Focus finding

An Auckland therapist diagnosed late in life with ADHD is helping similar adults and children discover the strategies they need to cope.

- Nicky Pellegrino

As a young child, Brett Harrington didn't have much trouble identifying why she was underperforming at school. The problem was that she couldn't concentrate. Even so, it took until she was in her late-thirties to find out exactly why she had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

It is not unusual for people to carry on for many years before the condition is finally identified. In fact, there has been a rise in adult ADHD diagnoses - in the US alone, the number more than doubled in the decade to 2016.

The brains of people with ADHD are wired differently. Low levels of key neurotransmitters are believed to play a role, and the result is that those with the disorder struggle to focus, plan, organise their time, follow through on tasks or pay attention. As Harrington puts it, "It's a struggle to make our intentions match our outcomes."

She was diagnosed partly thanks to a friend who gave her a copy of the book Driven to Distraction, by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. About the same time, a marriage guidance counsellor suggested that she might have ADHD. "I'd known for a long time that something was amiss, because I wasn't the person I wanted to be, or performing the way I wanted to perform."

Afterwards, she struggled to find practical solutions that would make a difference in her daily life. How can I make myself better and get stuff done, she wanted to know? As she searched for clues, Auckland-based Harrington ended up training as an ADHD coach, as well as studying as a counsellor and art therapist. She now works with both children and adults.