"Adults with ADHD have a tricky path to navigate. Those now in their 20s diagnosed with the disorder will have grown up during the noughties when newspapers were splashed with pictures of kids snorting Ritalin (a drug often used to treat ADHD) at school. 'ADHD is just a scapegoat for bad parenting' was a view frequently bandied about and I remember thinking of it as a disorder reserved for “problem kids” because this is what I was told.
In fact, it’s only really recently that adult ADHD is being widely talked about. Two recent studies have explored how symptoms of ADHD manifest differently in adults. One of the studies, conducted by King's College London, found that nearly 70% of young adults who tested positive for ADHD in their study didn’t appear to have the disorder as children. Interestingly, most adults diagnosed, 55% according to both studies published in JAMA Psychiatry journal, also turned out to be women.
The study suggested that those diagnosed as adults were likely to have higher IQs: "Symptoms may not become impairing until the increasing challenges of later, more demanding schooling.” And yet, because the disorder makes it tough to focus and settle down, it can be harder for people with ADHD to succeed in education and in their careers."
I was diagnosed with ADHD 2 years ago, solidly in my 20s and in between leaving my first job and entering graduate school. And since then I have found out that I have at least 4 other female friends with ADHD.
It's a very strange thing to be working out after 16+ years of school and 20+ years of being-a-person, realizing all the unconscious coping mechanisms and finding a definition of your own attention (because there are very few narratives of adult female ADHD and everyone lives it differently).
I hope that awareness of this increases, because I would still be confused and struggling with my symptoms if it wasn't for an Atlantic article that a friend posted on Facebook.
*post April 20
FB: "Looking back on my early 20s I realise that if I’d only had the confidence to tell my bosses that yes, I could get this done, I just needed to sit somewhere quiet, those years could have been quite different. This is why greater awareness of ADHD in adults is essential, especially for those juggling a career, social life and a relationship."
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