As more women receive late diagnoses of ADHD, clinicians are uncovering a powerful source of information hiding in plain sight: their stories. Prompting a critical question: What can we learn from adult women about their experiences as undiagnosed adolescents, and how can that knowledge shape earlier, more effective support for the next generation? This presentation explores a strikingly familiar developmental pattern of ADHD in those raised as girls. Rather than focusing on attention alone, the discussion highlights themes of internalization, chronic invalidation, perfectionism, and gradual loss of self. Attendees are invited to reconsider familiar presentations of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and disengagement as adaptive responses rather than isolated disorders. With unprecedented insight into the long-term impact of being overlooked in childhood and adolescence, this session emphasizes the importance of assessing for neurodevelopmental differences at the earliest signs of distress. By learning from the experiences of adult women, clinicians can help prevent the next generation from becoming another “lost” one.