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1. Watch this video to find out more about ADHD

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1. Watch this video to find out more about ADHD

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Many people with ADHD can struggle to pay attention or concentrate. This might include finding it hard to concentrate on a task for a long time, to see all of the detail in a text, to remember things, or to do more than one thing at the same time.

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One Way to Stay Focused When You Have ADHD #adhd #shorts

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-- Transcription --(Thank you Hyrulistic!)[Note: this video is primarily spoken dialogue with occasional displayed text matching what Jess says. Most visual…

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Scroll to the right to watch some videos with some skills for helping you to manage your emotions.

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Many people with ADHD describe struggling with time management and organisation. This might make it difficult to remember appointments or to get things you need to do on time.

These videos include some tips on managing your time and motivation that might be helpful for you.

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Getting support from college or university

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Getting support from college or university

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If you are struggling with school, college or university work contact the student support team to ask about support and adaptations for you.

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How to Get Stuff Done When You Have ADHD

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2. Find out more about a diagnosis of ADHD by watching this video

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2. Find out more about a diagnosis of ADHD by watching this video

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This does not tell you if you have ADHD, but can give an indication of whether you experience some of the symptoms. You can only get a diagnosis of ADHD from a trained healthcare professional.

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Adult ADHD Self Screening Tool - ADHD UK

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Since adult ADHD is under-diagnosed, People with the condition are not getting the help they need. WHO and the Workgroup on Adult ADHD created a screener survey

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The first step is to speak to your GP about your concerns. Some GPs are able to refer you on to have an assessment for ADHD if they think this might be helpful for you.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer assessments in the psychology team and we are not able to refer you onto another service to do this assessment.

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Sometimes people with ADHD can struggle with managing their emotions. Scroll to the right to watch more videos about managing your emotions.

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Impulsivity is a bit like not being able to press a ‘pause’ button. For example, not being able to stop speaking, or doing things without thinking through the possible consequences. Being impulsive can be useful, as well as problematic.

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The psychology team can offer support with managing the symptoms of ADHD. We can also offer support for managing your mood and emotions. However, we are not able to give you a diagnosis of ADHD in our service.

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We have created this padlet to share resources and information that might be helpful for you if have been diagnosed with ADHD or if you think that you might have ADHD

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We have created this padlet to share resources and information that might be helpful for you if have been diagnosed with ADHD or if you think that you might have ADHD

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The information has been split into the below sections. Please scroll sideways underneath each title to see more information.

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5. Read this information about the assessment process

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5. Read this information about the assessment process

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If you think you or your child may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), speak to a GP. You can also speak to your child's teacher or their school's special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO).
The GP cannot formally diagnose ADHD, but they can discuss your concerns with you and refer you for a specialist assessment, if necessary. Your school may also be able to arrange a specialist referral for your child.

When you see a GP, they may ask you:

about your symptoms or those of your child

when these symptoms started

where the symptoms occur - for example, at home, in school, college or university, or at work

whether the symptoms affect your or your child's day-to-day life - for example, if they make socialising difficult

if there have been any recent significant events in your or your child's life, such as a death or divorce in the family

if there's a family history of ADHD

about any other problems or symptoms of different health conditions you or your child may have

Next steps

Children and teenagers

If the GP thinks your child may have ADHD, they may first suggest a period of "watchful waiting" - lasting around 10 weeks - to see if your child's symptoms improve, stay the same or get worse.

They may also suggest starting a group-based, ADHD-focused parent training or education programme. Being offered a parent training and education programme does not mean you have been a bad parent - it aims to teach you ways of helping yourself and your child.

See treating ADHD for more information.

If your child's behaviour does not improve, and both you and the GP believe it's affecting their day-to-day life, the GP should refer you and your child to a specialist for a formal assessment.

Adults

For adults with possible ADHD, the GP will assess your symptoms and may refer you for an assessment if:

you were not diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but your symptoms began during childhood and have been ongoing since

your symptoms cannot be explained by a mental health condition

your symptoms significantly affect your day-to-day life - for example, if you're underachieving at work or find intimate relationships difficult

You may also be referred to a specialist if you had ADHD as a child or young person and your symptoms are now causing moderate or severe functional impairment.

Assessment

You or your child may be referred to 1 of the following types of specialist for a formal assessment:

a specialist child or adult psychiatrist

a paediatrician - a specialist in children's health

an appropriately qualified healthcare professional with training and expertise in the diagnosis of ADHD

Who you're referred to depends on your age and what's available in your local area.

There's no simple test to determine whether you or your child has ADHD, but your specialist can make an accurate diagnosis after a detailed assessment. The assessment may include:

a physical examination, which can help rule out other possible causes for the symptoms

a series of interviews with you or your child

interviews or reports from other significant people, such as partners, parents and teachers

Diagnosis in children and teenagers

Diagnosing ADHD in children depends on a set of strict criteria. To be diagnosed with ADHD, your child must have 6 or more symptoms of inattentiveness, or 6 or more symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
Read more about the symptoms of ADHD
To be diagnosed with ADHD, your child must also have:

been displaying symptoms continuously for at least 6 months

started to show symptoms before the age of 12

been showing symptoms in at least 2 different settings - for example, at home and at school, to rule out the possibility that the behaviour is just a reaction to certain teachers or to parental control

symptoms that make their lives considerably more difficult on a social, academic or occupational level

symptoms that are not just part of a developmental disorder or difficult phase, and are not better accounted for by another condition

Diagnosis in adults

Diagnosing ADHD in adults is more difficult because there's some disagreement about whether the list of symptoms used to diagnose children and teenagers also applies to adults.

In some cases, an adult may be diagnosed with ADHD if they have 5 or more of the symptoms of inattentiveness, or 5 or more of hyperactivity and impulsiveness, listed in diagnostic criteria for children with ADHD.

As part of your assessment, the specialist will ask about your present symptoms. However, under current diagnostic guidelines, a diagnosis of ADHD in adults cannot be confirmed unless your symptoms have been present from childhood.

If you find it difficult to remember whether you had problems as a child, your specialist may wish to see your old school records, or talk to your parents, teachers or anyone else who knew you well when you were a child.

For an adult to be diagnosed with ADHD, their symptoms should also have a moderate effect on different areas of their life, such as:

underachieving at work or in education

driving dangerously

difficulty making or keeping friends

difficulty in relationships with partners

If your problems are recent and did not occur regularly in the past, you're not considered to have ADHD. This is because it's currently thought that ADHD cannot develop for the first time in adults.

Page last reviewed: 24 December 2021
Next review due: 24 December 2024

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - Diagnosis

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Read about diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including when you might want to consider speaking to a GP about it.

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A podcast episode about managing impulsive behaviour

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A podcast episode about managing impulsive behaviour

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72. ADHD and Impulsivity: Managing Impulsive Behaviour - A Dopamine Kick (Another ADHD Podcast)

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This week we're talking about ADHD and Impulsivity! First we discuss some of the more recent times we've acted out on our impulses. Such as Shell buying things she doesn't need and Sparky, getting a dog last minute! However, this time we do give ...

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How to Get Stuff Done and Have More Fun with Dr. Kim Kensington | ADHD reWired

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Dr. Kim Kensington is a clinical psychologist who maintains a private practice in Santa Monica, California. She is the author of the book, Starting Tomorrow: 7 Steps to Lasting Change – Get Stuff Done and ... Read more

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6. Watch this video if you want to know more about medication for ADHD

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6. Watch this video if you want to know more about medication for ADHD

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ADHD and Emotional Dysregulation: What You Need to Know

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Watch this video to find out more about how psychology can help with ADHD

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Watch this video to find out more about how psychology can help with ADHD

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How This Type of Therapy Can Be Helpful for ADHD (CBT Therapy)

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ADHD Tools to Help with Timeblindness #adhd #shorts

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How to Prioritize When You Have ADHD: The Matrix

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Dealing with ADHD and Sleep! #shorts #adhd

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-- Transcription --[Note: this video is primarily spoken dialogue with displayed text only during the beginning, matching what Jess says. Visual elements are…

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What Procrastination Looks Like from the Inside

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How to ACTUALLY be ontime when you have ADHD #shorts #adhd

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How to Avoid Impulse Spending When You Have ADHD

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How to Stop Beating Yourself Up Over Mistakes

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Some people find it helpful to use a timer or to have background sounds to help them to concentrate. Have a look at these links to see if they might be helpful for you ->

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Digital Brain Timer for Getting Projects Done!

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The best
productivity tools all in one place

Noisli offers high-quality ambient noises such as rain, ocean, birds, wind, leaves, stream, lake, crickets, bonfire, thunder, and waterfall sounds, as well as white, pink, and brown noise, fan, coffee shop, cityscape, train, airplane, and washing machine sounds that you can mix and match as you like. Noisli also offers curated playlists for noise masking, focus and concentration, study, writing, sleep, and relaxation as well as an online timer to help work in sessions and a distraction-free text editor.

Discover more

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Noisli - Background Noise and Ambient Sounds for Focus, Sleep and Relaxation

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Listen to soothing nature ambient noise like rain, ocean, brown and white noise sounds and create relaxing soundscapes. Plus online timer and text editor.

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Anger and ADHD: How to Build up Your Brakes

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ADHD & Money - Natalie Ledward (Monzo Bank)

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417 | Automation Tools with Brittany Smith - ADHD reWired

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In this episode, Brittany Smith returns to the podcast! Eric and Brittany share some of the digital automation tools they use, such as battery delivery for Tile, automated messages, using smart-lights, setting reminders and routines, ... Read more

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How to Plan Your Day — Hacking Your ADHD

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Today we’re going to focus on how to plan our day because it’s easy to let our days get away from ourselves when we don’t plan them. It feels like we shouldn’t need to do our planning because that’s what we were going to do anyway. But planning lets us look ahead and fix problems before they come up

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How to Give Your Brain the Stimulation It Needs

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So with all that, it's also important to think about how caffeine interacts with ADHD. And while there are some studies, there's also still a lot we don't know on this subject.

One thing I've seen pop up over and over again is that for people with ADHD, caffeine can make them feel sleepy. However, there is no science to back this up. Now I want to be clear here. This is because there are no studies on this specific effect. So when I say there is no science, it's because there's literally nothing on the subject.

But this highly anecdotal aspect of caffeine is worth considering because of how ADHD can be treated with stimulant medication. One clear indication with caffeine. One of the clearest indications with caffeine is that many people with ADHD attempt to self-medicate with caffeine, intentionally, or unintentionally, because it's also a stimulant and very easy to get.

Let's take a quick time out here. I'm in no way, advocating that you should seek to treat your ADHD with caffeine. While caffeine can clearly help with some aspects of ADHD, there just isn't enough data to suggest that it's an effective treatment. As well, since it's so easy to build up a tolerance to caffeine, it quickly becomes unmanageable and has considerable side effects at a high dose. While I can certainly see caffeine being part of someone's daily routine, it should not be anyone's primary way of managing their ADHD.

All right, let's get back into this.

One piece of anecdotal evidence I found was that many people report their need for caffeine diminishes once they start taking stimulant medication. This makes complete sense, but again, this is completely anecdotal - there still needs to be a lot of research done on how caffeine and ADHD interact. It's also important to get to there that many of us with ADHD already have trouble sleeping and that caffeine can easily disrupt your sleep.

Of course, we just discussed how caffeine can make many of us with ADHD feel sleepy. But the real question here is the quality of that sleep. Even among neurotypicals, many people are able to fall asleep with caffeine in their system. Remember caffeine only blocks the adenosine receptors. If we already have sufficient buildup of adenosine caffeine, isn't going to actually wake us up anymore, we'll just be sleepy faster.

So while some of us can still get to sleep with caffeine in our systems, there is ample evidence that it still affects the quality of that sleep. With caffeine in our system, we see a notable decrease in the amount of slow-wave sleep we get. And another study found that consuming caffeine as early as six hours before bed can reduce total sleep by about an hour.

What we can take from this is that we really have to watch the timing of our caffeine. As we discussed with the caffeine half-life, caffeine can remain in your system well after its initial effects have worn off. The best course of action here is to consider a caffeine curfew. That is a cutoff time where we're gonna stop consuming caffeine.

This is going to be different for everyone, but with that five-hour half-life, most of us are going to want to make sure that we're cutting ourselves off, probably at least 10 hours before bedtime. Of course, this is going to depend on how well you metabolize caffeine in your system and your own personal tolerances.

Some studies have found that adolescents with ADHD are far more likely to use caffeine in the afternoon and evening as a way to self-medicate. While the study was focused on adolescents, I'm sure many of those habits continue into adults. So for many of us, we're consuming a lot more late-day caffeine than our non-ADHD peers. An interesting note here though is that it's not clear whether this is a cause or an effect.

Yes, caffeine absolutely affects our sleep, but caffeine is one of the first things many of us reach for when we're suffering from a lack of sleep. So there's a bit of a chicken and an egg. Is it the poor sleep from ADHD causing the need for caffeine in the afternoon and evening? Or is it the caffeine that's causing poor sleep? I'd contend, it's a bit of both and I'd still recommend against late-day caffeine consumption if you can.

I also want to point out that one of the most common comorbid conditions with ADHD is substance use disorder. Those of us with ADHD are about twice as likely to find ourselves battling with substance abuse or dependency.

Caffeine is absolutely a drug we can abuse and it can have some serious side effects. So it's important to understand how we're using this drug and being responsible when we do partake in it.

This Episode's Top Tips

1. Caffeine is a psychoactive drug whose primary mechanism is binding to adenosine receptors in the brain. The buildup of adenosine in our system is what makes us sleepy, so by binding to these receptors caffeine is able to keep us awake.

2. Caffeine has a host of benefits but having too much caffeine near bedtime can affect our slow-wave sleep and reduce our total amount of sleep.

3. There is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the interaction between caffeine and ADHD but it is clear that many people with ADHD attempt to self-medicate with caffeine.

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Trimethylxanthine is the world's most popular psychoactive drug - for many caffeine is such a ubiquitous substance that calling it a drug seems like a misnomer. How could something so widely used that has so few regulations around it be a drug?

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DBT Crisis Survival Skills Part 1: Wise Mind ACCEPTS

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ADHD and Emotions: How Mindfulness Can Help (& 3 Questions to Ask!)

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DBT Skills: Opposite Action And Emotion Regulation

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The 5-4-3-2-1 Method: A Grounding Exercise to Manage Anxiety

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Work through a self-help guide for managing problems with anger based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

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Sleep problems and insomnia self-help guide

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Work through a self-help guide that uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and expert advice to manage sleep problems.