“You Can’t Have ADHD, You Have a Master’s Degree”: Diagnosing ADHD as a BIPOC Adult

Roy Mong and Lina Guerrero sit down to talk about ADHD, specifically what it looks like within social location and cultural context for BIPOC communities.

Both share their own late-diagnosis stories (Roy still early in his journey, Lina diagnosed as an adult in 2021) to unpack the model minority mask, the difference between inattentive and hyperactive presentations, and why so many people of color get missed by a diagnostic system built around one narrow stereotype.

From “Hurricane Lina” meltdowns to Roy pacing his childhood bedroom rehearsing conversations out loud, this episode traces how culture, gender, and systemic bias all shape who gets seen, and who just gets told to try harder.

In this episode

• (00:00) Intro
• (04:30) ADHD within social location and cultural context
• (12:02) The “model minority mask” and underdiagnosis in Asian American communities
• (14:28) The three types of ADHD, and the “Ferrari brain with bicycle brakes” metaphor
• (21:02) Emotional dysregulation as a core (and overlooked) part of ADHD
• (26:44) Growing up misunderstood and the cultural messages that shape diagnosis
• (32:16) The westernization of ADHD: colonization, capitalism, and why the U.S. makes it harder
• (41:51) What it means to “try softer” instead of harder