Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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    Why Adult ADHD Is Hard to Diagnose

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    It’s one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adults. Yet there are no U.S. guidelines for diagnosing and treating patients beyond childhood.Just before Katie Marsh dropped out of college, she began to worry that she might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.“Boredom was like a burning sensation inside of me,” said Ms. Marsh, who is now 30 and lives in Portland, Ore. “I barely went to class. And when I did, I felt like I had a lot of pent-up energy. Like I had to just move around all the time.”So she asked for an A.D.H.D. evaluation — but the results, she was surprised to learn, were inconclusive. She never did return to school. And only after seeking help again four years later was she diagnosed by an A.D.H.D. specialist.“It was pretty frustrating,” she said.A.D.H.D. is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adults. Yet many health care providers have uneven training on how to evaluate it, and there are no U.S. clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing and treating patients beyond childhood.Without clear rules, some providers, while well-intentioned, are just “making it up as they go along,” said Dr. David W. Goodman, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.This lack of clarity leaves providers and adult patients in a bind.“We desperately need something to help guide the field,” said Dr. Wendi Waits, a psychiatrist with Talkiatry, an online mental health company. “When everyone’s practicing somewhat differently, it makes it hard to know how best to approach it.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      6 Books for Adults Living With ADHD

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      Psychiatrists, counselors and researchers shared their recommendations.Staying focused in a world of distractions can be incredibly challenging. But for people living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — a neurodevelopmental disorder often marked by difficulty maintaining attention, disorganization, hyperactivity and impulsivity — it can be even harder. Adults are diagnosed less often than children, but A.D.H.D. can still create problems at work and in friendships and romantic relationships.Books can be “the entree into understanding whether you should consider getting a diagnosis and evaluation for A.D.H.D.,” said Melissa Orlov, the founder of A.D.H.D. and Marriage, a website and consulting company that provides resources for couples living with the condition.Sharon Saline, author of “What Your A.D.H.D. Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life,” says the right book can combat misinformation. It can also help people close to someone with A.D.H.D. by providing a “toolbox for engaging with them, supporting them and loving them,” she said.To demystify the subject, we asked experts — psychiatrists, counselors and researchers — to recommend books on A.D.H.D., focused on adults.1. Taking Charge of Adult A.D.H.D., by Russell A. Barkley with Christine M. BentonThis book, first published in 2010, is full of information and practical tools from Dr. Barkley, “one of the leading, if not the leading expert on A.D.H.D. in the world,” Dr. Saline said. It’s a “combo workbook/info book, which is great for people to get a better sense of who they are,” she said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More