Confiding in a friend of mine after I was first diagnosed with ADHD, I opened up to her about my lifelong struggles with time blindness, lateness, general disorganisation, and emotional dysregulation. I was relieved to finally have a label for what I’d been experiencing. ‘But isn’t it normal to get a little bit distracted sometimes? I probably have ADHD too, if that’s the case’ she said to me. My heart sank, feeling both rejected and my experiences diminished in one simple interaction. I doubt she meant to upset me, but her words stung…….Continue reading…
By: Eleanor Noyce
Source: Metro News
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Critics:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and developmentally inappropriate. ADHD symptoms arise from executive dysfunction.
Impairments resulting from deficits in self-regulation such as time management, cognitive inhibition, task initiation, and sustained attention can include poor professional performance, relationship difficulties, and numerous health risks, collectively predisposing to a diminished quality of life and a reduction in life expectancy. It is associated with other mental disorders as well as non-psychiatric disorders, which can cause additional impairment.
While ADHD involves a lack of sustained attention to tasks, inhibitory deficits also can lead to difficulty interrupting an ongoing response pattern, manifesting in the perseveration of actions despite a change in context whereby the individual intends the termination of those actions. This symptom is known colloquially as hyperfocus and is related to risks such as addiction and types of offending behaviour. ADHD can be difficult to tell apart from other conditions.
ADHD represents the extreme lower end of the continuous dimensional trait (bell curve) of executive functioning and self-regulation, which is supported by twin, brain imaging and molecular genetic studies. ADHD treatment is most effective when medications (primarily stimulants like methylphenidate or amphetamines, as well as non-stimulants such as atomoxetine or alpha-2 agonists) are used, often in combination with psychotherapy; exercise and dietary modifications have no proven benefit.
The precise causes of ADHD are unknown in most individual cases. Meta-analyses have shown that the disorder is primarily genetic with a heritability rate of 70–80%, where risk factors are highly accumulative. The environmental risks are not related to social or familial factors; they exert their effects very early in life, in the prenatal or early postnatal period. However, in rare cases, ADHD can be caused by a single event including traumatic brain injury, exposure to biohazards during pregnancy, or a major genetic mutation.
As it is a neurodevelopmental disorder, there is no biologically distinct adult-onset ADHD except for when ADHD occurs after traumatic brain injury. Inattention, hyperactivity (restlessness in adults), disruptive behaviour, and impulsivity are common in ADHD. Academic difficulties are frequent, as are problems with relationships. A diagnosis can be hard to ascertain, as it is hard to distinguish between normal levels of symptoms and levels that cause significant impairment in major life activities.
According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and its text revision (DSM-5-TR), symptoms must be present for six months or more to a degree that is much greater than others of the same age. This requires at least six symptoms of either inattention or hyperactivity/impulsivity for those under 17 and at least five symptoms for those 17 years or older.
The symptoms must be present in at least two settings (e.g., social, school, work, or home), and must directly interfere with or reduce quality of functioning. Additionally, several symptoms must have been present before age 12 as per DSM-5 criteria. However, research indicates the age of onset should not be interpreted as a prerequisite for diagnosis given contextual exceptions. Girls and women with ADHD tend to display fewer hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms but more symptoms of inattention and distractibility.
This inattention can be interpreted being “spacey” or being forgetful, rather than being correctly identified as symptoms of ADHD. Frequently, ADHD symptoms in girls worsen later in childhood, compared with boys, and may be more obvious during times of transition, such as when starting in a new school or beginning puberty. Symptoms are expressed differently and more subtly as the individual ages.
Hyperactivity tends to become less overt with age and turns into inner restlessness, difficulty relaxing or remaining still, talkativeness or constant mental activity in teens and adults with ADHD. Impulsivity in adulthood may appear as thoughtless behaviour, impatience, irresponsible spending and sensation-seeking behaviours, while inattention may appear as becoming easily bored, difficulty with organisation, remaining on task and making decisions, and sensitivity to stress.
Research suggests that ADHD symptoms may fluctuate with the menstrual cycle. One mechanism behind this fluctuation is the rise and fall of ovulation-related hormones, such as progesterone and estrogen, during the menstrual cycle. Many people with ADHD report an increase in symptoms, such as forgetfulness and emotional deregulation, during their pre-menstrual period, when estrogen levels are at their lowest.
In a 2025 study, researchers found that 41.1% of women with ADHD also experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), compared with an incidence of 9.8% in a non-ADHD reference group. Difficulties managing anger are more common in children with ADHD, as are delays in speech, language and motor development. Poorer handwriting is more common in children with ADHD. Poor handwriting can be a symptom of ADHD in itself due to decreased attentiveness.
When this is a pervasive problem, it may also be attributable to dyslexia or dysgraphia. There is significant overlap in the symptomatologies of ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia, and 3 in 10 people diagnosed with dyslexia experience co-occurring ADHD. Although it causes significant difficulty, many children with ADHD have an attention span equal to or greater than that of other children for tasks and subjects they find interesting.
People with ADHD of all ages are more likely to have problems with social skills, such as social interaction and forming and maintaining friendships. This is true for all presentations. About half of children and adolescents with ADHD experience social rejection by their peers compared to 10–15% of non-ADHD children and adolescents. People with attention deficits are prone to having difficulty processing verbal and nonverbal language which can negatively affect social interaction. They may also drift off during conversations, miss social cues, and have trouble learning social skills.
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