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October 21, 2026
What happens when a girl gets tested for ADHD and walks out with a different answer?
At 11, Molly Smith was evaluated for ADHD and ended up diagnosed with anxiety. Her teachers noticed she couldn’t sit still and talked out of turn, but she was a good student who loved school, so the daydreaming, the chewed pencils, and the tears during timed math tests got chalked up to nerves.
For the next decade, she blamed herself. When a therapist finally pushed her to get tested again at 21, the psychologist reviewed her childhood report and said she didn’t know how anyone could have missed it.
Today Molly is a freelance writer and creative marketer, and the host of the movie podcast Did That Age Well?
In this episode, we talk about what gets missed when a smart girl looks fine on paper, the cost of believing your struggles are a character flaw, and what changed when Molly finally understood her brain.
If you keep thinking you should be able to handle things by now, there’s a lot here you’ll recognize.
“Having the diagnosis meant I could finally use the right tools instead of just trying harder.”
- Molly Smith
“Treating my ADHD did not make the anxiety and depression disappear. It made them much more manageable."
- Molly Smith
“Understanding my brain did not remove every challenge. It changed the way I talked to myself inside those challenges”
- Molly Smith
"A girl can be smart, academically successful, and still have ADHD."
-Molly Smith
"When you combine cultural bias with research that has historically centered boys, it becomes much easier to miss ADHD in girls."
- Molly Smith
"If you know immediately that something is wrong for you, drop it. But if you think it might work, give it a couple of weeks.It may never be perfect, and ADHD may never go away, but that does not mean life stays stuck."
- Molly Smith
- Molly shares how she was evaluated at 11 but diagnosed with anxiety despite clear signs of ADHD.
- She describes daydreaming, constant small movements, chattiness, and working hard while quietly feeling behind.
- Academic success hid how much she struggled, especially in math, timed tests, and situations where effort did not translate into results.
[22:23 – 40:42] Diagnosis, Medication, and Reframing the Past
- Molly explains the relief, anger, and grief that came with finally receiving an ADHD diagnosis at 21.
- Medication, accommodations, and greater self-understanding make graduate school and everyday life significantly easier.
- She reflects on how undiagnosed ADHD likely intensified her anxiety, depression, harsh self-talk, and other challenges.
[40:42 – 01:08:15] Freelancing, Creative Work, and Building Better Systems
- Molly shares why autonomy, variety, and creative projects led her from in-house marketing to freelance work.
- She explains how project management tools, clear deadlines, and committing to one system help her manage work without external structure.
- Her podcast becomes a lasting creative outlet, and her main ADHD workaround is giving a new system a fair chance before abandoning it for something new.
ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.
That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here
- Website: portfoliomollysmith.com
- LinkedIn: molly-smith
- Instagram: @mollybirdsmith
- Instagram: @didthatagewell
- Tiktok: @didthatagewellpod
- Youtube: @didthatagewell
- Apple: did-that-age-well
