When High Ability Meets ADHD: Delayed Diagnosis and Midlife Transformation with Lisa Lackey

What happens when high ability and late-diagnosed ADHD intersect in midlife? In this episode, Diann Wingert sits down with licensed psychotherapist Lisa Lackey to explore the unique journey of a high-achieving business owner with ADHD receiving a diagnosis later in life. High intelligence often masks executive function struggles for decades until life transitions like menopause make traditional coping mechanisms unsustainable.
For every ADHD entrepreneur exhausted from compensating for hidden challenges, this conversation offers clarity and validation. Discover how ADHD business coaching, self-compassion, and intentional community foster sustainable success and elevate neurodivergent leadership without burnout.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS & TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Delayed ADHD Diagnosis in High-Achieving Women
06:45 - Why High Ability Can Hide ADHD
13:30 - ADHD, Perimenopause, and Midlife Changes
20:15 - The Second Knowing: Rediscovering Yourself
27:30 - Redefining Success Beyond Society’s Expectations
34:45 - Black Women, Burnout, and Legacy Healing
42:00 - Sankofa, Identity, and Midlife Transformation
48:30 - ADHD, Self-Acceptance, and Neurodivergent Strengths

Guest Bio: Lisa Lackey (she/her)
Lisa Lackey is a licensed psychotherapist, coach, and speaker with decades of experience supporting high-achieving individuals facing addiction, anxiety, depression, and now, navigating the complexities of neurodiversity and midlife transitions.
After being diagnosed with ADHD later in life, Lisa transformed her approach—creating supportive spaces for women, particularly Black women, to rediscover their authentic selves, reclaim joy, and build community in the second half of life. Lisa is passionate about spiritual growth, legacy work, and helping others write their own rules for fulfillment.
Episode Highlights – What You’ll Learn
• Why ADHD is often missed in high-achieving women, and how self-awareness—and even reading the “right” book—can be a game changer.
• How hyper-competence, overachievement, and the ability to "make it work" can hide ADHD symptoms for decades.
• Understanding how hormonal changes bring ADHD and identity struggles front and center for so many women in midlife.
• Lisa’s concept of the “second knowing”- waking up in midlife, letting go of societal shoulds, and connecting to your true purpose and inner wisdom.
• How women—especially women of color—can build new definitions of success, heal generational burdens, and lift each other up.

Connect with Lisa Lackey
• Website:Inside Out Recovery (insideoutrecovery.com)
• LinkedIn:Lisa Lackey on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/lisalackey)

Mentioned by our guest:
Driven to Distraction by Ned Hallowell, MD (bit.ly/47u1k7D)- the book Lisa read in 2 hours & recognized her own ADHD
Bell Hooks (bellhooksbooks.com) - Black author, best known for her work on race, feminism & social class
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankofa- a word in the Twi language of Ghana, meaning “to retrieve”

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© 2025 ADHD-ish Podcast. Intro music by Ishan Dincer / Melody Loops / Outro music by Vladimir / Bobi Music / All rights reserved.