Undiagnosed ADHD in Adults is Possible -- How to Cope

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It appears that ADHD is no longer a mental disorder for kids. According to a new study, ADHD in adults exist and most of the cases are undiagnosed because they do not realize the symptoms are already there.

According to a report by Med Page Today, researchers from Europe believe that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder stays in some adults until they reach the last years of their lives.

Dr. Sandra Kooij, team leader at the European Network of Adult ADHD, presented a report during the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD) conference stating that ADHD exists in three percent of adults in Netherlands who older than 60-years old.

For so many years, people believe that the psychological disorder only occurs in kids. However, there have already been several studies that suggested symptoms are still present during adulthood in many cases.

"ADHD is not outgrown in adults, and neither in older people," Kooij claimed. "The prevalence is a little lower, but the disorder can still be found in older individuals, who also still suffer from typical ADHD problems like restlessness, distractability, and from concurrent depression and anxiety."

ADHD cases occurring in both children and adults require the same type of treatment. Doctors usually prescribe stimulant drugs to ease ADHD. Some treatment would require psychotherapy.

Meanwhile, a psychiatric professor at the New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Lenard Adler, claimed that approximately 60 percent of kids diagnosed with ADHD will grow up with the disorder still occurring. And because adult ADHD normally goes undiagnosed, these people will get used to the disorder and learned a way to work around it. Some of these people will learn how to cope with the disorder by unconsciously developing a habit, which will allow them to control themselves, according to a report by NPR.

Dr. David Goodman, a ADHD specialist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said that he had encountered a lot of ADHD cases in adults that are more than 50-years old. Though these are newly-diagnosed cases, their disorder probably started when they were still 7-years old. Goodman added that ADHD may start at a very young age but the symptoms may last a lifetime, which is the case for some people.

Children with ADHD normally have problems behaving properly in school. Adults with the same psychological disorder have issues focusing on the things they need to do on a daily basis.