Kathleen G. Nadeau
“ADHD doesn't retire when you turn 18”
Overview
Kathleen G. Nadeau, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with over 50 years of experience and one of the most prolific authors in ADHD literature, having authored or co-authored over 15 books. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Florida.
She is the founder and former director of The Chesapeake Center in Bethesda, Maryland — one of the largest private ADHD specialty clinics in the United States. After decades of clinical work, she announced the center's closure at the end of 2025 to focus on writing, lecturing, and online professional training.
Nadeau is a co-founder of the National Center for Gender Issues in AD/HD and has served on the professional advisory boards of both CHADD and ADDA. In 1999, she received the CHADD Hall of Fame Award for her groundbreaking work on girls and women with ADHD.
She is widely respected for championing a "lifespan approach" to ADHD — consistently highlighting how the condition manifests differently from childhood through adolescence, adulthood, and into older age. Her 2022 book "Still Distracted After All These Years" was the first major work to address ADHD specifically in the aging population, noting that ADHD in seniors is often misdiagnosed as early-onset cognitive decline.
Notable Quotes
“High intelligence can be the best camouflage for ADHD — and the cruelest.”
“ADHD doesn't expire at age 18. It evolves, and so must our understanding of it.”
“Understanding is the first step. Self-advocacy is the second.”
Connection to Your ADHD Type
Nadeau's focus on quiet, inattentive ADHD that goes undetected for decades maps to the Dreamer type — the mind-wanderer whose internal richness masks their struggles. Her work on high-IQ compensation also connects to the Ghost type's masking behaviors: intelligence as camouflage.
Which ADHD type are you?
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