By Ali Nicole

It’s October which means its ADHD awareness month – a time to raise awareness about the neurodevelopmental disorder that roughly five percent of the population (1 in 20) lives with, according to the CDC. Taking a look at common myths and misleading beliefs about this disorder can help destigmatize it and create a better understanding of what’s happening for people who have it.

Before getting into the myths and misperceptions, let’s take a quick review of what ADHD is. The letters in ADHD stand for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. There are three possible presentations of the disorder which are predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive, or combined. This means the condition can look vastly different person to person with some people experiencing difficulties with focus impacting mostly internal processes, others could outwardly show high levels of energy and individuals with both presentations can display both types symptoms and interactions of them.

It’s possible that because there are such variable ways that ADHD could look in different people and across the lifespan, some misperceptions have arisen to try to make sense of the variability. Additionally, when disorders are discovered or better understood, an increase in diagnoses can occur which can lead to speculation that it isn’t reasonable for it to suddenly be so prevalent. There are many ways that beliefs are formed about ADHD but it’s time to raise awareness and correct the inaccuracies!

Myth; ADHD isn’t real. The constellation of symptoms that are now being diagnosed as ADHD have been documented in medical texts and research as far back as the 1700s. Aside from the wealth of ongoing research and treatment of the condition, people with this disorder have been found through neuroimaging to have differences in brain structure and function compared to those that don’t meet criteria for the diagnosis.

Myth; ADHD is a childhood disorder. It’s true that to meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD symptoms must be occurring prior to age 12. However, longitudinal studies show that ADHD persists for most people into adulthood and throughout the lifespan, and one study in 2022 found only nine percent of children with ADHD no longer present symptoms consistent with the diagnosis by age 25.

It has been found that impulsive symptoms tend to decrease with age but inattentive symptoms persist beyond childhood. Therefore, it may seem from the outside that a person has grown out of their ADHD but internally, functional impacts are still occurring.

Myth; Everyone is a little ADHD. While experiences like losing focus, feeling jittery, getting inpatient, or being forgetful are common human experiences, they do not happen in the same intensity, consistency, and frequency experienced by people with ADHD. Further, many mental health conditions can have similar presentations but are not the same. Ultimately, thanks to neuroimaging, it’s a fact that the brain is structured and functions differently for people with ADHD which affirms that it is not something everyone experiences.

Myth; ADHD is a learning disability. Many of the symptoms that impact functioning can impede learning when ADHD isn’t managed by treatment. Nevertheless, the ability to learn is not impeded by ADHD as a symptom of the disorder but as a side effect of the some symptoms. ADHD can impact a variety of functions at work, home, school and in social settings and it is part of the diagnosis to note that it affects the quality of functioning across any of these settings.

Myth; It’s just laziness. To be lazy, one must have the ability to expend the energy to complete the task but choose not to. When a person with ADHD has symptoms that get in the way of completing tasks like homework, chores or that one phone call, the symptoms are impeding the ability to expend the energy. Most people dealing with unmanaged symptoms or symptoms flair ups do want to complete their regular tasks but the impact of ADHD on what is called executive functioning can be a major disruption.

It’s no myth that people with ADHD exist at all different ages working, living and contributing to their community alongside all of us. Many people with this disorder find ways to manage their symptoms on their own through learning, with medication and/or with therapy in order to function and have a good quality of life. But those of use who don’t have ADHD can be more open and understanding by knowing a bit more about the disorder and being aware of its impact.

Some information in this article references the following; Longitudinal Associations Between Symptoms of ADHD and Life Success: From Emerging Adulthood to Early Middle Adulthood by Henning et al. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.