By Noah Roberts
A Farsley woman has set up a group for late diagnosed women with ADHD in west Leeds
Lucille Herron, 49, is founder of The Haven ND Women Friendship Group’. Lucille was recently diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD.
She said that prior to her diagnosis “I had been on and off anti-depressants. Navigating a world not designed for my brain is extremely difficult, but my mental health is better now I understand. I am not broken, I’m just built differently and that’s perfectly okay.”
Lucille explains why she feels her group is important: “Being late diagnosed is so important for women because the menopause is known to exacerbate the traits and symptoms of ADHD, like ‘brain fog’ – the name for extreme forgetfulness, not being able to sleep, changes in moods.
“For me getting my diagnosis changed my life because I was able to start caring for myself now as a neurodivergent person.”
Lucille was shocked to find a lack of support post-diagnosis.
“They give you a report and you’re sent on your way and that’s it. You’ve got to try and pick up the pieces yourself and make it make sense of it by yourself. I just felt there wasn’t any support for me after diagnosis, you sort of cut loose and are left to get on with it.
“I looked around the community and saw a gap. I saw there was support for children who were nuurodivergent, their parents and their carers.”
Lucille created ‘The Haven Women’s Friendship Circle’ – which can be found on Facebook – it is a group open to all neurodivergent women, whether that’s a woman with ADHD, Autism or dual diagnosis AuDHD.
“I decided to create a group, so that other women could say, they’re not on their own. I hate to see anyone struggle and feel so utterly alone, the way I did. Anything which helps others to feel supported and seen is a good thing”.
Lucille now hosts in-person meet ups at The Fleece in Farsley on the third Monday of each month, from 7-9pm.
Neurodivergent people like Lucille often fixate on their chosen special interests. This was the case for Lucille, who did what the community refer to as a ‘deep dive’ researching her conditions. She wanted to know why so many women get diagnosed later in life. She found that an estimated 20% of the population are neurodivergent in the UK.
Current estimated data from NHS England shows that 3million people live with ADHD and around 700,000 people are currently diagnosed with Autism. It was estimated in 2025 that 236,000 people in the UK are awaiting an Autism assessment. 90% of people are waiting longer than the NHS recommended 13 week wait to be seen.
The current wait time from referral to first appointment in Leeds is now 27 months. With wait times for ADHD diagnosis in Leeds being 10 years. The average wait times across the uk vary creating a post code lottery for patients.
Neurodivergent people like Lucille often face challenges in making and maintaining relationships, due to differences in communication and social expectations.
“People like me thrive on connection. It’s been amazing to meet more people like me and especially women who absolutely get what it is like to live this way. The one thing that ADHD and autistic people are is chronically misunderstood. Our way of thinking, communicating, and behaviour is different. We are often left feeling that nobody gets us.”
This lack of understanding around her community is why Lucille says neurodivergent people often “spend our entire lives thinking that we’re doing it wrong when we’re not doing it wrong, we’re just different – and that’s absolutely fine.
“My hope is that when people join the circle they find a space in which they don’t have to mask, they don’t have to pretend, they don’t have to put on the front of being organised or happy. A place where there are no expectations for them to meet, they don’t have to be anything other than who they are and what they’re feeling in that moment.
“I don’t put any demands on them. I don’t force anyone into being a certain way. I just wanted people to find someone understanding.”
People across the UK are currently experiencing severe delays in accessing assessments due to a surge in demand.
Noah Roberts is a community reporter with the West Leeds Dispatch, who is neurodivergent and had been late diagnosed.