Exactly. This sounds like selection bias in action. If you're sampling adults who have ADHD and asking if it's better from when they were kids, you've already skewed the results beyond repair. You need to follow kids with ADHD into adulthood and see if it gets better.

[–] Nikelui@lemmy.world 11 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Does learning how to deal with it, but still struggling more than an average person count as getting better?

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Getting better doesn't mean it's fixed. It's just less bad.

[–] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago

Masking may come easier to someone who is fully an adult and had to adapt to be able to survive. One doesn't keep a customer service job by being unmasked. So perhaps that is "better"?

But on the flip side, growing up means more responsibility. Failing a final in high school says I get a C- for the year, big whoop. Failing a final in college means I get a C-, means the class doesn't count as a prerequisite, means I have to spend more money to retake the class.

Forgetting to hand in an assignment doesn't mean much in school. But forgetting to pay a bill has much bigger consequences (especially if you do that ADHD thing of stressing about it every night and day but being unable to actually do the damn thing that would fix it :) )

[–] exasperation@lemm.ee 1 points 11 hours ago

I've set up workarounds in my own life. Elsewhere in this thread there's people talking about forgetting to pay bills, versus bill pay. That's what I've done (and in some instances, have reminders on my phone set up to periodically remind me to do the things that can't be automated).

I've also steered my social relationships and my career to be more accommodating of my brain. I'm with a wife who doesn't mind (and in some ways finds it endearing), and can help me fill in some gaps. I have a career where jumping around from topic to topic helps me seem well rounded, and where occasionally showing how I've done a deep dive into something persuades my colleagues that I've got great attention to detail (I do, but only on some things).

My ADHD might be the same as it's always been, but my life has been set up so that it's all low consequences. The guardrails and safety nets are in place, and I can just be.