Myth #3:
Children with ADHD eventually outgrow their condition.
- Today, experts estimate that 4.4% of American adults -- more than 10 million people -- suffer from attention problems serious enough to warrant a diagnosis of ADHD.
- The new research suggests that, as children with ADHD grow into adolescence, it is the dreamy, forgetful, inattentive types who are most likely to continue to struggle with the disorder.
- By contrast, those whose childhood symptoms were confined to hyperactivity are the most likely to mature out of the disease in adolescence.
- In some children, the overactive behavior of ADHD decreases during the teen years. But inattention often becomes more challenging during early high school years when students must organize homework assignments and complete complex projects. Some children do not experience any symptoms of ADHD in adulthood, while some experience fewer symptoms. Others have no change in their symptoms from childhood to adulthood.
- ADHD is not found just in children. We have learned from a number of excellent follow-up studies conducted over the past few decades that ADHD often lasts a lifetime. Over 70% of children diagnosed as having ADHD will continue to manifest the full clinical syndrome in adolescence, and 15-50% will continue to manifest the full clinical syndrome in adulthood. If untreated, individuals with ADHD may develop a variety of secondary problems as they move through life, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, academic failure, vocational problems, marital discord, and emotional distress. If properly treated, most individuals with ADHD live productive lives and cope reasonably well with their symptoms.
- More than 70 percent of the individuals who have ADHD in childhood continue to have it in adolescence. Up to 50 percent will continue to have it in adulthood. Although it's been estimated that 6 percent of the adult population has ADHD, the majority of those adults remain undiagnosed, and only one in four of them seek treatment. Yet, without help, adults with ADHD are highly vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. They often experience career difficulties, legal and financial problems, and troubled personal relationships.