How an ADHD diagnosis was lost and found again (Nikki Daye’s story)
How an ADHD diagnosis was lost and found again (Nikki Daye’s story)  
Podcast: ADHD Aha!
Published On: Tue May 27 2025
Description: Nikki Daye, a school psychologist and ADHD advocate, grew up in the foster care system. She was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but her medical records were eventually lost. As she got older, her ADHD diagnosis wasn’t considered. Instead, her symptoms were misdiagnosed as anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. While her ADHD diagnosis was “lost in translation,” Nikki spent a lot of time feeling misunderstood and unsupported. It wasn’t until adulthood that she finally got the clarity she needed. Now, she’s using her experience to advocate for kids with ADHD, including her own daughter.Related resources6 ways ADHD and PTSD can look alikeADHD and traumaTimestamps(01:18) Nikki’s first ADHD diagnosis as a teenager(03:30) Nikki’s experience with echolalia (05:27) ADHD treatment, speculating other diagnoses, and medical records being lost while in foster care(09:11) “Aging out” of her ADHD diagnosis, and coming back to it(15:08) Nikki’s intersectional “aha” moments (20:33) Nikki’s work helping kids like her, and her daughterFor a transcript and more resources, visit the ADHD Aha! show page on Understood.org. We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at adhdaha@understood.org or record a message for us here.  Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.