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Grace Jones

Prof. Sobocinski

English 1201-514

March 23, 2022

How does an individual with ADHD struggle when growing up?

Issues are like problems, everyday new challenges step forward and attack an individual

that has been given this fight. Some issues can be controlled and taken care of and some issues

individuals have no control over, such as ADHD. Individuals that have been diagnosed with

ADHD go through obstacles such as paying attention, forgetfulness, controlling, and dealing

with their emotions and different situations. Going through all these obstacles and more, they

create challenges in school/work, relationships, and other disorders, throughout their life that

others do not have to deal with.

Fig. 1. This image highlights the

common ADHD symptoms and

signs in children (Christiansen).

“ADHD, also known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, affects 6.1 million

children in the world” (CDC). ADHD is a mental illness, not a disease. “ADHD has been

associated with differences in the development of key executive functions, particularly working

memory and response inhibition” (Shaw). Most people inherit ADHD from blood relatives and
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through genetics. It has been found that ADHD is more commonly found in males than in

females (Sturmey). Before an individual gets diagnosed with ADHD they show symptoms. The

more common symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Almost

everyone shows the symptoms of ADHD throughout their life, but people with ADHD show

excessive amounts. To get diagnosed with ADHD, individuals get tested by measuring the

different behavioral symptoms that characterize people with ADHD and, on top of that

professional judgment (Karlsson and Lundström). In most situations, ADHD is first identified in

school when the child has problems disrupting the class or a difficult time paying attention

(American Psychiatric Association).

At the age of five or six, kids begin kindergarten not knowing a lot, and by the end of the

school year, they hope to have learned enough to continue to first grade in the fall. During these

early years, it is easy to discover that your child has ADHD. “In 2016 the estimated number of

children ever diagnosed with ADHD was 6.1 million (9.4%). This number includes 388,000

children aged 2–5 years” (CDC). As a kid, you make mistakes and learn from them, but a kid

with ADHD will make similar mistakes and will learn from them but will often forget the lesson

they learned. This will cause the child to make more of the same mistakes and creates more

struggles they have to deal with. It has been proven by studies that children with ADHD that are

in preschool commonly have learning disabilities and are behind in basic academic readiness

(May). Being behind in school can have a negative impact on any child’s life.

For kids that have ADHD, they can experience a lot of struggles when growing up,

school is a major factor that supports this idea. Tests and studies have been done that have found

that kids with ADHD who struggle with paying attention and have a hard time controlling motor

activity are at a higher risk of poor academic attainment (May). That said it shows clarity that
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this attention deficit disorder starts very young. When it comes to a seven-hour school day it was

found that these kids struggle and do not do as well as their peers who do not have ADHD. Since

people with ADHD have a hard time focusing and learning the material it can cause the

individual a great amount of frustration to the point of getting overwhelmed. With them not

being able to control their motor activity as well as people without ADHD more problems come

to the surface involving behavioral management.

With ADHD an individual can experience greater emotions and reactions to problems or

situations that they deal with in their everyday or life. It has been discovered that adults with

ADHD that have not been diagnosed with it are having a difficult time in the work and job

community. They get sent home or fired from jobs easily and frequently and lose self-drive and

confidence to the point that they quit (Hallowell). It is difficult for an adult with ADHD to

prioritize their time and stay on task because of that they underperform and will possibly get

fired. Adults with ADHD share some of the same challenges that kids with ADHD face just on

an adult level. Kids have a harder time at school while adults have a harder time at their place of

employment. Kids have tantrums while adults quit their jobs and give up, both of these actions

are commonly from frustration or being stressed. For adults, the hyperactivity side of the mental

disorder may decrease as they get older, but impulsiveness, restlessness, and lack of focus have a

good chance of continuing (Mayo Clinic). A problem with having undiagnosed ADHD is that

more mental disorders are shown to affect these individuals. When ADHD goes undiagnosed the

individual is most likely to experience extreme sadness and anxiety and has a higher chance of

having a mood disorder (Hallowell).

ADHD brings up more challenges than just not being able to focus, an individual with
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ADHD also tends to put a big dent in relationships with family and friends. It is not always the

individual with ADHD’s fault when relationships don’t work out. It is a collaborative effort. It

could well possibly be that the other person does not know how to deal with someone with

ADHD. When growing up you create friendships but for some, it can be difficult, especially for

kids with ADHD. In the YouTube video ADHD Awareness Month 2018 - Shine a light on

ADHD Mr. Bryn Travers tells the viewers how kids with ADHD are treated differently “As a

child, it is a very isolating thing in our society. You can become alienated from peers because

you’re misunderstood. People don’t know you. You can’t communicate yourself properly to

them.” (Ghirardi, Laura and Nicoletta Adamo, Arjan de Brouwer). As Mr. Bryan Travers said

that a person with ADHD can not communicate themselves properly which leads to individuals

with ADHD tended to deal with situations differently than people without the disorder. A

situation that is most likely dealt with differently is the act of frustration. An individual with the

disorder tends to have big emotions, so when something does not go their way or the way they

planned it to go they deal with it in a disruptive manner. It is hard for individuals with ADHD to

control their anger and deal with it calmly and not get so upset. Some people decide to throw

temper tantrums, yell, throw things, etc. Anyone in this situation could be in danger, anyone

could be hit with something and could be seriously injured. When an individual without ADHD

sees a person take on these acts they could be scared and decide to leave them due to the threat to

their safety. The person leaving can leave the individual lonely and can make them experience

extreme sadness.

When it comes to a family with an individual with ADHD it can put a strain on their

bonds. At 18 years old an individual is classified as an adult, they can make their own decisions

without their parent’s say. Since the individual can make their own decisions they can decide to
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do things that their parents told them not to do. If an individual chooses to do this it can make

some parents upset and not be able to trust their child in some cases. Trust is one of the most

important things when it comes to family. This is similar to when an individual finds a person

that they are going to marry and create a family with. The person with ADHD should educate the

other individual without the disorder about ADHD. It is important to educate their significant

other so then they know how to help the person with ADHD during situations that they react to

differently like frustration and stress. A person with ADHD is at a higher chance to have their

marriage split due to habits that take a lot more effort to stop than people without the disorder.

(Hallowell). This can be hard for the other individual that does not have ADHD to deal with and

therefore leave the individual. This leaves the person with ADHD lonely and can create more

disorders and mental problems that they have to deal with.

All across the world, people are struggling with mental disorders. People do not choose

these. Throughout life, everyone experiences new things and some things can lead to trauma,

with this trauma individuals can choose to seek medical help to treat it. ADHD does not cause

other disorders, they normally occur with ADHD, and with other disorders, it makes finding

treatment more challenging (Mayo Clinic). For an individual that has ADHD which is already a

mental disorder, they can experience trauma which could lead to them having another disorder to

deal with and treat. Some common mental disorders are problems that occur with ADHD the

most common are behavior and conduct problems, learning disorders like dyslexia, anxiety,

depression, and substance abuse (CDC). Depression is more common if you have ADHD due to

failures, not thinking you are good enough, and the feeling of loneliness. It is common for

individuals with ADHD to also have depression due to the many failures they endure in their

lifetime as well as a bipolar disorder due to having a harder time controlling emotions and
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reactions to situations (Mayo Clinic). Anxiety is also a very common mental disorder that occurs

with ADHD; it makes the individual overwhelmed, worried, and nervous. Most commonly

happens when the individual faces challenges or setbacks (Mayo Clinic). Along with bipolar

disorder, individuals with ADHD have an increased chance of other psychiatric disorders that

include their personality and substances like drugs and alcohol (Mayo Clinic). Anger also is

common in psychiatric disorders due to the lack of self-control people have during a frustration

episode. A lot of people with ADHD have learning disabilities like dyslexia due to struggling to

focus and control motor activity and being behind in school. Many individuals with ADHD don’t

do as well as their peers on tests due to their lack of understanding of what they are learning

(Mayo Clinic). All these disorders and disabilities are common in a person who has ADHD and a

person with ADHD can get diagnosed with any of these disorders throughout their life.

There have been tests to prove that individuals with inattentive ADHD have a higher

chance of having depression, anxiety, and learning disabilities (Sturmey). “Approximately 26%

of children classified as having a learning disability, 43% of children classified as having an

emotional disability, and 40% of children classified as having another health impairment also

have a diagnosis of ADHD” (Sturmey). After doing a personal interview with Bailey Jones, an

adult with ADHD he had a lot to say about his mental disorder. During the interview, I asked

him some personal questions about what growing up was like with this disorder. Something that

stood out to me during the interview was his response to the question “While growing up was

school a big challenge for you or was something else a challenge?” His response was yes, school

was a major challenge growing up (Bailey Jones). Bailey then proceeded to tell me that he did

not get diagnosed until the fourth grade and that he was often behind his classmates in learning

and never felt like he was good enough (Bailey Jones). I then asked if he could explain why he
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never felt like he was good enough. He started to talk about how people would call him dumb

and stupid because he could not do multiplication, then he told me about the sleepless nights he

would endure due to him working on homework at the kitchen table sobbing because he could

not understand what he was learning (Bailey Jones). He said that because of the bullying he

started getting depressed and that at times he felt like giving up (Bailey Jones). With that

information, I asked him “How did you keep going, how did you not give up?” Bailey told me he

found treatment, he found a medicine that helped treat his ADHD and he went to therapy to help

with his depression. He also told me he went to therapy for his substance abuse problem with

marijuana. I asked him a little more about the drug problem and how it started. He told me it was

his way to cope with the depression. He said looking back on it now that he should have spoken

to someone and reached out for help.

As said above in addition to having ADHD and other mental disorders can make finding

treatment for ADHD harder. When an individual has ADHD they might choose to find

something that will treat it. To get diagnosed an individual must show symptoms, no test tells us

if someone has ADHD (CDC). As there has not been a test created to know exactly if an

individual has ADHD there have been treatments found to treat ADHD but not cure it. ADHD is

treated either by medication or behavior therapy (CDC). “On the medication side, there are two

main types: stimulants and non-stimulants” (American Psychiatric Association). The two main

types of stimulant medications are methylphenidate and amphetamines (American Psychiatric

Association). The two main types of non-stimulant medications are atomoxetine and guanfacine.

These medications are used to treat ADHD (American Psychiatric Association). Some

medications can have a dramatic positive effect and relieve some ADHD symptoms (American

Psychiatric Association). Not only does ADHD affect a child’s ability to pay attention in school
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and sit still, but it also affects their relationships with family, friends, and peers. Having ADHD

affects your relationships with people there for individuals may choose to not treat their ADHD

with medicine but with behavior therapy. Most children with ADHD often show and perform

behaviors that are disruptive to others. Not only does medication work to treat ADHD, but

behavior therapy is also beneficial (CDC). Although behavioral therapy is a strategic process, it

can be beneficial to the child and help them control their behavior and make them more aware of

how they deal with different situations. Most children under the age of six take this approach

because they have more side effects from ADHD medication than older children. Although

therapy is more intended for kids, there are many adults with ADHD that have benefitted from

going to psychotherapy and have tried behavioral strategies which have helped treat their

ADHD. Many experts that specialize in ADHD diagnosis believe that at least half of the

individuals diagnosed with ADHD will have the mental disorder all their life (Gwinnell, Esther,

and Adamec). If an adult was not diagnosed with ADHD as a child they can still be diagnosed

with ADHD as an adult. Most people do not grow out of ADHD as they get older. Getting the

right treatment can save a person with ADHD from not struggling as much and can be so

beneficial (Hallowell).

ADHD also increases risk factors and people with ADHD are more prone to injuries and

getting injured (CDC). Since the brains of individuals with ADHD are wired differently this

causes a lot of problems that they have no control over except just taking precautions. It has also

been found that individuals with ADHD have oral health problems and are more susceptible to

dental problems (CDC). Due to the lack of control, it is easy for a person with ADHD to gain

weight by not having good eating habits so they have a higher chance of having obesity (CDC).
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A recent problem that has impacted individuals with ADHD was the rise of the COVID-

19 virus and the pandemic that kept everyone indoors. In March of 2020 schools shut down due

to the fast-spreading virus. Since schools shut down most schools took on the remote learning

approach to finish the school year. Through all the confusion and unknown, many people were

becoming anxious and no one knew what to do. The pandemic affected a lot of children with

ADHD, affecting their mood levels and changing the way they did school to the point that some

kids would throw tantrums and would shut down. In the article The Great Attention Deficit:

More Parents Seek ADHD Diagnosis and Drugs for Kids to Manage Remote Learning, Oliva

Solon interviews a mom with a child that has ADHD that struggled with remote learning. The

mom talks about how her daughter found herself paralyzed by assignments and she talked about

how her daughter would not ask for help over email like she would have done if they were in

person (Solon). In that same article Mclaughlin remembered another situation with online

learning that affected her child greatly. She talked about how her daughter would lash out and

throw temper tantrums because school was so stressful and when things did not go the way she

would get discouraged (Solon). Not just McLaughlins child has had problems with the pandemic,

other individuals with ADHD all over the world are having problems. In the article Pandemic

Especially Tough on Kids With ADHD the author interviewed doctors and specialists that excel

in the diagnosis of ADHD. Rachel Conrad, director of Young Adult Mental Health at Brigham

and Women's Hospital in Boston talked about how she thought people with ADHD would be

greatly impacted by the pandemic. Rachel Conrad thought because people with ADHD have

vulnerable moods, they are more susceptible to a greater impact of the pandemic (Murez). People

that work in the medical field were nervous about how people with ADHD would respond to the

pandemic. Overall, the pandemic made children with ADHD struggle in school, and also due to
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less socializing more children became depressed. And as McLaughlin said that the pandemic was

not good for her child it was not good for anyone including the kids without ADHD.

Some individuals believe that having ADHD is beneficial. One way people believe

ADHD can be beneficial is that people with ADHD are more creative and are more optimistic

than other people (Sherrell). This could be true that people with ADHD are more creative due to

having to approach tasks differently because their brains are wired differently. However, this can

lead to bigger problems. Since Individuals with ADHD have to find different ways to get things

done they can get discouraged and act out which leads to the rise of other disorders (CDC).

Individuals also believe that people with ADHD have good conversational skills. The “H” in

ADHD stands for hyperactivity; this means that the individual is wilder and has a hard time

containing their excitement and thoughts. Since they have a hard time containing their thoughts

they are often talkative (Sherrell). Since they are so talkative it leads to another problem of

interrupting, being intrusive and they may not wait their turn (CDC). Most people do not like

getting interrupted so, therefore, individuals with ADHD are often left out of things and therefore

have no friends. The writer of the article that talks about how ADHD is a good thing Zia Sherrell

shines a light on why ADHD does create struggles. Zia Sherrell wrote, “Living with ADHD

comes with many challenges that those with ADHD must work against every day." "These

difficulties could mean that individuals with ADHD may experience setbacks and adversity,

which they must overcome.” (Sherrell). Sherrell goes against her claims and tells the reader that

people with ADHD struggle and it is not always a good thing to have.

Overall, an individual with ADHD experiences obstacles throughout their life that lead to

struggles they have to deal with. Individuals with ADHD struggle in school because they have a

hard time focusing, sitting still, and lacking basic academic skills. At work, individuals with
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ADHD underperform and become discouraged which leads to them getting fired or quitting.

Another struggle individuals deal with is relationships, people with ADHD have a harder time

being able to control their emotions and dealing with situations. It is common for individuals

with ADHD to have other disorders the most common are depression and anxiety, which makes

treating ADHD more difficult. It has been proven that individuals with ADHD will have a harder

life and struggle more than people without ADHD due to struggles that lead to challenges

involving school/work, relationships, and other disorders.

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