ADHD: Women, Kids, Teens
ADHD: Kids, Teens & Adults
If you or your child have, or suspect you may have ADHD, you are probably already well aware that its scope of impact is way more diverse than challenges with focus and attention.
Challenges with concentration, organisation, motivation and task initiation may be the most familiar symptoms, but ADHD can also affect emotional regulation, sensory processing, sleep, appetite, energy, digestion and the way we respond to stress. Hormonal changes can add another layer, particularly for women and girls.
For some people, these less obvious effects of ADHD are actually the things that make everyday life hardest.
My Approach to ADHD Support
My experience with ADHD is both professional and personal. I have three children and a husband with ADHD, and I KNOW how challenging, frustrating and draining everyday life with ADHD can sometimes be — both for the person experiencing it and for the people who love, live, learn and work alongside them.
Over many years of learning about ADHD, I’ve developed a strongly neuro-affirming approach, both with my own family and in clinical practice.
ADHD brains work differently. Like two sides of a coin, with the challenges can come incredible creativity, curiosity, humour, intuition, intense focus, energy and an ability to notice things other people miss. In our house we refer to ADHD as a superpower with strings attached. The goal isn't to pretend the difficult parts aren't difficult; it's to understand how the brain works, recognise where support is needed, have potentially useful tools ready to go when things go pear-shaped, including what to say to yourself, and to really see the strengths that come with thinking differently.
When working with a child, teenager or adult with ADHD, I draw from acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, nutrition and targeted supplementation according to the individual. I respect personal and family choices around stimulant and other ADHD medications and am comfortable working with people you choose to use or not to use them.
For Parents of Kids & Teens
with ADHD
Children with ADHD are working hard every day, often without realising they are to manage things we typically don’t give much thought to - things like school, friendships, learning, sensory input and expectations of behaviour and social graces.
By the time they get home, there may be very little capacity left.
An empty tank can look like irritability, emotional outbursts, hyperactivity, exhaustion, difficulty settling, sensory overload, headaches, tummy aches or battles around food and sleep. For children taking stimulant medication, reduced appetite during the day and the transition as medication wears off can add another layer.
Treatment is gentle and adapted to the individual child. Paediatric acupuncture for younger children is quite different from adult acupuncture and may involve very light, surface-level or non-needle techniques. With older children and teenagers, I generally use very gentle acupuncture where they are comfortable with it.
And if they're not? We don't force it.
We can begin with non-needle techniques and build from there if and when they are ready. Children are often understandably wary of unfamiliar treatments, and taking away the pressure usually makes the whole experience much easier.
Treatment may focus on calming an overloaded nervous system, reducing physical tension, supporting sleep and recovery, and addressing symptoms such as headaches or digestive discomfort.
Nutrition is another important part of the picture. Where appropriate, I look at diet, appetite and nutritional factors involved in healthy brain and neurotransmitter function, with carefully selected supplementation when there is a reason for it.
For Women with ADHD
For many women, an ADHD diagnosis comes surprisingly late.
It’s common to have spent years being described as anxious, overwhelmed, disorganised, overly sensitive or depressed without anyone recognising ADHD underneath. Many women become exceptionally good at compensating and holding everything together — until increasing demands, motherhood, chronic stress or hormonal change make those strategies much harder to maintain.
Hormones can add another dimension. Some women notice their ADHD symptoms change significantly across the menstrual cycle, while others first seek assessment during perimenopause when concentration, memory, sleep, motivation and emotional regulation suddenly become much more difficult.
Treatment is individualised according to what's actually happening for you. Acupuncture may be used to address sleep, anxiety, physical tension, nervous-system regulation and concurrent hormonal symptoms, alongside nutritional assessment and targeted supplementation where appropriate.
Chinese Medicine & ADHD
Chinese medicine doesn't treat everyone with ADHD in the same way.
One person may be restless, impulsive and unable to switch off. Another may be dreamy, exhausted and struggling to initiate tasks. Someone else may experience anxiety, sensory overwhelm, poor sleep, digestive problems, headaches or significant physical tension.
Treatment is therefore based on the individual presentation rather than the ADHD diagnosis alone.
From a Chinese medicine perspective, I look at the whole pattern: sleep, energy, digestion, emotional state, physical tension, hormonal influences and other symptoms occurring alongside ADHD. Acupuncture treatment can then be tailored to what that particular person needs.
For many of my ADHD patients, a major focus is helping an overstimulated system move more easily from activity into rest — reducing physical tension, supporting sleep and recovery, and creating a little more capacity to manage the demands of everyday life.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be used alongside conventional ADHD care, including stimulant and non-stimulant medication.
Some of the symptoms & situations I work with
Ready to take the next step?
If your current management of ADHD symptoms for yourself or a child is not where you’d like it to be, or if you’d like to take a more holistic approach to ongoing care, I strongly encourage you to consider treatment with acupuncture and integrative wellness
I have a free 15 min phone consult bookable online to answer any questions. Or of course just go ahead and book an initial session. You can also send me a message.