One of the things I’ve appreciated most throughout my career in the field of ADHD is how much there still is to learn. Every day I read another article and learn something significant. We’ve come so far since the years when we thought it was a childhood disorder that only affected boys! Now, we know that ADHD ebbs and flows, affects males and females, and morphs at different life stages. We also know that ADHD interacts with our life circumstances so that ADHD shapes our lives and is shaped by our lives – through development, relationships, hormones, work, aging, identity and the tremendous variety of ways that people with ADHD experience the world.
That evolution is one of the reasons I’ve so enjoyed sitting down with the faculty who will be joining me for the ILAT Global ADHD Summit this October. I have tremendously enjoyed the brief conversations I’ve had with ILAT Global faculty members, learning about their work, the questions they are exploring, and what they believe that clinicians need to understand about ADHD across the lifespan to accurately diagnose and effectively treat it.
The ILAT InnerViews with our Global Summit faculty gave me a chance to get to know them directly and get a sense of how they think about ADHD. I’d like to share the first five ILAT Global faculty InnerViews with you and share a few of the ideas that have stayed with me.
ADHD doesn’t exist in isolation from the body
Lotta Borg Skoglund: Hormones and ADHD
For too long, we have talked about ADHD as though it exists independently of the biological changes happening throughout a person’s life.
Dr. Lotta Borg Skoglund and I explored how hormonal fluctuations can affect ADHD symptoms and functioning across the lifespan. Menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum changes, perimenopause, and menopause can all bring important changes that clinicians need to understand.
I can’t wait until we start exploring how ADHD is impacted by men taking testosterone for “low T”!
The takeaway for me: If we want to understand someone’s ADHD, we also need to understand the biological context in which that ADHD is unfolding.
Watch the InnerView with Lotta Borg Skoglund
Coaching isn’t an alternative to treatment—it can be part of the bigger picture
Ari Tuckman: Where Does Coaching Fit?
There has been considerable discussion over the years about where ADHD coaching fits within the larger treatment picture.
Dr. Ari Tuckman and I talked about the ways coaching can complement psychotherapy and other approaches to ADHD treatment, particularly when people need help translating what they understand about their ADHD into changes in their everyday lives.
The takeaway: Effective ADHD care doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. Different approaches can serve different purposes—and sometimes the most helpful treatment is an integrated one.
Watch the InnerView with Ari Tuckman
We need to keep talking about ADHD as people age
David Goodman: ADHD in Older Adults
ADHD doesn’t disappear when someone reaches midlife or older adulthood. I learned so much as I interviewed 150 older adults diagnosed with ADHD in preparation for my book Still Distracted After All These Years.
One of the few other ADHD experts with deep knowledge of ADHD in older adults is Dr. David Goodman, a member of the ILAT Global faculty and in our InnerView we discussed the unique considerations involved in recognizing and treating ADHD in older adults, including the ways that changes in health, cognition, medications, and life circumstances can complicate the clinical picture.
The takeaway: If we’re serious about lifespan ADHD, then older adulthood needs to be part of the conversation—not an afterthought.
Watch the InnerView with David Goodman
Achievement doesn’t tell the whole ADHD story
Lisa Joy Tuttle: When Success Masks ADHD
One of the misconceptions that so many clinicians treating ADHD still believe is the idea that someone who is highly successful couldn’t possibly have significant ADHD.
Dr. Lisa Joy Tuttle and I talked about highly accomplished adults with ADHD and the extraordinary amount of effort that can sometimes go into maintaining that success.
A person can have an impressive career, a successful business, advanced degrees, or considerable professional recognition—and still struggle profoundly with executive functioning, organization, emotional regulation, relationships, or the daily demands of life.
The takeaway: We need to be careful not to confuse achievement with the absence of impairment. Sometimes success tells us what someone has accomplished, but not what it has cost them.
Watch the InnerView with Lisa Joy Tuttle
What if evaluation began with understanding the person, not just identifying deficits?
Jordan Wright: Neuroaffirming ADHD Evaluation
How we evaluate ADHD matters. My conversation with Dr. Jordan Wright was music to my ears, as we explored a neuroaffirming approach to ADHD evaluation and the importance of looking beyond a narrow focus on deficits or symptoms.
A good evaluation should help us understand the whole person—their challenges, strengths, environment, history, and lived experience. It should create an opportunity for greater self-understanding rather than simply producing a diagnostic label.
The takeaway: Assessment isn’t just about identifying what’s wrong. It can be an important first step toward understanding how someone’s brain works and what kinds of support will allow them to thrive.
Watch the InnerView with Jordan Wright
Five conversations. One larger question.
Although these five conversations cover very different areas of ADHD, there is a common thread running through all of them.
ADHD is not one-size-fits-all.
It looks different across the lifespan. It is influenced by biology and life circumstances. It can be hidden behind achievement. The way we evaluate it matters. And the supports that help one person may be very different from what another person needs.
This complexity is part of what makes the field of ADHD so fascinating—and why I believe we need to keep challenging ourselves to think beyond the traditional ways we have understood ADHD.
These five InnerViews are just a glimpse of the conversations we’ll be continuing at the ILAT Global Summit on October 29–30, 2026.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch these conversations and get to know some of the people behind the Summit.
You can explore the full ILAT Global Faculty on the ILAT website. Click on a faculty member’s headshot to open their dedicated page, then scroll to the bottom to watch their InnerView.
The five featured conversations above are available now, and more InnerViews are coming soon.
Meet the ILAT Global Faculty & Watch the InnerViews
And if these conversations leave you wanting to continue the discussion, I hope you’ll join us for the ILAT Global Summit this October. As a subscriber to ADHD Evolution, you can use the code ILAT20 to save $20 on registration while Early Bird registration is available. Act fast! Early Bird ends on August 31!
Learn More About the ILAT Global Summit
I look forward to continuing these conversations with you—and to bringing this remarkable group of colleagues together in October.
— Kathleen Nadeau, PhD