These days we see a lot of people coming out and sharing their ADHD diagnosis. From parents sharing that their children are now diagnosed with ADHD to content creators telling you the 3 most OBVIOUS signs you have ADHD to self-help accounts telling you that if you breathe, that’s because you have ADHD.

“Why suddenly everyone and their mother has ADHD nowadays?”

Well, to answer that let’s understand what is ADHD in the first place.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder: that means you’re born with it. Playing videogames or doomscrolling on TikTok all the time will NOT cause you to have ADHD – nor do vaccines or chemtrails or Maybelline™.

It’s a hormone regulation problem that mainly comes out as a blend of a problem in the regulation of attention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. ADHD is a bit of a misnomer because it’s not that people with ADHD CAN’T focus, it’s that they CAN’T REGULATE their focus.

A lot of parents dismiss their children’s possible ADHD diagnosis because they can be on Roblox for days on end, or play with their Legos from morning until night. The thing is, when it’s something they’re interested in, especially if it’s something new, people with ADHD can hyperfocus and even forget to eat, drink and go to the toilet.

When the interest has gone down, people with ADHD will tend to leave the activity and move on to the next thing. This usually translates into parents complaining their children always do things half-assed, often quitting things like taekwondo, piano lessons and joining the scouts halfway.

“But that’s normal for kids, right? I did that as a kid too, and I turned out fine. Why should I pay some therapist to diagnose something that is normal?”

Well, strawman dad, other than the obvious effects of ADHD on a child: poor academic performance, perceived laziness, being generally hard to control, there are other more serious things to consider. We also know that as adults with ADHD, this would affect their job performance as well.

Let’s start at home: Children with ADHD, especially the hyperactive type, tend to have a lot of energy and will climb on furniture, break things, leave toys everywhere, lose their things at school and at home, non-stop talking – all this would usually lead to frustration to the parents on top of the everyday stress and frustration of life in general.

Not understanding why this happens, parents might resort to physical, verbal, or emotional disciplinary tactics, or in more accurate terms, abuse. At school, children with ADHD also tend to get mistreated by their teachers as well as their peers. They tend to get bullied by friends and teachers alike.

With all these going on, it’s no wonder that children with ADHD have a high likelihood to develop Conduct Disorder – being rebellious and having a lot of disciplinary issues at school. When they grow older, they have a significantly high chance of developing what psychiatrists call Antisocial Personality Disorder, or to put it in pop culture laymen’s term: Psychopathy.

This is so prevalent that 25-45% of incarcerated individuals have ADHD.

Even in the general population, an ADHD diagnosis is a reliable predictor for antisocial behaviors.

On top of that, individuals with ADHD tend to suffer traumas and get into more road accidents. As a result, they also have an overall higher mortality rate.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Because of improving mental health literacy amongst adults and children alike, people are more aware of possible ADHD in themselves and their children. We are seeing an increase in the diagnosis and management of ADHD in children and adults. There are more facilities that can cater to your child’s ADHD diagnosis, both in private practice and in government facilities.

So, strawman dad, bring your child in for an assessment – and since you said you had these symptoms, we could assess you too!

Dr J.