Understood.org Announces Partnership With Northwestern University

Partnership Will Provide New Digital Tools to Support Women With ADHD

NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Understood.org, the leading nonprofit dedicated to supporting the 70 million people in the United States with learning and thinking differences like ADHD and dyslexia, today announced a new partnership with the Lab for Scalable Mental Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (NUFSM). Together, they'll develop digital tools and provide single-session interventions (SSIs) that will help women with ADHD cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression.

In today's mental health landscape, millions of women with ADHD continue to fall through the cracks. Research shows that new ADHD diagnoses among women ages 23 to 49 nearly doubled from 2020 to 2022. Experts believe that this rise is partly due to decades of misunderstanding about how ADHD affects girls and women. Through this new partnership, Understood.org and Northwestern are taking a meaningful step toward addressing the critical resource gaps and lack of tools to support the well-being of women with ADHD.

"Women with ADHD have been profoundly misunderstood and misdiagnosed for too long, lacking tools that support their unique needs," said Sarah Greenberg, vice president of expertise and strategic design at Understood.org. "Through our partnership with Northwestern, we're committed to creating accessible tools to support individuals, and advancing research so that others in the field can benefit."

The multi-phase project includes conducting qualitative interviews with women with ADHD. Their input will inform the co-creation of digital tools to support their daily lives. These tools will be freely available on Understood.org's website, offering immediate, accessible support. The project will conclude with a pilot feasibility study to test the tools' effectiveness and to share key findings with the field.

"Brief digital tools have been shown to deliver meaningful and lasting benefits, which can be similar to those of longer-term therapies. This makes them an ideal solution for individuals who may struggle to access or engage with traditional, more time-consuming, and costly options," explained Dr. Jessica Schleider, Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences and founding director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health at NUFSM. "Our partnership with Understood.org is enabling the development of powerful tools that provide immediate relief and support, helping to reduce stigma and improve the mental well-being of women with ADHD."

By combining Understood.org's expertise in accessible product design for neurodivergent individuals with the Lab for Scalable Mental Health's proven brief interventions and research capabilities, this partnership will cultivate a generation of women who feel less isolated and more understood.

For more information on the development of this partnership, please visit here: https://www.understood.org/blog/understood-org-partners-with-northwestern-university-to-revolutionize-mental/.

About Understood.org
Understood.org is a nonprofit focused on shaping the world for difference. We raise awareness of the challenges, skills, and strengths of people who learn and think differently. Our resources help people navigate challenges, gain confidence, and find support and community so they can thrive. Together, we can build a world where everyone can reach their full potential. Understood.org is a 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in New York. For more information, to donate, or to partner with us, visit u.org/media and follow us @UnderstoodOrg.

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SOURCE Understood