Can you develop ADHD?
In a word: no. You are either born with ADHD or you’re not. However, it is very possible for symptoms to go unnoticed for a long period of time, making it feel like ADHD just sprung up out of nowhere.
There are many students who don’t struggle with their ADHD symptoms until they reach University, where the academic and executive functioning demands are much greater.
This is particularly true for bright students, who may have “gotten by” without much trouble before because their intelligence made up for their undiagnosed ADHD symptoms.
This ends up causing even more problems if they pursue post-secondary education because they haven’t developed strong study skills, nor the strategies to manage any ADHD traits that interfere with school performance.
ADHD may become more apparent when someone gets their first “real” job out of high school or university. As teenagers, we typically have part-time jobs without much responsibility. As we’re beginning our careers, the expectations and level of responsibility are much greater, so the cracks in the mould begin to show.
Adulting is hard
A lot of us who were diagnosed as adults don’t find out we have ADHD until we have children of our own if we become parents. The executive functioning skills required to work, run a household, raise a family, and do Adulty Things are much more intense than they were before.
Some, like me, are diagnosed only after their child is diagnosed. My son was 6 and I was 36. It was only after going over the questionnaires and learning a lot more about ADHD that I began to recognize and relate to many of the symptoms and experiences described therein.
Given that ADHD is highly heritable, this is unsurprising. If a child has ADHD it’s very likely that someone in the family also has it, whether that be an aunt, uncle, grandparent, sibling, or parent.
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