ADHD in Girls What We’re Missing + How It Shows Up Interview with Katie William PART 1 | EP 46

In this episode, Kokeb McDonald sits down with occupational therapist and RITP-certified therapist Katie Williams for a candid conversation about ADHD in girls and why it’s often missed until adulthood.Katie shares her own late diagnosis in her early forties and reflects on how it helped her reinterpret lifelong struggles with perfectionism, rejection sensitivity, sensory needs, time blindness, emotional regulation, and cycles of burnout and depression.This episode emphasizes how ADHD can present as “hyperactive on the inside,” with masking, daydreaming, high performance at school followed by emotional crashes at home, and anxiety or depression appearing before ADHD is recognized.Kokeb and Katie discuss social expectations for girls, the impact of negative comments and labeling, and practical therapy approaches, building rapport, supporting unmasking, parent coaching, and helping kids identify what they truly like and feel (including interoception and emotional regulation). They also highlight how therapists’ words and co-regulation shape outcomes and encourage screening when “lazy” or “not trying hard enough” becomes a repeated description.Timestamps00:00 Welcome + Why This Series Matters: ADHD in Girls01:18 Katie’s Late ADHD Diagnosis & Looking Back With Clarity02:38 Why Girls Get Missed: Internal Hyperactivity, Perfectionism & Burnout07:07 What ADHD Really Is (Beyond the Name/DSM) + Dopamine Seeking Risks09:30 Girls vs Boys: Daydreamers, ‘Lazy’ Labels, and At-Home Meltdowns11:51 Social Expectations & Masking: Hygiene, Clothes, and Rejection Sensitivity13:38 Adult Reflections: Sensory Needs, College Struggles, Time Blindness19:13 OT Treatment Approach: Unmasking, Rapport, and Parent Coaching24:17 Goal-Setting Challenges: Decision Fatigue, Initiation, and Letting Kids Lead26:59 Language That Heals: Reframing, Backtracking, and the 5:1 Positivity Shift🎯 Resources Mentioned:📘 Integrating Primitive Reflexes Through Play and Exercise book series🔗 Learn more: ⁠r⁠⁠itp.info/books📱 RITP App – home and school tools for therapists and families🔗 Download the app: ritp.info/app📌 Other ResourcesLearn about our upcoming LIVE WEBINAR https://ritp.info/intro-courseLearn about the RITP Clinical Foundations 3-Day Intensive http://ritp.info/3-dayLearn more about the Reflex Integration Through Play Certification program: https://ritp.info/certificationPrevious episodes and resources: https://www.integratingreflexes.com/blog/