The reality is many adults who have ADHD are diagnosed only when they seek help for their own children. “I was sitting in the paediatrician’s office and had this déjà vu kind of experience while he was examining my child. It was almost as if the paediatrician was talking about me. I thought, well, I was like that when I was a child.”

Adults with ADHD are often very creative, vibrant and emotionally sensitive; they can read environments really well.

A high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that contains lots of fresh vegetables can stabilise energy levels and concentration.

Deficiency in B group vitamins, particularly B6, is also very common in ADHD sufferers.

Research shows that choosing organic food is a good option for people with ADHD.

Jason stared glumly at the résumé clutched tightly in his hand. He’d held five jobs in the past four years and had been asked to leave each one because he struggled to meet deadlines. As he was called in for his latest job interview, he repeated an all-too-familiar mantra to himself: stay calm, stay alert. For most people, the day-to-day responsibilities of juggling work, family and social schedules can seem demanding. For adults with ADHD, like Jason, it can be overwhelming.

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a medical condition that involves inattention, impulsive behaviours and hyperactivity. Sufferers may experience one, two or all three of the behavioural symptoms in varying degrees. Broad-based studies show that 3.5 per cent of adults across the globe have ADHD but there may be many that remain undiagnosed. For those who do fall through the cracks, without adequate treatment, the future can look bleak.

ADHD can tear apart relationships, cripple careers, and wreak havoc on the self-esteem of the sufferer. “Adults with ADHD may have a limited attention span and be restless and easily bored,” says Mark Brandtman, educational consultant and ADHD coach and mentor.

As a consequence, their actions affect their daily lives. Establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships in adulthood can be tough for ADHD sufferers. They may have trouble with intimacy, self-esteem and mood swings. They can have trouble sitting still and may seem overly anxious and frustrated with things that wouldn’t normally upset people.

There are many misconceptions associated with ADHD. One is that it’s something associated with childhood and that kids will simply grow out of it, says Associate Professor Julian Trollor, Director Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry at the University of NSW. “Research shows around 15 to 20 per cent of children with ADHD will still have full-blown ADHD when they reach adulthood and a further 30 to 40 per cent will carry forward some disabling symptoms of ADHD but not have the full-blown disorder,” he says.

It’s also important to understand that you can’t get ADHD as an adult, so if you are diagnosed with the condition as an adult, you’ve had it since childhood.

What causes ADHD

The answer to what causes ADHD is quite complex, according to experts. It is related to brain function and chemical imbalance, but that is only one theory, says Dr Caroline Stevenson, clincial psychologist and ADHD specialist.

“It can be anything that causes mild brain impairment, such as being premature, exposure to lead or smoking during pregnancy — all these can contribute to the expression of ADHD. Basically, it centres around impairment in the frontal lobes of the brain. If you put them under a brain scan there is less blood flow to that area, and the frontal lobes can also be minutely smaller in size,” she says.

There is also a genetic influence, says Trollor. If one parent has ADHD there is a strong risk that other family members will also have the condition. However, Trollor is quick to point out that genetic vulnerability is only part of the final equation.

“As with most complex conditions it’s not a matter of one gene that is causing the condition — multiple genes conferring the risk then interact with environmental influences that help to shape development of a child,” he says.

As a condition, ADHD is not only misunderstood, it’s also frequently misdiagnosed by health professionals. It’s a costly oversight for those who have ADHD, says forensic psychologist, Dr Alison Haigh. “Patients are presenting to their GPs, psychiatrists, counsellors or psychologists with a gamut of problems ranging from relationship difficulties, to depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol, and gambling problems. The ADHD is underlying these disorders but is being missed by the clinicians,” she says.

The reality is many adults who have ADHD are diagnosed only when they seek help for their own children. Educational consultant Mark Brandtman has ADHD. He only discovered it when he took his child to a paediatrician to discuss some concerns he had about his child. “I was sitting in the paediatrician’s office and had this déjà vu kind of experience while he was examining my child. It was almost as if the paediatrician was talking about me. I thought, well, I was like that when I was a child,” he says.

Living your life as an adult with ADHD isn’t easy and, even when a diagnosis is confirmed, the road ahead can be tough. “A diagnosis in childhood is overwhelming but in adulthood it’s a life lost for many. They wonder what their lives would have been like, how different their journey would have been, so there is often a lot of grieving,” says Brandtman.