The Misconceptions Surrounding ADHD
Words by Kelsie Fitzgerald
Like so many mental health disorders, ADHD is shrouded in misinformation, misunderstandings, and sometimes straight-up ignorance. Like many things in life, there’s a lot of negativities surrounding something which people don’t understand. While personally I am only newly diagnosed, I know that for many neurodivergent people comments and opinions from strangers are nothing new. As we learn more about neurological developmental disorders, we develop the language and the scientifically backed knowledge to debunk myths and misinformed opinions.
In this article I’m going to outline six myths/misinformed statements that people with ADHD will often hear from people who simply don’t get it.
“ADHD isn’t real”
One of the most common statements about ADHD is that it simply doesn’t exist and that it’s not real. Well, have I got news for you. ADHD is very much real, and the earliest mentions of ADHD go back as far as 1775. Since then, there have been over 10,000 clinical and scientific publications on the topic. There have been numerous studies on brain scans, showing the differences between the ADHD and non-ADHD brains. It is known that ADHD affects a person’s daily function negatively in many areas such as social, emotional, working, and academic capabilities. ADHD has also been shown to be passed on through generations, a hereditary disorder.
“People with ADHD are just lazy”
If you have ADHD, the chances are that you've had someone tell you that “you’ve just got to try harder”, which can be difficult to hear when you know that you are in fact giving 100%. Much like every other medical condition, you don’t just get rid of the symptoms of ADHD by trying harder. In fact, it’s like asking someone with a hearing impairment to just try harder at listening. The chemistry in an ADHD brain is different from the neurotypical brain - those of us with ADHD struggle with executive dysfunction, which governs how initiate and continue tasks to completion. Being told that you’re lazy repeatedly can have a serious impact on your self-worth and can add to the feelings of failure.
“ADHD is caused by bad parenting”
As I mentioned in my previous article on this very site, titled My ADHD Story, one of the most recognisable interpretations of ADHD in pop culture and society is that of the hyperactive and destructive little boy. While not all ADHD presents in this manner, sometimes it does, and often this leads to people to conclude that these kids are just badly behaved children who need more discipline. A common misconception about ADHD is that it’s caused by bad parenting, that parents need to demand more respect, to punish and discipline their children with ADHD harder so that they don’t ‘act out’.
Here’s the thing though, these children aren’t acting out on purpose or trying to misbehave, they truly cannot help it. The symptoms of ADHD can cause inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These children find it harder to control the urges to fidget, interrupt in conversations, and to zone out often. No amount of discipline will change this, in fact it’s shown that when parents punish children for ADHD related actions it can make the symptoms much worse.
“ADHD is a childhood disorder - adults don’t have ADHD”
A very common misconception about ADHD is that it’s only a childhood disorder, that children grow out of ADHD. This is false, you don’t grow out of ADHD. You simply become better at managing and hiding the symptoms as they don’t fit into what’s considered normal society. In other words, people with ADHD learn to mask their symptoms in order to try and live ‘normal’ lives. This however can lead to a myriad of problems in some adults who have never been diagnosed as ADHD. When left untreated, it can lead to numerous problems such as substance abuse, mood disorders and comorbid mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. While the adolescent symptoms of ADHD are easier to see, with adults it can sometimes present more internally. Adults with ADHD are more likely to experience money problems, relationship issues and have a hard time keeping careers.
“ADHD is over diagnosed and over medicated”
When I first started researching ADHD and eventually received my own diagnosis, I came across a lot of people online saying, “ADHD is the cool new thing” or “everyone has ADHD now”. Some people believe that an ADHD diagnosis is handed out willy-nilly to anyone who wants one, as it’s a quirky thing to have these days. This attitude is of course harmful to those seeking help, and for the community at large. ADHD is not a fun disorder to live with. When the world stopped due to COVID-19, the support systems many people had put in place also came screeching to a halt. Suddenly, people who kept themselves together were falling apart and during this time many people realised that they might have ADHD. Some of these people went on to get that diagnosis.
Alongside with being ‘over diagnosed’ many people believe that ADHD is over medicated and that ADHD medications will cause addiction problems in people with ADHD. There is a fear that the stimulants used to treat ADHD e.g., Adderall, can cause addiction like it can cause neurotypicals who take the drug recreationally and to study. However, studies have found that treating ADHD with medication lessens the chance of self-medication through alcohol, cigarettes, and other illegal drugs.
“Girls don’t get ADHD, it’s a boy’s disorder”
There is a myth that only boys have ADHD. In my own opinion, this stems from two reasons. The first reason is how pop-culture, and the media has portrayed ADHD throughout the years - the stereotype of the hyperactive little boy. Reason two - the lack of research into girls with ADHD. The first proper studies done on girls and ADHD weren’t instigated until the 1990’s.
While boys are twice as likely to get diagnosed with ADHD compared to girls, this is slowly changing, and more attention is shown to girls who may be displaying symptoms of ADHD from a young age. What’s being seen these days is women in their 40’s and 50’s getting diagnosed because their own children are in the process of a diagnosis, causing a lightbulb moment for these women - that they might have it too.
There are still many things we don’t know about ADHD and as we research more and understand each other, we can work together to fight against misconceptions spread surrounding ADHD.
If you or anyone else you know needs more information about ADHD please check out the following organisations:
ADHD Ireland - https://adhdireland.ie/
INCADDS (Irish National Council of AD/HD Support Groups - https://www.incadds.ie/
ADHA UK - https://adhduk.co.uk/
ADHA FOUNDATION - https://adhdfoundation.org.uk/
