Understanding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults

Everyone has a day when focusing on a project is difficult. It is impossible to finish a task and organization is nonexistent. But when is it just a bad day, and when is it attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?

“Most of the time when people think of ADHD, they think of children,” says Seth Harty, a clinical psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

It isn’t uncommon, however, for symptoms to last into adulthood. Harty, who studies ADHD across the life span, says though people diagnosed in childhood frequently experience a decrease in hyperactive and impulsive behaviors as they age, difficulties with attention tend to persist.

“For all of us, the demands on our time and attention increase with age, and adults have more demands than a child or adolescent,” he says. “As the demands of school, job and family increase, we adjust to the demands and employ effective strategies to stay on top of this growing amount of information. For the individual with ADHD, this process may be very difficult.”

And those consequences may be severe. Difficulties associated with ADHD may result in poor job performance and job loss; forgetting to pay bills and increased debt; and relationship issues; to name a few.

People can be diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, but it is important to note that adults do not suddenly develop ADHD. For an adult to be diagnosed, there must be evidence of impairment during childhood. But for a number of adults, issues may have gone undiagnosed in childhood.

Finding answers

A diagnosis has little to do with intelligence. Primary difficulties are seen in people with a wide variety of abilities. When the symptoms begin to interfere with daily life, it needs to be addressed.

The first step in treating these difficulties is to determine if ADHD is the cause. There are times in everyone’s life where circumstances can cause similar issues.

“Sometimes when we have extremely intensive demands, our ability to pay attention and stay focused is naturally impacted,” he says. “When my children were born, I didn’t know my own name.”

People worried they or a loved one might have ADHD should reach out to a mental health care expert.

“It’s not the most straightforward diagnosis, and there are a lot of variables that can contribute to one’s ability to pay attention, so it is important to find a clinician well versed in this area,” Harty says.

Once diagnosed, there are several forms of treatment not unlike those used with children. Treatment may be prescription medication, behavior treatment, or a combination. Simple changes in behavior can greatly reduce problems, Harty says.

“Let’s say you allow 10 minutes for a shower before going to work, but once in there you start daydreaming or planning your day and you end up spending 20 or 25 minutes. It may be that those behaviors are contributing to chronic lateness at work. Sometimes, simple changes in behavior, such as setting a timer before taking a morning shower, can have a direct and positive impact on functioning,” he says.