Jools Oliver describes ADHD and autism diagnoses

Jools Oliver has said she was diagnosed with ADHD and autism, describing the years before she understood her neurodivergence as draining and difficult. She discussed the diagnoses, her health anxiety and their effect on her life on the Lessons From Our Mothers podcast. Oliver said her ADHD diagnosis came about four years ago. After learning that her children had been diagnosed with autism, she recognised traits she shared with them and sought an autism assessment. She said she received that diagnosis too. She described the diagnoses as helping her make sense of experiences she had previously attributed to something else. Oliver, who is 51, said she felt that thinking for 45 years that it was something else had been tiring and hard work. She also said understanding autism had helped her connect with her children who have the condition. Oliver said she has medication prescribed for ADHD but has not wanted to take it because of health anxiety and fear that something might happen. Her account did not specify what medication she was prescribed or whether she has discussed those concerns with a clinician. She has also spoken about the difficulty of distinguishing the effects of...