Approximately 5.3% of children have ADHD. Children with ADHD are more likely to experience difficulties in daily life as adults, but serious problems usually remain limited. This is the conclusion of clinical neuropsychologist Noa van der Plas in her research into the long-term outcomes of ADHD. Her study presents a nuanced picture: ADHD in childhood increases the risk of difficulties later in life, but does not determine what someone’s adult life will look like.
ADHD often begins in childhood, but can continue to affect how someone functions in adulthood. Van der Plas followed up with a Dutch group of children with ADHD approximately eighteen years after the start of the study. She looked not only at children with ADHD, but also at their brothers and sisters without ADHD and at a group of adults without ADHD for comparison. This allowed her to broadly map how they were doing mentally, physically and socially as adults. Van der Plas: “It is important to know how children with ADHD are doing in adulthood. That knowledge helps us better understand what it is like to grow up with ADHD. That is what we wanted to map out.”
The study shows that many children with ADHD function relatively well as adults, but are more likely to continue experiencing difficulties in daily life. Adults who still have an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood are at greater risk of problems such as stress, low mood and sleep problems. Van der Plas did find differences between men and women with ADHD in childhood, but these were similar to differences also seen in the general population. There was therefore no indication that gender adds extra risk on top of ADHD. Brothers and sisters without ADHD also generally do not appear to have an increased risk of problems in adult life. In addition, medication use in childhood does not seem to have a clear influence on how someone functions in daily life later on.
For parents, teachers and healthcare professionals, the study offers a more nuanced picture of ADHD in the long term. A diagnosis in childhood does not automatically mean that someone will seriously struggle as an adult. At the same time, some children remain vulnerable in daily life later on. Van der Plas: “Growing up with ADHD is different for everyone. Many children find their way later in life, but some continue to need support. That is why it is important to better understand who needs extra help, and when.”