ADHD Babes

The challenge

Adults across the UK with ADHD face chronic underdiagnosis and overstretched services. Of an estimated 2.6 million people with ADHD in the UK, two million are undiagnosed. Services are overwhelmed, with waits for assessment stretching to years in many areas.

For Black women and non-binary people, the picture is even starker. Research shows this group screens positive for ADHD at higher rates than any other, yet remains the least likely to receive a formal diagnosis.

This issue is made worse by a lack of suitable support services, aimed specifically at Black women and non binary people with ADHD. Without diagnosis or community, the consequences can be serious: isolation, difficulties in work, and deteriorating mental health.

The project

ADHD Babes is a Black, disabled-led organisation run by and for Black Women and non-binary people with ADHD.

It aims to plug this gap, by providing a space created by and for Black women and non-binary people with ADHD – such as through peer support groups, wellbeing workshops, coaching and creative events.

Through this work, ADHD aims to create a society that embraces disability justice and neurodiversity.

We initially gave ADHD a 12-month development grant of £15,000, to help the team build a sustainable, community-led business model. This in turn led to a three-year grant of £160,000 to help the organisation grow and ensure it can support Black women and non-binary people for the long term.

By building an organisation that is sustainable, community-led and rooted in the experiences of the people it serves, ADHD Babes is contributing to a disability justice movement that is more diverse, more resilient, and better equipped to challenge the inequalities that have held this community back for too long.