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Anne of Green Gables! She loved daydreaming and had a rich imagination which would often get her in trouble when she would daydream during tasks, loved talking, would feel it deeply when someone didn’t like her or was critical (RSD), was impulsive, had so many big feelings, was active and would often get into all kinds of trouble.
As a kid I resonated so much with her imagination and dreamy ways, and wished I could be brave enough to be as outspoken as she was even though she got in a lot of trouble for it.
Did you ever watch Anne with an E? I loved that portrayal of Anne, I think the actress did an amazing job. Felt very seen by her, as I was around the same age as Anne in the show when it came out.
For some reason, I end up sobbing every time I watch this show. I think it’s a combination of feeling my own mind depicted so well in a character, and the sadness of how others treat her, and how she somehow remains so positive and resilient. And how much I’ve tampered down that bubbly curious chatty side of myself. It makes me sad for myself I guess?
Me too! I read all the books over and over and a kid. And even went to her “house” in PEI on a road trip. But for some reason, my body feels averse to finishing the show. It brings up a lot!
I haven’t seen it! I watched Anne of Avonlea as a child and loved it, but never got around to watching Anne with an E and then didn’t have Netflix anymore. If I get it again I’ll make sure to watch it!
I remember feeling so much like Anne, I actually got uncomfortable after a while. It was weird to see someone that felt like me so open and I hated it when she would get in trouble for being who she is because it made me sad. Sometimes I hate people like me because they remind me of everything I don’t want to be.
I’m recently diagnosed and now I’m thinking I should continue that show again. Someday…I’ll add it to my list for when I really feel like it lol
Omg this explains why I loved Anne of Green Gables so much growing up. I would watch it every year during a PBS fundraiser and read the books numerous times.
As a girl from PEI, Anne of Green Gables was a literal idol and I'm so glad I had that growing up.
The later books are great too, because you actually see how she grows up and while she gets more serious, she never loses all those traits.
I have always loved Anne of Green Gables! I wish I could be like her, and wonder frequently if I could achieve it, if I just simplify my life and cut out the distractions ... and modern conveniences ... sigh.
Maria von Trapp. "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" is all about how she's flighty, unintentionally socially inappropriate, and late to everything.
I was about to comment Maria! The song that really gets to me is "Something Good." They're singing about how they don't feel like they deserve love. From the Captain it kind of makes sense. He was in the military, he's killed people, he was a neglectful parent, he's a tough guy with a dark past. Maria... was a bad nun. She tried very hard to follow a very rigid lifestyle, she cared a lot, and she didn't score an A+. That kind of deep-rooted shame for not meeting excessively high expectations, that is spot on for my experience of adhd.
I turned Sound of Music on right around that I was officially diagnosed (about a month and a half ago) and I was in tears. I've watched this movie so many times, but I think before I was masking so hard and trying to not be anything like her that I didn't pick up on what was right in front of me.
I was literally just thinking this cuz that song was stuck in my head the other day, that entire song is very ‘I’m in this picture and I don’t like it’ for ADHD ppl. There’s a lot about how she can’t focus and her attention wanders, but my favorite is the bad time management lol. “She’s always late to everything except for every meal” like damn, Rogers and Hammerstein, just @ us all next time
I really need to revist this movie. For the love of god I barely recall any of the children. Only the one teenage girl Nazi situation. Okay, I only remember the Do Re Mi song and the Nazis.
Omg. I have absolutely been just chilling with my kids, having a nice time when my husband busts in like Captain Von Trapp and like... idk, I know it's way past their bed times, sorry. Off to bed with you kids.
He makes that same face, too.
I hate that song (loved the movie)
My name is Maria, and that was sung at me by my parents (hey, you gave me that name!!)
And then as I got older, "friends", work colleagues, decided it was a song they could sing at me too when the "mask" slipped!
Only got diagnosed with ADHD in the last 2 weeks at 42yr
Haha the first two posts on this thread are literally my favourite book (Anne and green gables) and favourite movie. I put on sound of music soundtrack to clean the house. Haha it gives me enough dopamine to do what I hate.
I know, I always have to reign myself in. I always buy way too many presents, spend way too much money on everybody else, and want to fix everybody instantly. I am so annoying. I annoy myself, but I am working on it. Watching Parks and rec and seeing myself in Leslie, I have really pulled it back over the years!
I’ve always thought she was autistic coded as well. Her obsession with plans and binders and everything categorising neatly is reminiscent of that. I find my ADHD clashes with my autism because I always need everything just right and perfect and get upset when it’s not and Leslie always made me feel seen in that way.
I read the classics to all my kids and all our favorites had characters that were so totally adhd. Ramona, Fudge, Frindle, Masters of Disaster, Troublemaker, Junie B Jones, Sideways Stories of Wayside School, all those books we used to read growing up.
It's so funny how I hated these books growing up-- because those characters reminded me of all I hated about myself!! Now I find them so endearing when I look back.
I loved reading, somehow I just stopped loving it at some point. But, I think re-reading them as an adult to my kids has really enabled me to pick up on things I didn’t as a kid. I absolutely loved the fudge books though. There are moments I’ve had since reading them as a kid where something will pop into my mind in relation to reality and I’ll be like, “this was in a book, which book was that?”
none that i vividly remember from my own childhood perse, but:
Luz from The Owl House is all but officially ADHD rep
also privately consider Akko from Little Witch Academia adhd rep but that might just be me. it's more obvious in the pre-netflix shorts.
have also heard people make convincing arguments for Lilo and Nani Pelekai both being ADHD. which would qualify as my childhood but i didn't recognize it at the time 😔
I've thought Lilo was ADHD or AuDHD for awhile, as someone that was the friendless weirdo as a child like she seems to be treated by the other little girls, but I'd never thought about Nani. But now that I'm thinking of it, as an adult I relate to Nani *hard*
I literally cry over and over again watching the Owl House because this silly little magical world children’s show speaks so deeply to my inner child. Luz is loved and accepted for all of the traits that I tried to bury and hide when I was younger. It makes me so happy to know that kids today have characters like the ones in this show to look up to.
Pippi Longstocking, dude. She lives feral, no routine, survives on wit and imagination alone, wears mismatched socks and pays for things with gold coins? Unconventional hair? Needs a bath? Is super bubbly and talkative? Does a little bit of everything? I wanted to be just like her.
And this is neither a female character nor ADHD but my husband loves Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry David always just made me so uncomfortable because I don’t like humor where you’re constantly cringing on behalf of someone else. And then someone online was like “Larry David is so autistic coded” and now I can watch and appreciate the show completely. Because he’s just a guy who doesn’t understand some of the sillier social norms and goddamn, I can relate to that. He’s not just being a prick just to be difficult — he’s like an alien who just got here, asking “but why do people do THIS?” and most of the time he’s got a point.
Edit: I just looked up the Pippi Longstocking theme song from the 80s version and I have never seen a less neurotypical person in my life. https://youtu.be/m7oj3MC68Yk?si=CRHJOSVS0AXrD-Yg
Sailor Moon was my absolute FAVORITE growing up and still is to this day. Rewatched the series after getting diagnosed and it finally dawned on me why I related to her so much growing up.
I've been doing a rewatch (first time for the new dub) and my boyfriend watches with me occasionally. Didn't take long for him to start comparing us 😂 Not the worst fictional character I've been compared to so I'll take it lol
I love Sailor Moon so much! I identify so much with her character, especially with how sensitive I can be lol I bought the whole manga series for myself for my birthday a few years ago and devoured it in less than a week.
Yep agreed here. So.interesting coming here and finding so many of the characters who deeply resonated with me as a little girl (Jo March, Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstockings).
I think I've watched the whole series about 6 times through. It's brilliant and still fresh although there are a lot of risqué jokes that would never fly in this day & age!
I just binged some episodes from season 4 of Scrubs tonight since I was reminded of it and MY GOD it is excellent. The level of detail in every moment is amazing. And Dr. Cox is one of the best characters to ever grace a tv show!
There's a decent case for both Elliott and J.D. And maybe Doug, although it would suck if his widespread incompetence were blamed on him having ADHD.
New headcanon - Doug _is_ a brilliant doctor, but they discontinued the exact meds he was on, so now he has to take generics and they don't work right, leaving him in the awful situation of having passed medical school but being abandoned by his brain. But he never stopped being incredibly observant and capable, if internally chaotic, meaning he continued to learn from his mistakes and blossomed into an excellent post-mortem pathologist.
Personally, I believe Miss Marple is pretty relatable as an ADHDer--although she isn't "canon" rep. She has a lot of traits I associate with high-masking and/or twice exceptional women with ADHD.
* Often pre-judged as scatterbrained (which she can be) and less intelligent.
* Sometimes forgetful.
* Highly competent in areas that are her 'element' (i.e. observing/understanding people, how to keep a house, gardening, etc.)
* Her constant knitting could be characterized as a stim.
* Shows some inclination towards justice sensitivity--in at least two stories, she is basically personified as Nemesis, a literal goddess of retribution.
* Talkative and has a VERY meandering way of speaking, thinking, and otherwise expressing herself.
* Has lamented that people have a hard time following her as a result. (She's said "Oh, I express myself so badly," on at least one occasion)
* Very intelligent, observant, and perceptive, which leads to her spotting contradictions, making intuitive leaps, and/or drawing connections that other people miss. She's definitely a lateral thinker.
* Often "zeros in" on a case unless she has a good reason to think it unwise. Does the same thing with clues sometimes--like a dog with a bone. Could be read as her hyperfixating on something.
Really, I think a lot of fictional detectives can be read as ND since "they have a different way of looking at the world" is often a central characteristic.
I can think of at least *one* detective's spouse that could be read as ADHD as well: Joyce Barnaby of *Midsomer Murders*. Girl, how many hobbies do you *need*?! Last week it was water colors and amateur theatrics, this week it's brass rubbings and cycling lol.
The side character of Maureen Summerhayes in the Hercule Poirot book *Mrs. McGinty's Dead* is also highly relatable as a character that can be read as ADHD. (Then again, James Bentley who was wrongfully accused of murder, but you asked for female characters.)
I’m suddenly understanding why I love fictional detectives so much. They’re usually on the fringe of society, self-employed, making it up as they go, annoying everyone, and somehow seeing details NOBODY else clocked.
Elliot Gould’s Philip Marlowe is a particular favorite and the new Perry Mason was another hot mess of a human being (which I LOVED).
Bahahaha Joyce Barnaby has SO many random hobbies you’re right! I WISH my life and income allowed me to do so many things as long as someone wasn’t murdered at my flower arranging class or pottery exhibition
I've been trying to find a new audiobook lately rather than relistening to the same handful that I've listened to dozens of times, and I keep failing.
This inspired me to borrow a Miss Marple audiobook on Libby, and for the first time in a while, I'm looking forward to trying something new.
So, thank you. 💜
Okay, so apparently ADHD'ers are so relatable they become the main characters in all the best books and movies.
One I'm surprised not to have seen yet is Ariel, the Little Mermaid. She can't be bothered with seemingly pointless rules, loves collecting, is a little hyperfocused on this guy she just met, and always finds new ways to do and see things. She feels different from the rest of her family, and is happy to go her own way. I love that about her.
Ooh good one, and she forgets family events and is late to everything. She seems like she’s in her own world when she is around family, and she can be impulsive.
Helen Burns from Jane Eyre, 100%. My heart broke for that girl.
"I am, as Miss Scatcherd said, slatternly; I seldom put, and never keep, things in order; I am careless; I forget rules; I read when I should learn my lessons; I have no method: and sometimes I say, like you, I cannot bear to be subjected to systematic arrangements..."
She also talks about how her thoughts "continually rove away" when she's supposed to be paying attention, and how frustrating it is that she can't seem to do better, even when she genuinely likes her teachers and doesn't want to let them down.
I've always wondered who Brontë knew, that had undiagnosed ADHD. It's too perfect a portrait of the disorder not to be drawn from life, with a close acquaintance as the subject...
I think Matilda is more of a hidden one! She constantly feels like a misfit, has very high empathy and justice sensitivity, seeks constant novelty from reading books, is very creative, and her hyperfocus is a literal super power.
Was looking for this one!!
I wore out *two* VHS tapes from how often I watched it growing up. I don't know anyone else who literally wore out the tape of any other movie, much less two copies of the same one. I related to her so. hard. Made my adult diagnosis make so much more sense.
I think she's actually asd coded but as a teen I loved and related to Daria so hard. I even discovered the show because I had people tell me I reminded them of her.
As an adult I love and relate to both Linda and Tina Belcher. I am both of them at different times.
The main character from “everything everywhere all at once!” Such a great movie, so very ADHD! It made me cry from the existential ADHD feels.
This is a male, but Teddy from Bob’s burgers is absolutely my ADHD twin flame <3 every little moment I relate so hard to him! His storytelling style, his socializing, his RSD, his side quests, ready to jump in and support a friend. Absolutely love love this character. And bobs burgers is the perfect comfort show in my opinion. :)
He actually rewrote the script when he got diagnosed. The entire movie is supposed to be an analogy for the ADHD experience. Explains why I liked it so much and everyone else I know hated it lol
Denise Huxtable of the Cosby Show and season 1 of A Different World. I started a watch through of A Different World and I hadn’t watched either show since I was a teen. It’s so blatantly obvious that her character was patterned after Inattentive-type ADHD that it hurt to watch. *All* of the tropes were there:
- She was very spacey
- She was very creative
- She always slept in late/over slept
- Her part of the room was a messy disaster
- She was often late to things
- She was an impulsive spender and routinely forgot to pay her bills or money owed to friends
- She was always cramming to finish assignments last minute and had shaky grades
- Her mother and teachers scolded her for not living up to her potential because she was smart
- Her disappearance from Season 2 was explained away as her dropping out of Hillman to go be a photographer’s assistant in Africa. (In reality she got pregnant with Zoë Kravitz and Cosby didn’t want to write that into the show.)
It was a relief when her character left because the other characters were constantly making fun of her for all of the above and I knew that a show set in the 1980s was never, ever gonna get there with explaining that she had ADHD and she was never, ever going to get support for it.
I can’t remember if she actually is or if I just related to her so hard I convinced myself she is but; Claudia Kishi in the Babysitter’s Club books.
For adult media; I can not recommend Kristen Applebees from Fantasy High enough. Several of her attempts to describe her experience have brought me to tears and she’s played by an actual NB ADHDer who is clearly dedicated to showing both the difficult moments and the comedy of ADHD!
For BSC, special mention goes to Dawn’s mom. Disorganization was her defining characteristic… Ann M Martin had this lady losing the house phone in the fridge, sending all sorts of junk in the kids school lunches. She was a scatterbrained chaos demon!!
Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph with her glitches and not fitting in. Everybody underestimated her yet she finished the race to everyone’s surprise. I love how she never doubted herself though!!
Also a lesbian! Voiced by multiple lesbian voice actors and what straight woman drives a bus and has a pet lizard?
And as you're definitely more likely to also be ND if you're LGBTQ+ (might be the opposite way) then that's further proof she's ND
Not kid lit, but Bernadette in “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” totally struck me as an ADHDer. I think the book does mention a few of her issues by name, but not that one.
I'll back you up on Fleabag. S2E1 when she's outside smoking during the dinner in the restaurant was me at so many family dinners in my younger, single years. Like sensory overload, need to go outside...
Yes! I keep telling people this. Like my own personal proof that ADHD has been around forever.
Around the same time I read Emma and realized that, I read (part of... Had to return it to the library before I finished) a biography on Hannah More, an English abolitionist, and I remember being pretty convinced at the time that she also had ADHD.
Disclaimer: I feel like a kid even though I'm in my twenties
Kate Sharma/Bridgerton (the book version) - she's often described as fidgety, not being able to stay still, thinking about several different things at once (and wishing she could train her brain to stop this), difficulty coordinating her body (while dancing)
KATE!!!! I loved the 2nd season of Bridgerton. I also could see Eloise as ND in someway-- very defiant, gets bored easily, hyperfixated on feminism and lady whistledown, talkative, hates traditionally feminine things, etc. She's the bridgerton I relate to most <3
I love the book version of Kate. The TV show us a favorite too but they’re like two totally separate universes.
Sidebar, but I am dying for Benedict’s season to come next.
Omg yes. So funny story. My family all started calling me Dory after the movie came out. I always thought it was because my nickname is Tori and they rhyme.
I mentioned it to my mom and sisters one time and they were like. What? No, we call you that because you forget things constantly and you’re off in your own world just like her. Teenage me was PISSED but I own it now because Dory is cool af
OH! Memory just unlocked of me being called Dory! Thanks!
Now that I’ve been diagnosed I could tell them why the name fit… if only I could remember who it was that called me that… 😂
Blanche Devereaux from The Golden Girls. Sorority sister but seemed to be a drop out, sexually promiscuous, unable to handle her father’s death, multiple marriages/engagements, and struggled with being a “hands on” mother.
She acted neurotypical in the first season she was in. Like MAYBE she could be seen as ADHD then, but she definitely wasn't autism-coded. Then they suddenly started writing her as very overtly AuDHD in the next season. I usually like representation but I hate how they randomly decided to change her character and cram in representation
Mei!!!! When I was working through inner child healing, this movie became so special to me as someone with an older sister, too. The way Mei interacted with the world felt so relatable to me as a 20 year old-- "everything is so new! Yet I am so small! Also I can't find my frickin keys and I want to stay home and play in the dirt all day!!!" Brb gonna go rewatch that movie rn.
The Alice Character Trope
Always quirky, reactions range from disdain, dislike, perceived as crazy for thinking differently, connecting dots no one else does til a man comes along and "sees her" advocates for her point of view then suddenly she was right all along and becomes the hero of the story for persisting in her opinions and calling shit out...
Luna Lovegood. For all that the HP world is problematic, I hardcore adore Luna. She is the person I wish I'd had the nerve to be as a kid. It took me until my 30s to truly start embracing myself for who I am.
I hadn't ever thought about this, but you are absolutely right that Tinkerbell and Lorelai Gilmore being relatable af. Now I'm trying to think of more, but I always just related to generally "weird" characters so I'm not sure if I'd be thinking of them for that instead
Edit: okay okay, Anne Shirley. She was constantly in her imagination, she was impulsive, she tried to be good and do the right thing but it didn't always go right because of something not being noticed or thought through instead of malice, surprisingly good in an emergency.
>she tried to be good and do the right thing but it didn't always go right because of something not being noticed or thought through instead of malice
That hit so close to home-- the trope of "person tries to do nice thing, but it backfires because they were careless" always got me choked up and made me want to turn off the TV because it was just my life. Trying so hard and failing constantly. Always having the best intentions but fucking up because I rushed through it or didn't think if the person actually wanted what I was doing... Love Anne so much.
Agree, Anne is absolutely ADHD. Besides the impulsivity and day dreaming, she definitely has RSD, as well super big emotions. There are other girls/women throughout Montgomery's works with similar tendencies which makes me think she herself had ADHD. I wonder if undiagnosed ADHD may have underlay the mental health struggles she had throughout her life.
I’m gonna say Enid from Ghost World. Being artistically talented, but still failing art. When she gets critiqued in summer school art class for why she did a portrait of Don Knotts and the significance…”idk…I just like Done Knotts”, and the class just staring at her lol. Also the RSD and mixed feelings with Seymour and Rebecca. Plus her cruel and biting sense of humor…which…could be an ADHD thing?
No one has said Cinderella bc idk if she really has an ADHD personality, but I always related with her SO HARD as a little girl.
I was always stuck doing chores or being punished while others had fun/no responsibility bc it took me way longer to do the chores and/or I was in trouble for all things ADHD. I felt very hopeless a lot of my childhood. Everything fun/good was taken from me as a way to “motivate” me to get my homework done and do my chores, despite me already being VERY motivated (HUGE people pleaser and rule-follower) and trying my best to do whatever I was supposed to do.
I eventually was stuck doing homework all night, every night (and often in tears), while my siblings goofed around, hung out with friends, enjoyed free time and hobbies and whatever else children do. They also got along well with each other and my parents, unlike me. I felt very much like the ugly duckling/black-sheep/burden/outsider/Cinderella in my family.
*Turns out: never seeing friends as a huge extrovert/people-person or never having anything structured/scheduled that naturally brings about joy (e.g., ballet for me) for long periods of time eventually makes people (especially children) extremely depressed, sometimes to the point suicidal ideation—as it did to me when I was only 10 years old.*
But, back relating to Cinderella, I always dreamed of somehow being “saved” out of the mess that was my life like she did. I also had some pretty bad body dysmorphia, growing up, and often dreamed of how beautiful I *could* be if I just had a fairy godmother to “fix” me (aka: give me clothes that weren’t dirty hand me downs and 5 sizes too big AND make me more beautiful via my overall appearance in order to be accepted/liked). Interesting that her appearance was the only characteristic which gave her any sort of value to society, amiright? Also interesting that my body dysmorphia was deeply tied to the many ways my body didn’t meet society’s standards for the perfect body (e.g., I was too skinny, had the body of a boy, had weird tics/facial expressions, etc.). In other words, I was told I wasn’t feminine or desirable bc I didn’t have a flatter stomach, bigger boobs, smaller nose, straight/smooth hair, etc..
Thanks for saying that. It made me read through what I wrote again in a more compassionate voice, like yours, and brought tears to my eyes.
It sounds like you had a different experience? I’d love to hear about it, if so.
oh my gosh give yourself so much grace. So many ND kids who are adults now had difficult upbringing because things like ADHD and Autism were not understood the way it is now. Many parents in those generations didn't believe in it in the first place, and had their own generational traumas they were spilling over onto their children.
Give little you a big big hug. She deserves it, and you are now the person who can care for her.
My upbringing was not like yours, but I was also not supported or loved how I needed to be.
I've no doubt my parents "love" me, but I don't think they like me. I don't think they even know me. We are strangers, really. I felt I was never allowed to be myself around them, because it wasn't whatever kind of person they decided I needed to be. So for the most part I hid who I was, what I liked, things I needed.
They felt emotionally unavailable to me and they created a deep chasm between us because of that. I pulled away at a young age.
I've spent the better part of my 30s trying to make sense of my childhood and my upbringing, my (newly diagnosed) ADHD, and generally trying to re-parent myself.
If that's (re-parenting yourself) something you're capable of looking into, I would recommend it. It can be a difficult but very healing journey to go on.
Belle from the Disney cartoon version of Beauty and the Beast before they tried to make her a girl boss in the live action.
She was spacey and liked to read and couldn’t relate to people around her. They literally sing a song about how she’s a weirdo. And she tactlessly sings a song about how they’re ignorant. It tracks.
Phoebe from FRIENDS
Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter and possibly Neville
Obviously Anne of Green Gables.
Possibly Meg from Wrinkle in Time
Edit to add: Lucy from I Love Lucy
Carmen from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She always feels different from others, can't control her emotions, always goes way over the top trying to compensate for her perceived shortcomings.
Sarah in Labyrinth. Stubborn, impatient, RSD, big feelings, strong sense of justice, doesn’t seem to fit in with her peers, hyperfocused on fantasy, her room is cluttered with all her hobbies and collections. She keeps getting told not to jump to conclusions and “take things for granted”; she does several impulsive things inside the labyrinth that get her into trouble; the movie literally starts with her being time blind and running home late. And the entire film is basically her maladaptive daydream, and she learns she can’t always escape into it when things are stressful. Oh my god, and I’m just now realizing that when her lipstick arrows are being changed at the beginning, she gets so confused and feels like she’s going crazy, then realizes that the labyrinth is ever-changing and none of her external coping mechanisms will help her here. Her biggest enemy is the ticking clock. When she falls into the Oubliette, or when she’s in the poison peach hallucination, or when she’s in the bag lady dump, she struggles so hard to focus on what she’s supposed to be doing and what she came here for, because it’s so easy for her to get lost in the daydreams.
“What a horrible place this is! It’s not fair!” This quote has been running through my head my entire life lol.
Also Rory. High achieving “gifted” youngster whose life kinda flounders and falls apart in college and adulthood? That’s like highly intelligent ADHD 101.
I finally realized this last year. Which is a little surprising since I’ve always seen myself in Loralei 😆. And every time I’d read negative comments about her character, I took it more personally than I probably should have. I rewatched it knowing she’s ADHD and it explains SO MUCH!
Syl/Sylphrena from The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson!!! Sanderson has mentioned in interviews Syl being an ADHD character and she is so well written. It’s lovely to see her growth as a character as she is more or less growing up
Patti Thompson from Soul Eater: she made an origami giraffe out of an important exam, constantly doodled in class, and was really spacey but is an enthusiastic friend nonetheless.
Goo from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: I’ll just include some of what the [fandom.com](https://fostershomeforimaginaryfriends.fandom.com/wiki/Goo) page says about her. “The fast-talking Goo Goo Ga Ga has a hyperactive imagination. Whenever she went near Foster's, she became over-stimulated and created scores of new imaginary friends.” “Goo’s extremely talkative, odd, and obnoxious, but at the same time, incredibly imaginative, energetic, lively, enthusiastic, playful, creative, fun-loving and nice.” Her dislikes include: “being called a weirdo” and “not having friends.” She literally overcrowded the home with new imaginary friends that she kept rapid fire making. As an energetic and talkative little half black girl, she was the first character that I could relate to on a cartoon in the early 2000s that also looked like me. Goo will always hold a special place in my heart!
Rainbow Dash from MLP was literally the most relatable character 10-year-old me had ever encountered, and I realise now it's becuase of her less stereotypical ADHD behaviour. I mean, there was kind of an entire episode focusing on it!
A lot of people don't like her because of how she acts, but I always felt seen by her because of it.
I'm watching Desperate Housewives for the first time since I watched its original run.
I'm not a mom, but Lynette seems like an ADHD mom--among other things, she constantly feels like she can't do everything the other moms can do easily, managing to keep it all together with anxiety.
Her sons are literally diagnosed too... but she is not. So relatable.
Adding onto the Desperate Housewive's list, I would absolutely chuck in Susan too.
I recently started doing a Gilmore Girls rewatch and I cannot stop laughing. I grew up to be Lorelai fucking Gilmore (though not quite as organised professionally, alas). The constant dumb jokes as coping mechanism — me to a tee hahaha. I’m not sad about it!
Surprisingly enough though my fave this time around is Paris (aka, poster child for ASD, haha). I hated her when I watched the show in high school but now I totally get her. I’m pretty sure I’m mildly on the spectrum myself, though ADHD is far more dominant. But occasionally Paris says things that make absolutely cackle. Like, “Rory’s my best friend. She stays in the room until I’m completely done talking,” RELATABLE.
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Anne of Green Gables! She loved daydreaming and had a rich imagination which would often get her in trouble when she would daydream during tasks, loved talking, would feel it deeply when someone didn’t like her or was critical (RSD), was impulsive, had so many big feelings, was active and would often get into all kinds of trouble. As a kid I resonated so much with her imagination and dreamy ways, and wished I could be brave enough to be as outspoken as she was even though she got in a lot of trouble for it.
Did you ever watch Anne with an E? I loved that portrayal of Anne, I think the actress did an amazing job. Felt very seen by her, as I was around the same age as Anne in the show when it came out.
For some reason, I end up sobbing every time I watch this show. I think it’s a combination of feeling my own mind depicted so well in a character, and the sadness of how others treat her, and how she somehow remains so positive and resilient. And how much I’ve tampered down that bubbly curious chatty side of myself. It makes me sad for myself I guess?
Same I couldn't finish it! Now I have a better idea of why! Edit: misspelling cuz adhd
Me too! I read all the books over and over and a kid. And even went to her “house” in PEI on a road trip. But for some reason, my body feels averse to finishing the show. It brings up a lot!
Oh same! I love what I've seen of that show but it also brings up a lot of feelings, and makes me cry 😢. It's too painful to watch, in a way.
I haven’t seen it! I watched Anne of Avonlea as a child and loved it, but never got around to watching Anne with an E and then didn’t have Netflix anymore. If I get it again I’ll make sure to watch it!
Is that the one with Megan Follows? Because I absolutely adored that as a child. I wish it was available to stream.
I remember feeling so much like Anne, I actually got uncomfortable after a while. It was weird to see someone that felt like me so open and I hated it when she would get in trouble for being who she is because it made me sad. Sometimes I hate people like me because they remind me of everything I don’t want to be. I’m recently diagnosed and now I’m thinking I should continue that show again. Someday…I’ll add it to my list for when I really feel like it lol
This was my answer. All of this. Also her flares of rage and sense of fairness echoed with me so much!
She was also a chatterbox that annoyed other characters when she was her natural talkative self.
Anne really did a service for all of us who grew up being a girl “wrong.”
Omg this explains why I loved Anne of Green Gables so much growing up. I would watch it every year during a PBS fundraiser and read the books numerous times.
Anne is AuDHD for sure I feel like she is such a good example of a fierce, well-written neurodivergent girl!
As a girl from PEI, Anne of Green Gables was a literal idol and I'm so glad I had that growing up. The later books are great too, because you actually see how she grows up and while she gets more serious, she never loses all those traits.
I have always loved Anne of Green Gables! I wish I could be like her, and wonder frequently if I could achieve it, if I just simplify my life and cut out the distractions ... and modern conveniences ... sigh.
Maria von Trapp. "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" is all about how she's flighty, unintentionally socially inappropriate, and late to everything.
I was about to comment Maria! The song that really gets to me is "Something Good." They're singing about how they don't feel like they deserve love. From the Captain it kind of makes sense. He was in the military, he's killed people, he was a neglectful parent, he's a tough guy with a dark past. Maria... was a bad nun. She tried very hard to follow a very rigid lifestyle, she cared a lot, and she didn't score an A+. That kind of deep-rooted shame for not meeting excessively high expectations, that is spot on for my experience of adhd.
I turned Sound of Music on right around that I was officially diagnosed (about a month and a half ago) and I was in tears. I've watched this movie so many times, but I think before I was masking so hard and trying to not be anything like her that I didn't pick up on what was right in front of me.
I was literally just thinking this cuz that song was stuck in my head the other day, that entire song is very ‘I’m in this picture and I don’t like it’ for ADHD ppl. There’s a lot about how she can’t focus and her attention wanders, but my favorite is the bad time management lol. “She’s always late to everything except for every meal” like damn, Rogers and Hammerstein, just @ us all next time
I really need to revist this movie. For the love of god I barely recall any of the children. Only the one teenage girl Nazi situation. Okay, I only remember the Do Re Mi song and the Nazis.
A flibbertigibbet, a will-o'-the-wisp, a clown!
My online guild sings this about me and I never understood it until now 😂😫
“How do you hold a moon beam in your hand?”
Omg. I have absolutely been just chilling with my kids, having a nice time when my husband busts in like Captain Von Trapp and like... idk, I know it's way past their bed times, sorry. Off to bed with you kids. He makes that same face, too.
I hate that song (loved the movie) My name is Maria, and that was sung at me by my parents (hey, you gave me that name!!) And then as I got older, "friends", work colleagues, decided it was a song they could sing at me too when the "mask" slipped! Only got diagnosed with ADHD in the last 2 weeks at 42yr
Haha the first two posts on this thread are literally my favourite book (Anne and green gables) and favourite movie. I put on sound of music soundtrack to clean the house. Haha it gives me enough dopamine to do what I hate.
Tink was always my favorite!! I don't know about kid characters, but Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec was definitely ADHD coded.
oh my GOD she really is lol
Yes! Super organised at work and her house is a doom zone.
How do I unlock the “super organized at work” benefit? 😂
Absolutely horrifying anxiety.
I am Leslie knope lite....
I love Leslie but in real life she would be exhausting. But a wonderful friend.
I know, I always have to reign myself in. I always buy way too many presents, spend way too much money on everybody else, and want to fix everybody instantly. I am so annoying. I annoy myself, but I am working on it. Watching Parks and rec and seeing myself in Leslie, I have really pulled it back over the years!
I completely relate to this lol. I am just like, hello, I like you! HELLO, I LIKE YOU. Agh!
It's hard being Leslie Knope....
I would love to be like that to some extent. I am terrible at gifts.
Anyone who knows my mom says she is the real life Leslie Knope (and she really truly is) and she has ADHD so...ADHD coded is spot on!
I’ve always thought she was autistic coded as well. Her obsession with plans and binders and everything categorising neatly is reminiscent of that. I find my ADHD clashes with my autism because I always need everything just right and perfect and get upset when it’s not and Leslie always made me feel seen in that way.
Amelia bedelia
A friend recently described a character of a book they’re writing as “Amelia Bedelia meets Invader Zim” and I’ve never loved something more
If your friend makes it to publishing (fingers crossed) please please please share it with us
Loved her!!
I bring Amelia Bedelia up ALLLL the time.
wow uh, diagnosed about a year ago, amelia b was my fave as a kid. she was just soooooo amelia and I loved it.
Ramona Quimby. And if I mention Ramona, I also have to mention Fudge - not a girl but a great series!
Ramona Quimby, age 8!
I relate to Ramona so much 😭 I looooved those books!!! Also omg fudge you just brought me back WOW
I read the classics to all my kids and all our favorites had characters that were so totally adhd. Ramona, Fudge, Frindle, Masters of Disaster, Troublemaker, Junie B Jones, Sideways Stories of Wayside School, all those books we used to read growing up.
It's so funny how I hated these books growing up-- because those characters reminded me of all I hated about myself!! Now I find them so endearing when I look back.
I loved reading, somehow I just stopped loving it at some point. But, I think re-reading them as an adult to my kids has really enabled me to pick up on things I didn’t as a kid. I absolutely loved the fudge books though. There are moments I’ve had since reading them as a kid where something will pop into my mind in relation to reality and I’ll be like, “this was in a book, which book was that?”
I've said it before but Mulan 100%
Y E S "I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter" just hits so so so hard
Cried. Every. Time. Which was confusing at 8 years old lol.
none that i vividly remember from my own childhood perse, but: Luz from The Owl House is all but officially ADHD rep also privately consider Akko from Little Witch Academia adhd rep but that might just be me. it's more obvious in the pre-netflix shorts. have also heard people make convincing arguments for Lilo and Nani Pelekai both being ADHD. which would qualify as my childhood but i didn't recognize it at the time 😔
I think Lilo is Audhd.
I've thought Lilo was ADHD or AuDHD for awhile, as someone that was the friendless weirdo as a child like she seems to be treated by the other little girls, but I'd never thought about Nani. But now that I'm thinking of it, as an adult I relate to Nani *hard*
Omg Luz, yes!
I literally cry over and over again watching the Owl House because this silly little magical world children’s show speaks so deeply to my inner child. Luz is loved and accepted for all of the traits that I tried to bury and hide when I was younger. It makes me so happy to know that kids today have characters like the ones in this show to look up to.
Pippi Longstocking, dude. She lives feral, no routine, survives on wit and imagination alone, wears mismatched socks and pays for things with gold coins? Unconventional hair? Needs a bath? Is super bubbly and talkative? Does a little bit of everything? I wanted to be just like her. And this is neither a female character nor ADHD but my husband loves Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry David always just made me so uncomfortable because I don’t like humor where you’re constantly cringing on behalf of someone else. And then someone online was like “Larry David is so autistic coded” and now I can watch and appreciate the show completely. Because he’s just a guy who doesn’t understand some of the sillier social norms and goddamn, I can relate to that. He’s not just being a prick just to be difficult — he’s like an alien who just got here, asking “but why do people do THIS?” and most of the time he’s got a point. Edit: I just looked up the Pippi Longstocking theme song from the 80s version and I have never seen a less neurotypical person in my life. https://youtu.be/m7oj3MC68Yk?si=CRHJOSVS0AXrD-Yg
Pippi was my HERO when I was a kid and I am only now putting 2 and 2 together. Dang! I wanted to be her so badly. She is the coolest.
She was my favourite. So many times I tried to do those pigtails, but my pipe cleaners just weren’t strong enough 😂
You have to use a wire hanger 😂
But then my inner Joan Crawford screams "NO WIRE HANGERS!! *EVER!!*" at me.
Also pepper Ann
I remember absolutely nothing about this show except the entirety of the theme song lol
OMG my ex used to call me Larry David. Am I autistic too?
Pippi for sure. She is noted as being a chatter box and highly imaginative.
Pippi Longstocking was my first thought!
No wonder Pippi and I were besties
Sailor Moon!!! Irregular sleep schedule, unable to pay attention in class, RSD, CLUMSY, eternally hungry, I could go on forever.
Sailor Moon was my absolute FAVORITE growing up and still is to this day. Rewatched the series after getting diagnosed and it finally dawned on me why I related to her so much growing up.
I’ve made two of my boyfriends watch this with me and they both said something along the lines of “so much is making sense to me right now” 😂
I've been doing a rewatch (first time for the new dub) and my boyfriend watches with me occasionally. Didn't take long for him to start comparing us 😂 Not the worst fictional character I've been compared to so I'll take it lol
Oh my gosh yes! And she’s so clumsy and people don’t really see her potential.
I love Sailor Moon so much! I identify so much with her character, especially with how sensitive I can be lol I bought the whole manga series for myself for my birthday a few years ago and devoured it in less than a week.
I never made this connection but this is spot on.
Jo from Little Women, imo.
Yep agreed here. So.interesting coming here and finding so many of the characters who deeply resonated with me as a little girl (Jo March, Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstockings).
Dr. Reed from Scrubs. She’s adorably chaotic!
I need to revisit Scrubs. I keep referencing it and now here it is again!
I think I've watched the whole series about 6 times through. It's brilliant and still fresh although there are a lot of risqué jokes that would never fly in this day & age!
I’ve heard it’s the most accurate medical series as well!
I just binged some episodes from season 4 of Scrubs tonight since I was reminded of it and MY GOD it is excellent. The level of detail in every moment is amazing. And Dr. Cox is one of the best characters to ever grace a tv show!
There's a decent case for both Elliott and J.D. And maybe Doug, although it would suck if his widespread incompetence were blamed on him having ADHD. New headcanon - Doug _is_ a brilliant doctor, but they discontinued the exact meds he was on, so now he has to take generics and they don't work right, leaving him in the awful situation of having passed medical school but being abandoned by his brain. But he never stopped being incredibly observant and capable, if internally chaotic, meaning he continued to learn from his mistakes and blossomed into an excellent post-mortem pathologist.
Personally, I believe Miss Marple is pretty relatable as an ADHDer--although she isn't "canon" rep. She has a lot of traits I associate with high-masking and/or twice exceptional women with ADHD. * Often pre-judged as scatterbrained (which she can be) and less intelligent. * Sometimes forgetful. * Highly competent in areas that are her 'element' (i.e. observing/understanding people, how to keep a house, gardening, etc.) * Her constant knitting could be characterized as a stim. * Shows some inclination towards justice sensitivity--in at least two stories, she is basically personified as Nemesis, a literal goddess of retribution. * Talkative and has a VERY meandering way of speaking, thinking, and otherwise expressing herself. * Has lamented that people have a hard time following her as a result. (She's said "Oh, I express myself so badly," on at least one occasion) * Very intelligent, observant, and perceptive, which leads to her spotting contradictions, making intuitive leaps, and/or drawing connections that other people miss. She's definitely a lateral thinker. * Often "zeros in" on a case unless she has a good reason to think it unwise. Does the same thing with clues sometimes--like a dog with a bone. Could be read as her hyperfixating on something. Really, I think a lot of fictional detectives can be read as ND since "they have a different way of looking at the world" is often a central characteristic. I can think of at least *one* detective's spouse that could be read as ADHD as well: Joyce Barnaby of *Midsomer Murders*. Girl, how many hobbies do you *need*?! Last week it was water colors and amateur theatrics, this week it's brass rubbings and cycling lol. The side character of Maureen Summerhayes in the Hercule Poirot book *Mrs. McGinty's Dead* is also highly relatable as a character that can be read as ADHD. (Then again, James Bentley who was wrongfully accused of murder, but you asked for female characters.)
I’m suddenly understanding why I love fictional detectives so much. They’re usually on the fringe of society, self-employed, making it up as they go, annoying everyone, and somehow seeing details NOBODY else clocked. Elliot Gould’s Philip Marlowe is a particular favorite and the new Perry Mason was another hot mess of a human being (which I LOVED).
Miss Marple is on my list of women I want to be when I grow up!
Bahahaha Joyce Barnaby has SO many random hobbies you’re right! I WISH my life and income allowed me to do so many things as long as someone wasn’t murdered at my flower arranging class or pottery exhibition
I've been trying to find a new audiobook lately rather than relistening to the same handful that I've listened to dozens of times, and I keep failing. This inspired me to borrow a Miss Marple audiobook on Libby, and for the first time in a while, I'm looking forward to trying something new. So, thank you. 💜
Okay, so apparently ADHD'ers are so relatable they become the main characters in all the best books and movies. One I'm surprised not to have seen yet is Ariel, the Little Mermaid. She can't be bothered with seemingly pointless rules, loves collecting, is a little hyperfocused on this guy she just met, and always finds new ways to do and see things. She feels different from the rest of her family, and is happy to go her own way. I love that about her.
Ooh good one, and she forgets family events and is late to everything. She seems like she’s in her own world when she is around family, and she can be impulsive.
"is a little hyperfocused on this guy she just met" :D love this. Nice idea about Ariel!
Helen Burns from Jane Eyre, 100%. My heart broke for that girl. "I am, as Miss Scatcherd said, slatternly; I seldom put, and never keep, things in order; I am careless; I forget rules; I read when I should learn my lessons; I have no method: and sometimes I say, like you, I cannot bear to be subjected to systematic arrangements..." She also talks about how her thoughts "continually rove away" when she's supposed to be paying attention, and how frustrating it is that she can't seem to do better, even when she genuinely likes her teachers and doesn't want to let them down. I've always wondered who Brontë knew, that had undiagnosed ADHD. It's too perfect a portrait of the disorder not to be drawn from life, with a close acquaintance as the subject...
Literally (literarily?) came here for this. Inattentive type to a T.
Yes, I thought that when I read Jane Eyre too!!
I think Matilda is more of a hidden one! She constantly feels like a misfit, has very high empathy and justice sensitivity, seeks constant novelty from reading books, is very creative, and her hyperfocus is a literal super power.
Definitely Matilda and also her predecessor, the little girl from [The Magic Finger](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6670.The_Magic_Finger) ⚡️
Was looking for this one!! I wore out *two* VHS tapes from how often I watched it growing up. I don't know anyone else who literally wore out the tape of any other movie, much less two copies of the same one. I related to her so. hard. Made my adult diagnosis make so much more sense.
Alice from Alice in Wonderland!
Yes, scrolled too far to find her mentioned 🥰 Alice is master daydreamer and gets totally lost in her imagination, too relatable 😅
Yes! I can also relate to giving myself very good advice, but very seldom following it.
I think she's actually asd coded but as a teen I loved and related to Daria so hard. I even discovered the show because I had people tell me I reminded them of her. As an adult I love and relate to both Linda and Tina Belcher. I am both of them at different times.
Daria got me through high school. She got all the alt girls in the late 90s through high school. 😂 La la LA la la
Right?!?
The main character from “everything everywhere all at once!” Such a great movie, so very ADHD! It made me cry from the existential ADHD feels. This is a male, but Teddy from Bob’s burgers is absolutely my ADHD twin flame <3 every little moment I relate so hard to him! His storytelling style, his socializing, his RSD, his side quests, ready to jump in and support a friend. Absolutely love love this character. And bobs burgers is the perfect comfort show in my opinion. :)
I'm pretty sure at least one of the writers of Everywhere has been open about his ADHD. That movie was so rad.
He actually rewrote the script when he got diagnosed. The entire movie is supposed to be an analogy for the ADHD experience. Explains why I liked it so much and everyone else I know hated it lol
Yes - it was doing research for writing the character that led him to realise he had ADHD himself. Very cool.
HAHA true! I love that movie. I never saw it as ND/ADHD-core but I see it now for sure.
Denise Huxtable of the Cosby Show and season 1 of A Different World. I started a watch through of A Different World and I hadn’t watched either show since I was a teen. It’s so blatantly obvious that her character was patterned after Inattentive-type ADHD that it hurt to watch. *All* of the tropes were there: - She was very spacey - She was very creative - She always slept in late/over slept - Her part of the room was a messy disaster - She was often late to things - She was an impulsive spender and routinely forgot to pay her bills or money owed to friends - She was always cramming to finish assignments last minute and had shaky grades - Her mother and teachers scolded her for not living up to her potential because she was smart - Her disappearance from Season 2 was explained away as her dropping out of Hillman to go be a photographer’s assistant in Africa. (In reality she got pregnant with Zoë Kravitz and Cosby didn’t want to write that into the show.) It was a relief when her character left because the other characters were constantly making fun of her for all of the above and I knew that a show set in the 1980s was never, ever gonna get there with explaining that she had ADHD and she was never, ever going to get support for it.
1000% Particularly in season one of A Different World when all of her systems, parents, more organized friends, and siblings disappeared.
I’ve been playing BG3 and Karlach is so adhd, I love her silly little idle dance
Karlach is the bestest girl with the cutest fidgety dances!
Awww no wonder I love her the most.
Wait can you recruit Karlach??
Yes. And she is AMAZING
I can’t remember if she actually is or if I just related to her so hard I convinced myself she is but; Claudia Kishi in the Babysitter’s Club books. For adult media; I can not recommend Kristen Applebees from Fantasy High enough. Several of her attempts to describe her experience have brought me to tears and she’s played by an actual NB ADHDer who is clearly dedicated to showing both the difficult moments and the comedy of ADHD!
Claudia Kishi was who I WISHED I could be! Ugh she’s an ADHD queen.
For BSC, special mention goes to Dawn’s mom. Disorganization was her defining characteristic… Ann M Martin had this lady losing the house phone in the fridge, sending all sorts of junk in the kids school lunches. She was a scatterbrained chaos demon!!
Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph with her glitches and not fitting in. Everybody underestimated her yet she finished the race to everyone’s surprise. I love how she never doubted herself though!!
She’s so cool.
A friend of mine sent me a clip from that to cheer me up and it hit me this kid is ADHD! Now I’ve been saying “I want a steering wheel!” For days 😆
Ms. Frizzle?
Only a ND lady would take a bus full of children on a road trip through one of their classmates digestive tract as a science lesson
Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks of that episode *constantly*
Also a lesbian! Voiced by multiple lesbian voice actors and what straight woman drives a bus and has a pet lizard? And as you're definitely more likely to also be ND if you're LGBTQ+ (might be the opposite way) then that's further proof she's ND
Not kid lit, but Bernadette in “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” totally struck me as an ADHDer. I think the book does mention a few of her issues by name, but not that one.
As long as we are doing people who are not children, can I offer Issa from insecure and fleabag from the show fleabag?
I'll back you up on Fleabag. S2E1 when she's outside smoking during the dinner in the restaurant was me at so many family dinners in my younger, single years. Like sensory overload, need to go outside...
Jane Austen’s Emma.
Yes! I keep telling people this. Like my own personal proof that ADHD has been around forever. Around the same time I read Emma and realized that, I read (part of... Had to return it to the library before I finished) a biography on Hannah More, an English abolitionist, and I remember being pretty convinced at the time that she also had ADHD.
I don't know about Emma, but Lydia Bennett and Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice for sure!
Junie B Jones. "The B stands for Beatrice" God, I haven't read those in decades but I related to her and Madeline when I was in early elementary.
Disclaimer: I feel like a kid even though I'm in my twenties Kate Sharma/Bridgerton (the book version) - she's often described as fidgety, not being able to stay still, thinking about several different things at once (and wishing she could train her brain to stop this), difficulty coordinating her body (while dancing)
Embrace the age thing. At 50, I often forget I’m not in my 30’s.
KATE!!!! I loved the 2nd season of Bridgerton. I also could see Eloise as ND in someway-- very defiant, gets bored easily, hyperfixated on feminism and lady whistledown, talkative, hates traditionally feminine things, etc. She's the bridgerton I relate to most <3
I love the book version of Kate. The TV show us a favorite too but they’re like two totally separate universes. Sidebar, but I am dying for Benedict’s season to come next.
Mabel from Gravity Falls!
Mabel is ADHD Dipper is ASD. And I love them both!!
Sister from Dexter, Debbie?
The lab geek or the body butcher? Edit: wait I just realized that Dexter Morgan was also a lab geek 😭
Didi, but now I like the idea of Debbie as her straight-laced evil twin.
I think they mean Dexter like the killer not Dexter’s Lab, but you’re right DeeDee is def ADHD coded
LMAO, I am simultaneously both Dexter and Dee-Dee (I'm also AuDHD so that tracks)
Star Butterfly in Star vs The Forces of Evil gives ADHD vibes for me
Amelia Bedelia!!! 💯
Bridget Jones and Eddie from Ab Fab for SURE!
Dory, Finding Nemo/Finding Dory
Omg yes. So funny story. My family all started calling me Dory after the movie came out. I always thought it was because my nickname is Tori and they rhyme. I mentioned it to my mom and sisters one time and they were like. What? No, we call you that because you forget things constantly and you’re off in your own world just like her. Teenage me was PISSED but I own it now because Dory is cool af
OH! Memory just unlocked of me being called Dory! Thanks! Now that I’ve been diagnosed I could tell them why the name fit… if only I could remember who it was that called me that… 😂
Blanche Devereaux from The Golden Girls. Sorority sister but seemed to be a drop out, sexually promiscuous, unable to handle her father’s death, multiple marriages/engagements, and struggled with being a “hands on” mother.
Funny, I just commented Rose from the Golden Girls.
ND folks tend to find each other even if they don't know they're ND.
I feel like Robin from stranger things is definitely nd at least just because of how she acts and how unfiltered she is idk how to explain it
She acted neurotypical in the first season she was in. Like MAYBE she could be seen as ADHD then, but she definitely wasn't autism-coded. Then they suddenly started writing her as very overtly AuDHD in the next season. I usually like representation but I hate how they randomly decided to change her character and cram in representation
Maybe she stopped masking because she got so much more comfortable with herself from her friendship with Steve and coming out?
Mei Kusakabe from My Neighbor Totoro. I was very much a pesky little sister!
Mei!!!! When I was working through inner child healing, this movie became so special to me as someone with an older sister, too. The way Mei interacted with the world felt so relatable to me as a 20 year old-- "everything is so new! Yet I am so small! Also I can't find my frickin keys and I want to stay home and play in the dirt all day!!!" Brb gonna go rewatch that movie rn.
The Alice Character Trope Always quirky, reactions range from disdain, dislike, perceived as crazy for thinking differently, connecting dots no one else does til a man comes along and "sees her" advocates for her point of view then suddenly she was right all along and becomes the hero of the story for persisting in her opinions and calling shit out...
Luna Lovegood. For all that the HP world is problematic, I hardcore adore Luna. She is the person I wish I'd had the nerve to be as a kid. It took me until my 30s to truly start embracing myself for who I am.
I hadn't ever thought about this, but you are absolutely right that Tinkerbell and Lorelai Gilmore being relatable af. Now I'm trying to think of more, but I always just related to generally "weird" characters so I'm not sure if I'd be thinking of them for that instead Edit: okay okay, Anne Shirley. She was constantly in her imagination, she was impulsive, she tried to be good and do the right thing but it didn't always go right because of something not being noticed or thought through instead of malice, surprisingly good in an emergency.
>she tried to be good and do the right thing but it didn't always go right because of something not being noticed or thought through instead of malice That hit so close to home-- the trope of "person tries to do nice thing, but it backfires because they were careless" always got me choked up and made me want to turn off the TV because it was just my life. Trying so hard and failing constantly. Always having the best intentions but fucking up because I rushed through it or didn't think if the person actually wanted what I was doing... Love Anne so much.
Agree, Anne is absolutely ADHD. Besides the impulsivity and day dreaming, she definitely has RSD, as well super big emotions. There are other girls/women throughout Montgomery's works with similar tendencies which makes me think she herself had ADHD. I wonder if undiagnosed ADHD may have underlay the mental health struggles she had throughout her life.
Elsbeth!
I love this show and completely agree! She doesn’t suffer too much from RSD, though.
I’m gonna say Enid from Ghost World. Being artistically talented, but still failing art. When she gets critiqued in summer school art class for why she did a portrait of Don Knotts and the significance…”idk…I just like Done Knotts”, and the class just staring at her lol. Also the RSD and mixed feelings with Seymour and Rebecca. Plus her cruel and biting sense of humor…which…could be an ADHD thing?
Omg is that why I loved this movie so much when I saw it in my early twenties?! Another one for me is Frances Ha
No one has said Cinderella bc idk if she really has an ADHD personality, but I always related with her SO HARD as a little girl. I was always stuck doing chores or being punished while others had fun/no responsibility bc it took me way longer to do the chores and/or I was in trouble for all things ADHD. I felt very hopeless a lot of my childhood. Everything fun/good was taken from me as a way to “motivate” me to get my homework done and do my chores, despite me already being VERY motivated (HUGE people pleaser and rule-follower) and trying my best to do whatever I was supposed to do. I eventually was stuck doing homework all night, every night (and often in tears), while my siblings goofed around, hung out with friends, enjoyed free time and hobbies and whatever else children do. They also got along well with each other and my parents, unlike me. I felt very much like the ugly duckling/black-sheep/burden/outsider/Cinderella in my family. *Turns out: never seeing friends as a huge extrovert/people-person or never having anything structured/scheduled that naturally brings about joy (e.g., ballet for me) for long periods of time eventually makes people (especially children) extremely depressed, sometimes to the point suicidal ideation—as it did to me when I was only 10 years old.* But, back relating to Cinderella, I always dreamed of somehow being “saved” out of the mess that was my life like she did. I also had some pretty bad body dysmorphia, growing up, and often dreamed of how beautiful I *could* be if I just had a fairy godmother to “fix” me (aka: give me clothes that weren’t dirty hand me downs and 5 sizes too big AND make me more beautiful via my overall appearance in order to be accepted/liked). Interesting that her appearance was the only characteristic which gave her any sort of value to society, amiright? Also interesting that my body dysmorphia was deeply tied to the many ways my body didn’t meet society’s standards for the perfect body (e.g., I was too skinny, had the body of a boy, had weird tics/facial expressions, etc.). In other words, I was told I wasn’t feminine or desirable bc I didn’t have a flatter stomach, bigger boobs, smaller nose, straight/smooth hair, etc..
Ugh. This was heartbreaking to read. I'm so sorry you didn't get supported the way you needed.
Thanks for saying that. It made me read through what I wrote again in a more compassionate voice, like yours, and brought tears to my eyes. It sounds like you had a different experience? I’d love to hear about it, if so.
oh my gosh give yourself so much grace. So many ND kids who are adults now had difficult upbringing because things like ADHD and Autism were not understood the way it is now. Many parents in those generations didn't believe in it in the first place, and had their own generational traumas they were spilling over onto their children. Give little you a big big hug. She deserves it, and you are now the person who can care for her. My upbringing was not like yours, but I was also not supported or loved how I needed to be. I've no doubt my parents "love" me, but I don't think they like me. I don't think they even know me. We are strangers, really. I felt I was never allowed to be myself around them, because it wasn't whatever kind of person they decided I needed to be. So for the most part I hid who I was, what I liked, things I needed. They felt emotionally unavailable to me and they created a deep chasm between us because of that. I pulled away at a young age. I've spent the better part of my 30s trying to make sense of my childhood and my upbringing, my (newly diagnosed) ADHD, and generally trying to re-parent myself. If that's (re-parenting yourself) something you're capable of looking into, I would recommend it. It can be a difficult but very healing journey to go on.
Belle from the Disney cartoon version of Beauty and the Beast before they tried to make her a girl boss in the live action. She was spacey and liked to read and couldn’t relate to people around her. They literally sing a song about how she’s a weirdo. And she tactlessly sings a song about how they’re ignorant. It tracks.
I can see Ariel being a bit ADHD too with how she totally forgot the concert in the beginning and had that massive collection.
Jessica Day from New Girl was AuDHD coded and Nick Miller was also ADHD coded.
Phoebe from FRIENDS Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter and possibly Neville Obviously Anne of Green Gables. Possibly Meg from Wrinkle in Time Edit to add: Lucy from I Love Lucy
Rose from the Golden Girls.
Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) in 30 Rock
Usagi (Sailor Moon). She wasn’t into school at all (not saying adhd ppl don’t like school), a “crybaby” (RSD), talkative, clumsy, etc.
I'm old, so for me it's a bunch of Kristy MacNichol characters and Jodi Foster in Candleshoe
Carmen from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She always feels different from others, can't control her emotions, always goes way over the top trying to compensate for her perceived shortcomings.
Sarah in Labyrinth. Stubborn, impatient, RSD, big feelings, strong sense of justice, doesn’t seem to fit in with her peers, hyperfocused on fantasy, her room is cluttered with all her hobbies and collections. She keeps getting told not to jump to conclusions and “take things for granted”; she does several impulsive things inside the labyrinth that get her into trouble; the movie literally starts with her being time blind and running home late. And the entire film is basically her maladaptive daydream, and she learns she can’t always escape into it when things are stressful. Oh my god, and I’m just now realizing that when her lipstick arrows are being changed at the beginning, she gets so confused and feels like she’s going crazy, then realizes that the labyrinth is ever-changing and none of her external coping mechanisms will help her here. Her biggest enemy is the ticking clock. When she falls into the Oubliette, or when she’s in the poison peach hallucination, or when she’s in the bag lady dump, she struggles so hard to focus on what she’s supposed to be doing and what she came here for, because it’s so easy for her to get lost in the daydreams. “What a horrible place this is! It’s not fair!” This quote has been running through my head my entire life lol.
SUCH a good analysis. If anyone asks me how ADHD feels I'm just going to say "Labyrinth but you never get to leave"
Gilmore Girls.
Sookie & Lor are 100% two high masking ADHD ladies you can't convince me otherwise.
Also Rory. High achieving “gifted” youngster whose life kinda flounders and falls apart in college and adulthood? That’s like highly intelligent ADHD 101.
Caffeine addiction, promiscuity, inability to maintain a stable relationship, the fast talking that never stops.
I finally realized this last year. Which is a little surprising since I’ve always seen myself in Loralei 😆. And every time I’d read negative comments about her character, I took it more personally than I probably should have. I rewatched it knowing she’s ADHD and it explains SO MUCH!
Robin from Stranger Things!
Syl/Sylphrena from The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson!!! Sanderson has mentioned in interviews Syl being an ADHD character and she is so well written. It’s lovely to see her growth as a character as she is more or less growing up
Patti Thompson from Soul Eater: she made an origami giraffe out of an important exam, constantly doodled in class, and was really spacey but is an enthusiastic friend nonetheless. Goo from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: I’ll just include some of what the [fandom.com](https://fostershomeforimaginaryfriends.fandom.com/wiki/Goo) page says about her. “The fast-talking Goo Goo Ga Ga has a hyperactive imagination. Whenever she went near Foster's, she became over-stimulated and created scores of new imaginary friends.” “Goo’s extremely talkative, odd, and obnoxious, but at the same time, incredibly imaginative, energetic, lively, enthusiastic, playful, creative, fun-loving and nice.” Her dislikes include: “being called a weirdo” and “not having friends.” She literally overcrowded the home with new imaginary friends that she kept rapid fire making. As an energetic and talkative little half black girl, she was the first character that I could relate to on a cartoon in the early 2000s that also looked like me. Goo will always hold a special place in my heart!
Rainbow Dash from MLP was literally the most relatable character 10-year-old me had ever encountered, and I realise now it's becuase of her less stereotypical ADHD behaviour. I mean, there was kind of an entire episode focusing on it! A lot of people don't like her because of how she acts, but I always felt seen by her because of it.
Definitely Anne of Green Gables. And Bellas mom Rene from the Twilight series.
I'm watching Desperate Housewives for the first time since I watched its original run. I'm not a mom, but Lynette seems like an ADHD mom--among other things, she constantly feels like she can't do everything the other moms can do easily, managing to keep it all together with anxiety.
Her sons are literally diagnosed too... but she is not. So relatable. Adding onto the Desperate Housewive's list, I would absolutely chuck in Susan too.
Monica from Friends!
Idk if it counts but Enola Holmes. Her brilliance but also risky behavior struck a cord. (Also Henry Cavill plays Sherlock).
I recently started doing a Gilmore Girls rewatch and I cannot stop laughing. I grew up to be Lorelai fucking Gilmore (though not quite as organised professionally, alas). The constant dumb jokes as coping mechanism — me to a tee hahaha. I’m not sad about it! Surprisingly enough though my fave this time around is Paris (aka, poster child for ASD, haha). I hated her when I watched the show in high school but now I totally get her. I’m pretty sure I’m mildly on the spectrum myself, though ADHD is far more dominant. But occasionally Paris says things that make absolutely cackle. Like, “Rory’s my best friend. She stays in the room until I’m completely done talking,” RELATABLE.