For adults, receiving an adhd diagnosis can be life-changing, but it also comes with potential risks.
Struggles with the term adhd ADHD Diagnosis
Joseph aquilina dislikes the term “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” (adhd), as he feels that the two ds imply dysfunction. Instead, he prefers his term: “Attention difference hyperdrive.”
Aquilina received his adhd diagnosis at age 37, 16 years after being diagnosed with dyslexia. The fast-talking londoner had attributed his struggles with focus, memory, and planning to dyslexia until people in his life began questioning his behavior further.
The turning point ADHD Diagnosis
Aquilina was diagnosed with adhd during a particularly challenging period in his life. He was working while attempting to launch a new business, studying for a postgraduate certificate, becoming a father, and reflecting on his childhood. Today, he works as an adhd coach, using his experiences to help others. “I’m like a fly on the wall, which is also part of the wall,” he says. He notes that many people, like himself, are diagnosed during a crisis. He describes the individuals he coaches as barely holding on to all the spinning plates in their lives, often reaching a point where “The plates might crash and fall.”
Rising diagnoses among adults
In recent years, more adults in the uk and other countries have sought an adhd diagnosis, with demand exceeding expert expectations. This growing trend highlights the need for more information about the complexities of the diagnosis.
The relief of an adult adhd diagnosis
Adhd is generally considered as the presence of symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness most of the time. As per the estimates, the condition is pr,evalent in about three percent of adults.
Many experts explain why the condition is often missed in a large proportion of adults with ADHD. Generally speaking, the diagnosis of adhd occurs in childhood, and timely diagnosis begets sensible prospects of the patient’s future. People with such undiagnosed disorders carry it all life long and compensate for it artificially, as well as most people with adhd have other neurodevelopmental or mental problems, which makes it harder to carry out the diagnosis.
“Most research about adhd is on men,” says annette björk, a lecturer in health sciences at mid sweden university with a background in mental health nursing. This lack of diverse research contributes to the challenges faced by these groups in receiving a proper diagnosis.
