We’ve recently written at HuffPost UK about how to spot the signs of autism in adult women and young girls. 

Autism diagnoses in the UK have risen; alongside that, more and more adults have received treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Still, ADHD UK says over 80% of cases go undiagnosed. That’s partly because, a 2014 paper says, people often get treated for conditions associated with ADHD (like oppositional defiance disorder and depression), but not ADHD itself. 

Additionally, ADHD “was, until recently, erroneously perceived as only present in young people, with little or no impact later in life,” according to a review of literature on the topic, despite persisting into adulthood in roughly a third to two-thirds of cases.

So, we reached out to Dr Mikki Lee Elembaby, a Manhattan-based psychologist from Clarity Therapy NYC, who specialises in autism and ADHD assessment, to find out how to tell “regular” disorganisation from ADHD in adults.

What are the signs?

It can be hard to draw a distinction between non-clinical disorganisation and ADHD, the expert told HuffPost UK, “because disorganisation can look different for different people and manifest differently in various areas of life”.

It may affect how tidy people’s homes are, how focused they can stay in conversation, how well they can stick to routines, and how often they lose things. 

But two signs that distinguish one from the other, the psychologist told us, are: 

1. Intensity

“One key sign to look for is the level of disorganisation,” Dr Elembaby advised. 

“If it’s chronic and pervasive, meaning it persists despite your best efforts and significantly impacts your work, relationships, or daily life, it could be a sign of ADHD.”

2. Accompanying symptoms

Signs of ADHD may appear in disorganised people, the expert told us, but ADHD is “a pattern of persistent struggles with attention, impulse control, and self-regulation across multiple areas of life”.

That means it involves a series of concurrent symptoms, including:

• Difficulty focusing or staying on task
• Impulsivity (acting without thinking)
• Poor time management
• Forgetfulness
• Hyperactivity. 

“To meet the clinical criteria for ADHD, these symptoms must show up in multiple settings, like work, school, and home, and have been present before age 12 (even if they weren’t obvious at the time, especially in girls),” Dr Elembaby said.

What if I think I have ADHD?

The assessor says it’s time to speak to an expert if “your attentional challenges are negatively impacting your quality of life and if you are experiencing a pattern of difficulties with organisation and time management, attention and focus, impulse control, emotional regulation, or work, school, or home responsibilities”.

The NHS says your GP might refer you for an assessment if they think you have ADHD. 

The health service adds that while ADHD diagnosis is trickier for adults because not all professionals agree on what counts as an adult case, they say that sometimes “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”.