It is widely accepted that ADHD is more common than previously thought;up to 65% of patients with childhood ADHD continue to have difficulties in adulthood. While symptoms of ADHD are the same throughout your life, they look different in adulthood. Many adults with ADHD are less likely to exhibit obvious hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. It is often more inattentive symptoms instead, especially in adult females.  

ADHD symptoms of inattention in adults

• Careless mistakes: Do you have difficulty with detail, overlooking or missing mistakes at work? Or do you often get lost in the details?
• Focus: Do you find it hard to focus during work, in conversations, or while reading something lengthy?
• Poor listener: Are you often perceived as someone who doesn’t pay attention in conversations, even without any obvious distractions?
• Following direction: Do you find that you fail to complete tasks at work or at home? Or do you tend to start a task and become easily side-tracked?
• Staying organized: Do you struggle to stay organized at work or at home? Is time management or missing deadlines an issue for you?
• Sustained interest: Do you struggle with tasks that require continued mental effort like completing forms or reviewing lengthy documents? Do you sometimes avoid those tasks? Or find that you will hyper focus on the wrong tasks?
• Misplacing items: Do you often forget or misplace items of importance like your phone, wallet, or keys?
• Easily distracted: Does your mind wander or drift to unrelated thoughts? Do you often find you have multiple thoughts at once or jump from thought to thought spontaneously?
• Forgetful: Do you often forget to get back to people, or miss a bill or appointment?

ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity

• Fidgety: Are you often tapping your hands or feet or find yourself unable to sit still?
• Staying seated: Do you often find yourself wandering around when you should be at your desk, in a meeting, or seated at a social event?
• Restlessness: Are excessive movement or feelings of restlessness an issue in your day to day? Is it hard to relax or do you struggle with sleep?
• Being quiet: Is it hard for you to quietly engage in leisure activities?
• Staying still: Are you often impulsively “on the go,” finding it uncomfortable to be still for an extended period of time at work or in a social setting like a movie? Have you ever been described as hard to keep up with?
• Talkative: Do you find yourself talking excessively or too loudly at times?
• Interrupting: Do you sometimes blurt out an answer before a question is even completed, or find yourself finishing people’s sentences?
• Waiting your turn: Do you struggle with waiting in line or waiting for your turn at something?
• Intruding on others: Do you ever interrupt conversations or find yourself taking over what others are doing without asking? Do you do these things impulsively?

If you are being impacted by these symptoms in your work and home life then contact me so we can work on strategies to make your life more manageable.