love that show but that episode was my hands-down favourite. I could see myself in both Phil and Luke so clearly.

As a female who was diagnosed with ADHD in my middle age, I can say out of all the portrayals I saw in this video, the Julie was probably the one I relate to the most. I masked hard my whole life, especially in romantic relationships just to be accepted and loved. So to nonchalantly mention that “maybe I have that adhd thing” in passing would be something I would have done just to gauge reactions. If they were positive, I could feel safe opening up a bit more. A negative reaction would have made me mask even harder. As for other portrayals, they’re the reason my first reaction to knowing I have ADHD was intense fear and denial because I’m not like those people we see on TV!! I wholeheartedly agree with you. We need more accurate representation in media!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us on these clips🧠💖

I have to add that the lady that is 'masking' while being in bed with her partner is completely possible. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 35, I honestly don't know at this stage what aspects of my personality are me or what is masking :-( the quirks I thought were part of my personality were actually signs of adhd that were never picked up on.

8:59 oml when he went down the slide I cackled 😭😭

you always start with "ive been wanting to do this episode for a long long time" and it hits home because you actually do them and post them and no was was really expecting you to do them at a specific time. so cool

Ive seen people say Maria from Sound of Music has adhd, and maybe that explains why i loved that movie so much, especially as a kid. I need to watch it again now that I know about adhd but that whole "how do you solve a problem like Maria" song was the other people trying to understand how to get her to behave, a lot of actually fairly accurate metaphors for adhd like "how do you catch a cloud and pin it down" and "how to you keep a wave upon the sand" also all of them do care about her they say she is funny and a sweet girl and they are trying to find a solution. She "misbehaved" the whole time she was in the abbey, singing when she shouldn't, climbing trees, being late because the hills are so pretty. When she finally found what she loved to do she was very devoted and great at it. The problem solving too, she heard she was getting new curtains for no reason and that night decided to make all the kids clothes they could play in, she knows how painful it was for her to be restricted at the abbey, and she doesnt want the same for them. All the kids say she is the best governess they have ever had, she cared about them so much and she made every day interesting and fun in different ways. omg also the I Have Confidence song she goes from confused and scared to loudly singing about how exited she is and sort of pretends to be confident, seemingly riding on her new excitement "besides which you see I have confidence in me" she is consistently making tiny mistakes during the song too and continuing to belt out chaotic confidence. she is one of us

I think JD from Scrubs has got ADHD too, the inattentive type. Constant daydreaming, laying connections others can't, impulsivity, commitment issues in relationships and more. Also he's being ridiculed by Dr. Cox for not being a "man", because his interests are supposedly more effeminate. Kinda relatable for me. He's weird, but the people close to him understand and love him for it.

The ‘mail tub’ omg. When it gets that bad, I can’t do ANYTHING anymore! Now that I’m married to an incredible and kind NT, he opens my mail for me- and just puts important stuff on the pile. I’m a lucky girl 🥰

5:40 IIIIIISTG I HAVE BEEN TOLD OFF SO MANY TIMES FOR CLIMBING SHELVES AND STANDING ON SPINNY CHAIRS TO GET STUFF THAT’S HIGH

My comment on How I Met Your Mother is that remember, it's a story being told by Ted. Ted is a perfect example of the untrustworthy narrator, especially when it comes to Barney. Everything that Barney is, Ted exaggerates to the extreme. I think his ADHD would fall under that umbrella.

The stereotypes and misrepresentations of what ADHD is definitely contributed to the delay in seeking diagnosis for myself. It wasn't until I came across your channel a few months ago that I started seeing what ADHD really is and how relatable it is and realized that I should talk to someone about it. Until recently my understanding of ADHD was based on all those stereotypes of bouncing off the walls and "ooooooh shiny!" mid-sentence and being a terrible student, two of which don't apply to me (the shiny thing does, though. And squirrels.).

one of my favourite portrayals of ADHD is Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012. He is super relatable and the way he shows his ADHD is so similar to my own growing up and I'm just in love with how accurate it is. It even shows parts where everyone thinks he's really stupid but he's actually SUPER smart, just not in the same way as everyone else.

Great responses! I’m so curious to hear what you think of Hal, Bryan Cranston’s character in Malcolm in the Middle. He is never described as having ADHD, but feels like he was written by someone with potentially undiagnosed ADHD. Everything he does and experiences is so, so relatable, even down to how if you don’t see the ADHD you might think he’s selfish when it comes to how he relates to his work, etc.

I love the Jake Peralto character. They are consistent with it, and he demonstrates ability and competence but his successes are not via the typical route or interpersonal interactions

I absolutely love the non-canon representation in B99! I love how they have never confirmed if Jake has ADHD, but he still inhibits the traits. and I love how we can see more than just hyperactiveness and impulsiveness - we can also see Jake hyperfocusing, experiencing hyperfixations, emotion dysregulation, etc. also, I would like to mention one other character, Daisy from Bones! it hasn't been confirmed whether she has ADHD, but she definitely inhibits the traits. she gets excited very easily, she's very talktative, interrupts a lot, has hyperfixation(s), hyperfocuses, etc.

When I was younger I tried to be a bit open about having ADHD, I because I thought "What's the harm? Like, people need to know, why I'm acting 'not normal' sometimes ... they might understand me better and like me better." My doctor told me to keep it more down because - nobody needs to know. This was super weird to me at the time, but ... I'm keeping it down and this leads to awkward situations ... who would have guessed that?!

You’re doing so well, the positivity is so inspiring! Thank you for being the best representation of us!

As someone with AD(H)D (or ADHD-PI), I did relate a lot to the Julie and Julia scene. Between the hyperfocus, talking a lot about the project, but at the same time realising that it most probably won't get anywhere without an external motivator, I thought it was portrayed pretty well, especially for a woman as I can relate to masking that much even with partners/friends/family. Do you think that the fact that you have the Combined type of ADHD might have made it more difficult for you to relate to this character?

Lorelei in gilmore girls. I’ve always thought she represented pretty well. Late for a lot of stuff, impulsive. Needs caffeine. Talks fast. Gets obsessed with starting an inn and doesn’t do anything else. Has trouble in relationships (and got pregnant at 16). Doesn’t like mornings lol. There’s quite a few scenes where she has one goal and takes a really long path to get there. Also she uses her oven to dry socks and only opens the mail once a month. (In which she did an experiment where she gave random names to companies to see who they sold it to. Then forgot she did.)

Phil Dunphy is such an amazing character. ♥️ Loved him so much.

I just wanted to say thank you for making these videos. The first of your videos I saw (How to Help Someone Who Has ADHD) just made me weep. I felt so understood at that moment, and realized I had been beating myself up for decades over something I didn't choose, and was never given the tools to really combat. I was diagnosed with ADD in my early 'teens (20+ years ago) and was never given any advice about how to cope, how to adapt - it was treated like I was "done" with it after being diagnosed and given medication. Your videos have helped me talk to my family more openly about this condition, and made me feel more comfortable and patient with myself. You are a brave person and are doing great things. Much love!

"Neil Patrick Harris, what are you doing?" lol this scene is literally the least problematic thing Barney does on that show

1. I have a story that relates to the "Accepted clip". In highschool, literally the first day of highschool; we were put on a group-based math assignment as a part of getting to know the class; each group containing three pupils. I was put with one guy from the same major as I, and with this girl who was in a different major. The first - and only - thing she did was to come up to our table, slam her hands down On the table, and then look us both dead in the eyes and say: _"Just so you two know, I have ADHD And that means that I'm not going to do A N Y T H I N G... So Good Luck with the project!"_ and then she just bounced away...... During the two years she was at the school - She would scream in the hallways during class, and sorta hit her vocal chords so that she sounded like a fire alarm or something. This was 100% her way of 'managing' her symptoms and bring herself a false sense of self-security, by accepting that she's crazy because people says she's supposed to be because of ADHD. It was a coping mechanism for her, and she was very clearly not as okay with it as she wanted to pretend. 2. I felt really called out with the modern family one. Where he builds his own ladder to get to things. It happens to me way too often that I need to get something from a high shelf, I build a makeshift ladder, get up to the shelf, see something that I wasn't looking for, pick it up, look at it, proceed to forget what I was actually climbing up for so I climb down, and then that stack of a ladder ends up staying there until somebody else complains about it ( :T) 3. For the Julie and Julia one. Some people will mask it around their loved one. It depends mostly on how they grew up. Masks are hard to remove if they've been glued to your face your whole life.

I can focus on your videos, that's impressive. Thank you, I just watched your ted talk, everyone should watch it. I appreciate your content, it has been helpful.

0:41 well there are ppl w adhd who do embrace it, no everyone are feeling constant shame

As someone with ADHD, I feel that fellow "members" can pick it up like radar. At least in real life. We don't have to announce our condition--which TV feels compelled to do.

Julie and Julia is a pretty good movie. I think it's totally accurate about being bad with housework and her self-doubt about starting an ambitious new project, because she knows she's bad about finishing such endeavors is totally relatable.

your videos relax me so much and makes me feel more comfortable with myself. thank you so much for doing this 🙏

Thank you for everything you do I’m really glad I stumbled across your channel and all the relative problem solutions ❤️

I was hoping you'd include Shawn from psych. He is confirmed diagnosed in the show and feels very accurate to me. They even have a whole episode where he's in hyper focus, and they do talk about how that's bad for his mental health.

Having adhd being lately diagnosed coming across ur channel has made me understand much more and be more self aware so thank u

Thank you so much for putting these together. I've just been diagnosed with ADHD in my early 50's

Two things: When you were talking about Bart and how some people embrace the ADHD because it is so hard to keep trying I was thinking about how that doesn't always mean you embrace being "bad." I, for example, always did my very best to be good (while three of my siblings were doing drugs and making babies, I was trying not to make things worse by keeping my head down and babysitting their kids while they were finishing high school). I did, however, embrace my inability to fit in by telling people I was actually from another planet. How storytellers do it, I guess. The second thing is how infuriating it is that people are so judgemental about medicating. My oldest sister told me the other day how ridiculous it is to medicate your children. She told me her son had some attentiveness issues when he was young, and she just stopped giving him sugar and he's fine. Meanwhile, her adult son is reclusive, anti-social, and hyper-fixated on his hobbies. If only she knew what he was going through. It makes me so mad.

That Simpsons episode is heartbreaking. Because Bart really does put his all into his schoolwork and still ends up failing.

My first experience with ADHD in media was Percy Jackson and I like how he did it for his son who was diagnosed with it, but it was more of the hyperactive type and that being some of the only representation in media I ever saw definitely contributed to me not thinking I had it because I'm primarily inattentive type

I really enjoy your video’s. I also enjoy staring into your eyes while you talk and i’m not sure for wich reason i keep watching. Either way: great video!

As someone who is going through diagnosis late in life and have just been learning about what it acutally is. I started getting way too emotional at you talking about Jake Peralta I've love and identified with his character for years and only realising what's going on in my life recently I hadn't connected the two. Hearing about how he's respected by peers almost made me tear up as I feel I really struggle with that.

that Simpsons episode always made me so sad, Bart always felt so relatable growing up because of the impulsivity and Lisa always felt so relatable because of the intense caring

I actually enjoyed the clip from "How I Met Your Mother" when it aired. The two guys are friends, the one with ADHD is not only comfortable showing his ADHD, but also in this case is purposefully using it to get out of something he doesn't want to do in the first place. A little more into the clip would have shown that. I thought it was clever writing because I have leaned on my ADHD to get out of situations or conversations I didn't want to be in. Usually when someone in a group is being unknowingly crass. Edited to add, if you stop masking so much and practice your ADHD you can actually control conversations to where you always want them to go, if that makes sense.

I love that you showed the Modern Family clip right before 30 Rock literally did "the shiny" joke. Phil Dunphy's distracted sequence is so relatable, the standing on things you probably shouldn't, seeing something you've been looking for for months and going after it. It reminds me of grocery shopping without a list. "Oh, I need this let's go 6 ailes over" happens a lot when I go grocery shopping. And Phil is consistently a solid portrayal of untreated adult ADHD with masking throughout the entire series in my mind.

I've been constantly watching your videos for the past 3 days and I have to say I'm crying since then,(literally, and sometimes internally), and how it brings me to my childhood roller coaster. I'm speechless and I have to say I focusingly watch your video but I can't smile while watching them, I hope you didn't feel sad about it, just because It's beyond hit home hard for me. I don't even know what I did all this time is to keep up with my surrounding are actually help me stay on track, I just think that's the only thing that can make things work. I'm also a woman, who manages to have relatively good grades, (with an unimaginable hard work, tricks, and struggles), so no one really listens to what's going inside me and I always wonder why I'm constantly struggling like this, it's always I'm lazy or I'm not trying hard enough while watching my friends do the exact same thing easier or have a solution to them that does very effectively but not for me. I always feel overwhelmed and always don't know. Your passing thoughts throughout your videos are all the things I have had that I thought everyone has. I watched your video and feel mixed feelings about them, the more I watched and it's relatable, the more I have mixed feelings. The more the lights light up. I've been having a hard time and crying yesterday. I don't know how to get help.

About characters with not-discussed ADHD I have a really good one: Todd from Bojack Horseman. The way he jumps from one hobby or activity to another throughout the whole series but most times not finishing what he starts, reacts way better to positive reinforcement than to consequences, and his extreme hiperfocus on video games is, while of course exaggerated, really relatable to me. Even that episode where he gets lost in a hotel bc he can't remember which room was his, that has happened to me lmao. He is considered good asexual representation, and he is good ADHD representation too ❤️

Oh! The Paige in "Atypical" - she is a real ADHD over-achiever, masking so hard, until she breaks down. And creative, loyal and fierce ... I've only seen first season, and ADHD isn't mentioned - but I knew "my girl".

8:10 I work in residential care and the other day I was caring for the kid I work with and I was like, “huh, that pill looks familiar!?” I straight up told him, “duuuuude! I take the same medication! I have ADHD too!!!! We’re like medication buddies!” He was actually so stoked like he never thought an adult would have what he has. Made me happy, had to share 😊

Hey Jessica, I love this video, analyzing music videos and the pace and how hard or easy it is to focus on videos, because of editing or content. You do have a really good eye . One quick note, being "manic" can be a common trait of people with ADHD, but is more commonly associated with Bi-polar Disorder. And people with ADHD can be manic. Thank you! You should make a movie and star in it by the way. You could a kick-starter or indie-gogo and most likely get funding within the first week. Maybe an ADHD documentary or mini-series!

The most heartbreaking portrayal of a person with ADHD is in "It's a Wonderful Life". Uncle Billy very clearly has ADHD and it is so sad to see him suffer.

The show mom is a great example (the adhd angle is only in the last few seasons). A woman is diagnosed late in life and it shows connection to addiction. Also the grief that comes with a late diagnosis. She looks back on her life and questions who she would be if properly helped as a kid. She sees a therapist and starts to work on coping skills.

its stuff like this (most of these videos, not all) which is why i was age 30 by the time i even questioned it because i do not fit the sterotype, and it was a friend that suggested it... i have a diagnosis now and it was literally 2 months ago i learnt my dad got diagnosed a few years back and just didn't tell me. it has been overwhelmingly validating learning more about it, because videos like the ones you make hit home on so many levels, i feel like you understand me better than most in my life, so... thank you

I’m 35. Just diagnosed with ADHD this week and Major Depression. The education on your channel has helped me to realize this was a strong possibility, and the psychiatrist confirmed. I initially felt like I was a moral failure, like I didn’t try harder to avoid depression, and didn’t discipline my mind enough to avoid ADHD. Clips like these you reviewed were part of the reason I thought ADHD was a behavioral issue for “bad” kids. Pretty infuriating that a condition is portrayed in such an irresponsible way. Thank you for showing that’s just not the case. I’ve got meds, a supporting wife, measurable goals, and thanks to this channel, relatable anecdotes and information to help me. I greatly appreciate your work. Thank you.

I definitely had to mask my ADHD with my ex-wife. Even more so with her than with anyone else. She was a bridezilla and always identified my ADHD correctly because it is so extreme, but she was not the least bit forgiving or supportive of it as a mental condition. I didn't know much about it back then, so I couldn't explain to her the impact it had on my life or how demeaning it was that she chided me for it frequently even after learning about my diagnosis.

Re: 30 rock. I know you hate when they get distracted mid “I have ADHD” sentence. I do too, it’s lazy writing. But that’s exactly who Tracy Morgan’s character is, he 100000% has ADHD and shows it across the entire series. It’s actually pretty good showing how it can be self destructive. This was just too on the nose.

I mask really hard. I was in my 40s (52 now) before I even realized it. And I did it around everyone, and even when I was by myself, so that I wouldn’t accidentally get too comfortable and then embarrass myself by being myself. I’m working on relaxing that, but am still surprised at how pervasive it is in my life.

Julie & Julia is a biographical film about a real woman (Julie Powell) who is actually diagnosed with ADHD as an adult-- at least that's what she says in her memoir. But IMO, if true, her experience as a successfully masking and functioning adult woman who's diagnosed with ADHD later in life is extremely relatable.

I swear, when I was younger some of these exact scenes helped convince me, incorrectly, that I didn’t actually have ADHD, because I could mask and my parents were right that I just had to try harder. It wasn’t until I started learning more about ADHD that I realized that I really did need my meds and this channel has taught me so much about how my brain works.

I think one of the things I would like is having a character that is clearly ADHD in a show suddenly learn that about themselves. Like, they have that moment of "wait, what? No, this makes so much sense!" And they go learn more and get some new skills or tools. I think it would be a nice way to kind of "give permission" for people who relate to the character to go look at things themselves.

The thing about Luke in modern family is that he is the “dumb character” same with his other sister Hayley, who very well also might have adhd. And they are both compared to their genius sister Alex, who is extremely regimented, focused and organized. Hayley as a character I have always identified with. I feel like she was under valued. She is not as “dumb” as what she was made out to be

6:40 The actress right there, amy adams, was diganosed with ADHD. doesnt mean its a perfect portrayal but maybe thats how amy adams' adhd feels like.

I think one really good example was from Big Mouth. The character named Jay is diagnosed with ADHD rapidly by a doctor without much time for assessment and instantly put on stimulant medication. They personify the medication in his head acting as a drill sergeant to keep his racing thoughts from getting out of control and he's able to focus for a test when he normally has horrible grades. Later on the rest of his classmates essentially bulky him into selling his meds so they can do brother on the test as well, then personifies the meds in their heads not working as it's supposed to for someone with ADHD. The parts with the doctor rapidly prescribing the stimulants opens up the discussion about how people are concerned that kids are too quickly put on meds. Then him selling it to his classmates of course further she's the stigma. The way its done though is actually effective because it highlights the stigma for a discussion rather than poking fun and further perpetuating it However, there are two parts thay

I'm loving reading all the comments on this!! I think this is such an important discussion to have. And thank you to those who are giving me context, my perspective was limited to the clips I showed here. Do you feel like your particular flavor of ADHD is well represented in a show or a character you've seen? Who and why? (If not, why not?)

About to cite your video for my Senior Reaserch Project, great video (especially since I cant find too many people who does stuff like this)!

Thank you. You get it and you are helping others (and me) understand. Thank you

Another great example in my opinion and I haven't seen anyone else mention it, but Jess from New Girl! I immediately recognized myself in her. She's so passionate and bright and impulsive and is doing her best to fit in, but struggles in many ways. Zooey Deschanel has ADHD and I think she put a lot of herself into the character. That being said, Nick Miller (also New Girl) also is a good example with all his impulsivity in decisions. He also does a lot of different spontaneous hobbies too.

Oh and Luz from the Owl House is a really good one!! The show somewhat focuses on her lack of ability to fit in with other kids her age, and her “weird” way of thinking and impulsivity

The one about the woman masking heavily while with her partner really hit home for me. I was in a relationship with someone for more than 10 years and what really pushed me to finally end it and walk away was the fact that it was so mentally damaging that I felt I could never be 100% myself around him. Of course this was a few years before I even got diagnosed with ADHD but after being with someone who made me feel so safe and secure (and was actually the person who convinced me to get help and get diagnosed) and after getting my diagnosis, I understand now that I was masking the entire time I was with my ex. What a relief and an absolute change it's been to know that I'm loved by someone for being no one else but myself. It's been the most positive change in my life ngl.

Your channel is very helpful I have very few people in my inner circle and I still feel very alone and isolated