Do you have adult ADHD? Why the disorder is in the spotlight, and how doctors treat it

More grown-ups are admitting to having adult ADHD, calling attention to a disorder that affects about 2.58 per cent of the global population

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Will Smith, Howie Mandel, Simone Biles and Trevor Noah are just some of the stars who have said they have adult ADHD, shining a light on a disorder that affects about 2.58 per cent of the global population. Photos: Reuters/AFP/Getty Images/Twitter

Published: 4:15pm, 2 Nov 2024

Adult ADHD – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – is in the spotlight on social media as more grown-ups, and celebrities, admit to having it.

They include Olympic gymnast Simone Biles; film producer, actor and writer Will Smith; the Everything Everywhere All at Once co-director Daniel Kwan; South African comedian, writer, producer and actor Trevor Noah; singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado; and game-show host and comedian/actor Howie Mandel.

Interest is high: there are more than 190,000 Instagram posts with the hashtag #adultadhd. A YouTube video, “ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus”, from popular American neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, has had more than 6.4 million views in the three years since it was posted.

Medical guidelines only formally recognised the disorder in adults in the early 2000s.

ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus

You might think it develops in grown-ups later in life. But this is not the case, says Dr Sally Cubbin, a neuropsychiatrist and founding member of UKAAN, the UK Adult ADHD Network. It runs one of the UK’s best recognised ADHD clinics, which focuses specifically on adults with the disorder.

Most children with ADHD become adults with ADHD, she says.