Adult ADHD: how to recognise and diagnose it?
ADHD is not just a childhood disorder. It persists into adulthood in around 60 % of people diagnosed in childhood. And many adults have never been diagnosed, living with undetected ADHD that affects their professional, relational and everyday life.
How ADHD manifests in adulthood
In adulthood, ADHD often presents differently from in children. The motor hyperactivity visible in children turns into inner restlessness, difficulty relaxing and a constant need to be busy. Difficulties with organisation become particularly disruptive in professional and domestic life: unfinished projects, forgotten appointments, unpaid bills due to forgetfulness, difficulty managing deadlines. Impulsivity may show up as hasty decisions, frequent changes of job or project, or relationship difficulties linked to intense emotional reactions.
Why are so many adults not diagnosed?
Many adults with ADHD have developed effective coping strategies that allow them to function well enough never to be identified. They choose work environments that suit their profile, either highly stimulating or very autonomous. They surround themselves with people who make up for their organisational difficulties. And they function with chronic fatigue linked to the constant effort of compensating. It is often only a life event (a promotion, parenthood, burnout) that reveals the limits of their coping strategies and leads to diagnosis.
The adult diagnostic pathway
To obtain a diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood, you need to consult a psychiatrist or a doctor specialising in adult neurodevelopment. The assessment includes in-depth clinical interviews, standardised questionnaires on attention and executive functions, and often a full neuropsychological assessment. The presence of difficulties in childhood, even undiagnosed, is sought, as ADHD must have begun before the age of 12 according to diagnostic criteria.
What an adult diagnosis changes
An adult ADHD diagnosis profoundly changes the way one sees one’s own history and difficulties. It frees people from accumulated guilt and allows them to put appropriate strategies in place in an informed way. It can also open up professional rights such as the RQTH. For resources on adult ADHD, lesdys.fr offers practical guides for adults with DYS disorders.
