ADHD
What is ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, which means the brain develops and works differently.
A person with ADHD may experience differences with attention, activity levels, impulse control, organisation, motivation and emotional regulation.
ADHD begins in childhood, although some people are not diagnosed until they are teenagers or adults. It can continue throughout a person's life.
ADHD is not caused by bad parenting, laziness or a lack of discipline.
A person with ADHD is not deliberately being difficult when their brain struggles to do something.
ADHD is different for everyone
There is no single way to “look ADHD”.
Some people are very active and impulsive.
Some mainly struggle with attention and organisation.
Others experience a mixture of both.
This means two people with ADHD can have very different strengths and support needs.
ADHD can also look different as someone gets older.
Attention
Despite its name, ADHD does not simply mean that somebody cannot pay attention.
It can be more helpful to think about ADHD as having difficulty regulating attention.
Someone might find it difficult to concentrate on something that is repetitive, uninteresting or difficult to begin.
They may:
become easily distracted
forget instructions
lose belongings
move between tasks without finishing them
struggle to listen while doing something else
forget everyday tasks
find long activities difficult
appear to be daydreaming.
At other times, they may become completely absorbed in something that interests them and find it difficult to stop or switch activities.
ADHD attention is often inconsistent rather than absent.
Hyperactivity
Some people with ADHD experience hyperactivity.
This might be obvious movement, such as:
running, climbing, bouncing, fidgeting, tapping, pacing or constantly changing position.
But hyperactivity does not always mean somebody is physically running around.
It can also feel like internal restlessness.
Someone might describe their thoughts as constantly moving or their brain as feeling as though it has lots of different things happening at once.
Adults and older children may learn to hide obvious hyperactivity while still feeling extremely restless inside.
Impulsivity
Impulsivity means acting or responding before there has been enough time to think through what might happen next.
Someone might:
interrupt conversations, call out answers, make quick decisions, struggle to wait, buy something impulsively, suddenly change activity or act on an exciting idea immediately.
This is not necessarily because they do not understand rules or consequences.
Their brain may simply have difficulty creating the pause between thinking and doing.
Executive functioning
ADHD can affect executive functioning.
Executive functions are the mental skills we use to organise ourselves and get things done.
They help us:
start tasks, plan, prioritise, remember information, manage time, organise belongings, switch between activities and complete tasks.
A person with ADHD might genuinely want to do something but still find themselves unable to get started.
This can sometimes be mistaken for laziness or refusal.
It may help to think of it as:
“I know what I need to do, but my brain is struggling to make it happen.”
Time and ADHD
Some people with ADHD have difficulty judging and managing time.
Five minutes and fifty minutes may not always feel very different.
Someone might:
lose track of time,
underestimate how long something will take,
become absorbed in an activity,
frequently run late,
or struggle to plan ahead.
Timers, clocks, visual schedules and reminders can make time more visible.
Working memory
Working memory is the brain's temporary workspace.
It helps us hold information in our minds while we use it.
Someone with ADHD might walk upstairs to get something and then forget why they went upstairs.
They might hear:
“Put your shoes away, get your coat, fill your water bottle and meet me by the door.”
By the time they reach their shoes, some of the instruction may already have disappeared.
Short instructions, visual reminders and written information can therefore be extremely helpful.
Motivation
ADHD can affect the brain systems involved in motivation and reward.
This can create a frustrating situation where somebody can do an extremely complicated activity they enjoy but struggles to begin a much simpler everyday task.
It does not necessarily mean:
“I don't want to.”
Sometimes it means:
“My brain can't get started.”
Breaking tasks into small, achievable steps, adding interest or movement and providing support with starting can help.
Emotional regulation
Some people with ADHD experience emotions very strongly.
Excitement can feel enormous.
So can frustration, disappointment, anger, embarrassment or sadness.
Once an emotion becomes intense, it may also take time for the nervous system to settle again.
This does not mean that somebody is deliberately overreacting.
Support with recognising emotions, reducing overwhelm and regulating before trying to solve the problem can be helpful.
Sensory differences
Some people with ADHD also experience sensory differences.
They might find certain noises, textures, smells, lights or environments overwhelming.
Others actively seek sensory input through things such as:
movement, chewing, touching objects, music, spinning, bouncing or fidgeting.
A busy classroom, shopping centre or other noisy environment can therefore require far more energy than it appears to from the outside.
Movement can help
Movement is not always a distraction.
For some people with ADHD, moving actually helps them concentrate.
They might listen better while:
doodling, fidgeting, rocking, standing, walking or using a movement cushion.
Expecting somebody to remain completely still can sometimes make it harder, rather than easier, for them to pay attention.
ADHD and sleep
Some people with ADHD experience difficulties with sleep.
They may find it hard to:
settle their thoughts,
stop an interesting activity,
recognise that they are tired,
or move through the steps needed to get ready for bed.
Poor sleep can then make attention, regulation and executive functioning harder the following day.
NICE recommends considering sleep when looking at how ADHD affects someone's everyday life.
ADHD in girls and women
ADHD can sometimes be missed in girls and women.
This may happen when ADHD does not match the stereotype of a very energetic child who cannot sit still.
Someone may instead appear:
quiet, dreamy, forgetful, disorganised, anxious or overwhelmed.
They may also work extremely hard to hide their difficulties.
NICE specifically warns that ADHD is thought to be under-recognised in girls and women, who may be less likely to be referred for assessment or may receive another diagnosis first.
Masking
Some people with ADHD learn to mask their difficulties.
They may spend enormous amounts of energy trying to:
sit still,
remember instructions,
avoid interrupting,
appear organised,
hide fidgeting,
or copy how other people behave.
Someone might therefore appear to cope at school or work but become exhausted or overwhelmed afterwards.
Looking as though something is easy does not necessarily mean that it feels easy.
ADHD and learning
ADHD is not a learning disability.
A person with ADHD can have any level of intellectual ability.
However, ADHD can make learning harder when somebody is expected to manage attention, working memory, organisation, time, transitions and lengthy instructions at the same time.
A child may understand the lesson perfectly but still forget their equipment, lose their worksheet, miss an instruction or struggle to finish their work.
These are different skills.
Academic ability and executive functioning are not the same thing.
ADHD and other neurodivergence
ADHD can occur alongside other neurodevelopmental differences.
These can include autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and tic disorders.
Someone who is both autistic and ADHD may use the informal term AuDHD to describe themselves.
People with ADHD can also experience mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, although these are separate conditions and not simply part of ADHD.
Strengths
ADHD should not only be described through difficulties.
Every person is different, but ADHD can be associated with strengths such as:
creativity, enthusiasm, curiosity, spontaneity, problem-solving, imagination, humour, determination and passionate interests.
Some people can become deeply absorbed in subjects that interest them and develop huge amounts of knowledge about them.
Not every person with ADHD has the same strengths, just as they do not have the same difficulties.
The aim should be to understand the individual person.
Supporting someone with ADHD
Helpful support might include:
short, clear instructions, visual reminders, timers, movement opportunities, regular breaks, predictable routines, help beginning tasks, reduced distractions, extra processing time and breaking larger tasks into smaller steps.
It can also help to provide external organisation rather than repeatedly telling someone to “try harder” to remember.
NICE recommends considering environmental modifications and reasonable adjustments at school, university and work as part of ADHD support.
Sometimes changing the environment is more useful than expecting the person to constantly fight against the way their brain works.
ADHD diagnosis in the UK
Both children and adults can be diagnosed with ADHD in the UK.
An ADHD diagnosis should be made by a specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional with expertise in ADHD.
Assessment looks at the person's development and experiences across different parts of everyday life. ADHD should not be diagnosed from a questionnaire or rating scale alone.
Importantly, people can still need understanding, support and reasonable adjustments while waiting for an assessment.
ADHD support and treatment
There is no single approach that is right for everybody.
Support can include information about ADHD, environmental changes, support at home or education, psychological approaches and medication where appropriate.
NICE recommends that support is based on the person's individual needs, circumstances and goals.
Medication does not teach somebody to behave or change who they are. Where it is appropriate, it is one possible part of managing ADHD symptoms and should be prescribed and monitored by appropriately trained healthcare professionals.
Remember
ADHD is not laziness.
Movement is not always misbehaviour.
Forgetting is not the same as not caring.
Struggling to start is not the same as refusing.
Attention can be inconsistent.
Support needs can change depending on the environment.
And a brain that works differently is still capable of learning, creating, connecting and succeeding. 💜
For reliable UK information, families can use NHS information about ADHD in children and young people, NHS information about ADHD in adults and NICE ADHD guidance.