People often question why so many people are being diagnosed with ADHD these days. There are a few reasons. Firstly, there is much more awareness of ADHD nowadays.
For anybody currently in their forties, fifties and above, there was no awareness of ADHD when they attended school.
When awareness began to increase, ADHD was predominantly thought to affect young boys in terms of hyperactivity. This meant that girls tended to fall under the radar, which meant that many young girls who had inattentive ADHD were not diagnosed.
This has changed now, as teachers have much more awareness of the symptoms of ADHD.
For children with ADHD, supports are available in schools by means of SNA support. ADHD can be mild, moderate or severe. SNA support is assessed on a case-by-case basis. A further reason for increasing diagnosis is the amount of coverage via TV documentaries and on social media.
Finally, ADHD is genetic. Many adults are now being diagnosed when their own children receive a diagnosis. Adults can recognise the same symptoms and struggles as their child, which can lead them to seek an official diagnosis.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD ) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that affects executive functioning.
ADHD is categorised into three main types based on dominant symptoms: Inattentive, Hyperactive-Impulsive, and Combined. These types describe how ADHD symptoms, such as difficulty focusing, restlessness, or impulsivity manifest in individuals. ADHD affects the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which controls executive functioning skills. Think of it like the project manager of the brain. Executive functioning skills include organisation, planning, working memory, time management and emotional regulation.
The ADHD brain has lower levels of dopamine, is structured differently (which can be seen on MRI scans ) and the neurotransmitters do not work in the same way as neurotypical brains.
Furthermore, research has shown that children with ADHD are approximately 3 years behind their peers in development. Executive functioning challenges present challenges in day-to-day life.
People with ADHD experience difficulty starting tasks and sustaining their concentration to get tasks completed. This can result in procrastination and task paralysis, which causes stress and overwhelm as tasks mount up and you can't either get started, or sustain concentration to complete those tasks.
With ADHD, an impending deadline creates hyperfocus, which can drive the task to completion. But obviously, we need to learn to manage this challenge in the long-term, in order to start tasks, and improve focus and productivity when there is no looming deadline over the horizon.
People with ADHD struggle to manage this challenge throughout school, college, during exams and throughout their professional career.
People with ADHD mostly 'mask' these symptoms by working longer hours, just to be on the same level as their peers, despite these challenges. When individuals are unaware they have ADHD, they can blame themselves for their inability to be the same as their peers, which can lead to self-criticism and low confidence.
ADHD brains are busy and overthinking can be a real issue. Even if someone is not physically hyperactive, the hyperactivity can display by means of overthinking. This is also quite common in people with Inattentive ADHD.
ADHD coaching offers tailored, action-oriented support to improve executive functioning, providing accountability and practical strategies for daily life.
As a trained ADD Academy (ADDCA ) coach, Fiona Timothy works with adults to help them build sustainable structures, approaches and a tool-kit that brings long-term sustainable success.
Key benefits include better time management, task management, better organisational skills, increased productivity, improved emotional regulation, and increased self-esteem and confidence.
To book a free 30-minute consultation call, visit www.theadhdcoach.ie, email [email protected], or call 089 986 2079.
