When the founder of See The Signs, Inc., Elizabeth Esposito, decided to study attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for a seventh-grade project, she was surprised to discover some of the symptoms — such as having trouble focusing and staying on task — sounded familiar.
Amid the distance learning of the COVID-19 pandemic, her parents noticed those challenges, too. Subsequent testing confirmed Esposito’s ADHD diagnosis, and the now 16-year-old Morgantown High School junior has thrived with management support from WVU Medicine and other clinicians.
Esposito’s experience inspired her to launch the nonprofit organization, See The Signs, to focus on ADHD identification and management in young people — especially girls and young women, who are often underdiagnosed.
With support from corporate donors, See The Signs recently partnered with the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) to establish a dedicated comfort fund to benefit pediatric ADHD patients treated through RNI’s Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry.
“This patient support fund partnership was developed to help ensure that everyone with ADHD has access to resources,” Esposito said. “This is one way to try to make sure everyone with ADHD has an opportunity to find a path to thrive.”
In serving its mission, See The Signs focuses on three areas: funding and conducting research to improve diagnostic criteria and treatment options; establishing patient support funds with hospital systems and charitable foundations to assist with ADHD testing and management; and providing educational resources and training materials for families and schools.
October marked ADHD Awareness Month, highlighting one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions among children. According to 2022 survey data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 7 million children nationwide (11.4 percent) have been diagnosed with ADHD.
Survey data from 2020-2023 shows the prevalence is higher in West Virginia, where about 13.8 percent of parents reported having a child diagnosed with ADHD.
Jonathan Perle, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., leads the ADHD Assessment Clinic, a partnership between RNI and the WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Neuroscience Center. He also served as co-vice chair of the group that established West Virginia’s guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and treatment.
“Despite our knowledge that early evidence-informed assessment and subsequent treatment can have a profoundly positive impact on children, adolescents, and teenagers with ADHD, many families are unable to receive the services due to financial and transportation-related barriers,” Dr. Perle said.
“This is why the See The Signs gift is both generous and invaluable. The gift will foster early and accurate assessments to guide treatments for the countless West Virginians in need, while also helping to spread the science of ADHD to inform and dispel myths. Building this pathway of care to better our community is what healthcare is all about.”
Although ADHD is common, Perle noted proper diagnosis takes time due to the need to rule out other medical and mental health conditions that could create similar attention and hyperactive/impulsive behaviors. He said evidence-informed ADHD assessment is vital to ensure an accurate diagnosis and guide treatment, minimizing wasted resources for families and healthcare providers.
Through See The Signs, Esposito is also working with one of her former middle-school teachers — Erin Coffield Feeney, Ph.D., a WVU graduate who is now a faculty member at Western Kentucky University — on research studying the differences in identification and management of ADHD across genders.
Esposito noted that an ADHD diagnosis can also help young people identify unique strengths and capabilities.
“Once you really find ADHD strategies that work for you, it builds your confidence,” she said. “And you feel you’re not alone. You never want people to feel alone because there are support and resources to help. If we can get more help to more people to help them succeed, that’s what we want to do.”
Esposito lives in Morgantown with her family, who helped her appreciate the importance of giving back to her community.
The gift from See The Signs, Inc., was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University and its affiliated entities.