ADHD Across the Lifespan
While once considered a childhood-only disorder, it’s now well understood that ADHD can persist into adulthood and late adulthood, with its expression often changing over time. As a neurodivergent condition, ADHD includes a wide range of experiences shaped by age, gender, and presentation type—whether hyperactive, inattentive, or combined.
In childhood, ADHD often presents in ways that are easier to spot—particularly in the hyperactive and combined types. Children may constantly be on the move, interrupt others, and struggle with waiting their turn. Common traits include fidgeting, running or climbing in inappropriate settings, impulsivity, and difficulty following multi-step instructions.
For girls, ADHD is more likely to show up as inattentive type—marked by daydreaming, forgetfulness, or trouble completing tasks. Because these behaviors are less disruptive than hyperactivity, girls are often overlooked or misdiagnosed, especially if they compensate by masking or internalizing their struggles.
Boys with ADHD may exhibit more overt characteristics, such as hyperactive behavior, while girls may demonstrate more inattentive symptoms
Many adults with ADHD continue to experience core symptoms, but they often look different. Hyperactivity may shift from overt movement to internal restlessness or chronic multitasking. Inattentive traits like distractibility, poor time management, and forgetfulness can impact work, relationships, and self-esteem. Emotional dysregulation—low frustration tolerance, sensitivity to rejection, or difficulty calming down—can become major challenges, especially under stress.
As in childhood, women experience unique challenges around adult ADHD; they are frequently diagnosed later in life, often after a child’s diagnosis prompts self-reflection. Adult women with ADHD may have spent years masking their difficulties, leading to burnout, anxiety, or depression. Many report feeling misunderstood or mislabeled as “lazy” or “too sensitive.”
In adulthood, ADHD symptoms can pose more challenges to relationships when compared to childhood
Contrary to what was once believed, ADHD doesn't disappear with age. In older adults, symptoms may improve with greater self-awareness and structure. For others, aging brings new challenges—such as memory concerns that overlap with inattentive ADHD, or increased difficulty adapting to life transitions.
In women entering late adulthood, hormonal shifts (such as menopause) can exacerbate ADHD symptoms; the relationship between hormonal changes and ADHD remains an area of significant current interest. Lifelong patterns of emotional dysregulation or disorganization may become more apparent as routines shift and cognitive demands change.
It’s time to put to rest the idea that ADHD is something only experienced by young boys. It is, in fact, a complex and dynamic condition that affects children along with adult men and women and older adults. Although it may shift over time, those core challenges of executive dysfunction, emotional regulation, and restlessness and hyperactivity remain significant obstacles for those struggling with ADHD.