12 Things Not To Say To Someone Who Has ADHD

Even if your intentions are good, saying these things can be hurtful or offensive to a person with an ADHD diagnosis.

There has been a surge in adult ADHD diagnoses in recent years, so it’s not surprising if you’re starting to feel like everyone you know suddenly has the condition.

Dr. Ryan Sultan, a psychiatrist at New York-Presbyterian hospital, explained that there are a number of reasons for the uptick. First, there has been an increase in recognition and awareness of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, including those that don’t fit the stereotypical profile of a child who can’t stay in his seat at school. We now know that ADHD can present differently in women and girls, as well as that it isn’t necessarily a condition that people grow out of as they age. Adults struggle with symptoms, too; increased awareness means that some of them are only now getting treatment for challenges they have lived with their entire lives.

In addition, Sultan told HuffPost that “the fast-paced, multitasking nature of today’s world, combined with the constant barrage of information and distractions from technology,” can “exacerbate underlying ADHD symptoms or bring them to light in ways that wouldn’t have been as apparent in the past.”

Whether people are only now experiencing symptoms of ADHD because of the way we operate in the world today or just now realizing that some of their past struggles could be attributed to ADHD, it’s true that more people are seeking an official diagnosis — and treatment.

Andrew Kahn, a psychologist and associate director at Understood.org, told HuffPost that he did a huge number of ADHD evaluations for adults during the pandemic. He believes that discussion of the topic on social media at the time led many people to think, “‘Could this be me? Is this something that I’m going through?’”