College student uses adorable TikTok videos to shine a light on life with ADHD
Relatable for those who have it. Eye-opening for those who don't.

A little compassion goes a long way.
Creating TikToks might be the number one hobby of choice for many twenty-somethings. But for Olivia Lutfallah, it’s talking about ADHD. Actually, she’s combined both—offering videos that shine a light on the disorder in a fun, compassionate and educational way.
She took the decision to create an ADHD-specific TikTok right before the start exams in her second year of college, and originally it was for pure recreation. “I thought it would be fun to talk about ADHD. I mean, I've had like 20 years of coping experiences. It's something I absolutely love doing,” Lutfallah shared with Upworthy. That pastime has quickly grown into a deeper purpose.
Lutfallah, who was diagnosed with ADHD when she was around 7 years old, has dealt with a number of challenges with being misunderstood, especially when it came to getting necessary accommodations in school.She recalled having a physics teacher who wouldn’t allow her to get extra time to turn in work because she had the “highest grade in her class.” Having failed to see that ADHD affected Lutfallah’s “ability to go from the beginning of a task to the end of it” rather than her IQ, she thought she’d try to explain it another way. The next day she arrived in class with a note that read “ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactive disorder.”
“And she said, ‘well, I'm a teacher. I took these courses. I know what that stands for'. And I said, ‘I know you think you know what that stands for, but I don't think you know what it means,'” Lutfallah shared. That statement finally clicked with the teacher, who apologized and told her, “Thank you for educating me. So I don't make that mistake again.”
With the intent to educate even more people, as well as empower others with ADHD to use their voice, Lutfallah has filled her channel with entertaining yet informative videos that offer one of three things—tips for dealing with ADHD, simple insights into the disorder and lighthearted, relatable ADHD content.
Here’s a small sampling:
@olivialutfallah I’ve shown up to the lab far too many times without goggles🫠 #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah
@olivialutfallah ADHD🤝Autism #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok #autism #autismoftiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah
@olivialutfallah I know im not the only one … #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah
Some of her most popular clips are the ADHD simulators, where viewers get to really witness how those with ADHD experience the world. To put it simply—it’s a lot of noise to deal with.
Below is an example of just how many distractions can pop up within only one minute of trying to make lunch. It paints such a clear picture of the difficulties those with ADHD face when trying to focus on everyday tasks.
@olivialutfallah This is just 1 minute of what I experience everyday as a person with adhd. #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah
“By the end of it, I had watered the flowers, not put away all the groceries, didn't eat and left to go and get ready for a meeting, you know? Just because there's so many different things going on," she shared.
Lutfallah bridges the gap between folks who are neurotypical and those who are neurodivergent in such fun ways that it’s no surprise her channel already has more than 200,000 followers. It’s clear from the comments that it is really serving a need. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can be a difficult thing to explain or understand. Symptoms can be quite general—such as lack of focus or impulsivity—and indicative of other conditions, often leading to misdiagnosis.
And even with a proper diagnosis, there is still a lot of stigma surrounding the condition, primarily due to misinformation. People might be labeled as bad students or workers, being mentally defective or perhaps worst of all, as having an imaginary condition that’s completely made up.“It's overwhelming and suffocating to understand what you're feeling, but not be able to express it to others,” Lutfallah explained. That’s why her ultimate goal is to inspire “a little compassion.”
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.