ADHDAF (as females), a podcast, charity and community aimed at empowering and supporting women living with ADHD, brought their nationwide tour to Manchester.
The podcast was founded in 2022 by Laura Mears-Reynolds and the shows are loaded with “too-muchness”, audience participation in games, and they even allow the crowd to take the stage to share their experiences with the condition.
Their self-titled podcast, available on Spotify, provides food for thought by featuring guest stars such as acclaimed Biosciences professor Dr James Brown, while other episodes are more relaxed and maintain a sense of humour.
They also offer a peer support community known as Planet ADHDAF, with monthly memberships offering a plethora of services such as a peer support group, accountability squad and yoga, as well as many other benefits. Membership is £10 a month.
Laura said: “GPs receive only an hour’s training for mental health and this is based on outdated research. As a result they are not very well equipped to deal with ADHD.
“The majority of the time patients are put on a waiting list, and during this time they don’t receive medication, and they may be having a harder life whereas had they received proper care, they could be having a better life.”
Another problem she raised was the way the media treats the disorder.
“Every time we see the disorder in the media, we brace ourselves don’t we?” she asked the audience.
“The problem is the media can say anything they want about a group of people and that is OK. It is only classed as discrimination and therefore punishable if they target a specific individual.
“So, for example, saying negative things about ‘Laura with ADHD’ is off limits, whereas writing about ADHD-ers in general is OK, allowing them to undermine the condition.”
The Independent Press Standards Organisation states that a media organisation cannot makes pejorative references to an individual based on skin colour, race, disability, but makes no reference to a group of people.
ADHDAF are next performing in Norwich on May 18th.
Tickets can be bought here: https://www.adhdasfemales.com/events while membership can be purchased here: https://www.patreon.com/adhdasfemales
Main image source: Laura Mears-Reynolds
