Example 1

A is a man in his late 30s who works in the financial industry (as a stockbroker or trader) in a very fast paced environment where phones ring / messages ping all the time and where decisions need to be made in split seconds otherwise the trade is gone. When he is focusing on a trade, he may lose track of time. He has early starts and late finishes to cover the markets in Asia and the USA respectively. He is often bored: he paces around when speaking on the phone. He loves his job, he feels like it is a game the aim of which is to make money. He is an adrenaline junkie: he works hard and plays hard. Once a fortnight, he takes his clients out drinking (and more).

Example 2

B is a man in his 20s studying for his university degree in a different country to which he grew up in. He struggled to adjust to the new country and also to pass his exams, because although he put in as many hours as he could, he could not focus. He felt something was astray and went to his GP who recommended an assessment with a psychiatrist. Unfortunately, that psychiatrist told him that he couldn’t have ADHD, because it needed to have been diagnosed in childhood.

Example 3

C is a woman in her 30s who is a healthcare professional. She has always written lists, to keep herself on track. These lists don’t only include shopping lists or to do lists; they also include personal short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. She is a high achiever but is a bit anxious and wants to make the most of the opportunities available. She thinks she has FOMO (fear of missing out). When she gets into whatever she enjoys, she gets into the “zone” and no matter what happens around her, she keeps focused. She fleets from interest to interest and this leads her to question her job choices. She can’t understand how people stay in one job for their whole career.

Example 4

D is an 16 y old young person who started taking drugs a few months ago. She got in trouble with the police for stealing large sums of money to fund her drug habit. She has dropped out of school and is depressed. Her parents cannot cope with her as she doesn’t listen to them. She has been diagnosed with ADHD but doesn’t take the meds, as she doesn’t feel they are helping.

Example 5

E is a woman in her 40s whose children were diagnosed with ADHD recently, and she is starting to query whether she herself has it. She is always busy and is always late. During the pandemic, she was furloughed and struggled to establish routine for her household even for simple things like food shopping. Eventually she picked up the idea of having a weekly meal schedule. As a child and teenager, she would always climb on frames and practice gymnastics, and used to play sports for hours. She performed well at school so no-one raised the possibility (and back then, ADHD was considered something you grew out of). She has always been clumsy, walking into furniture and lacking coordination for ball sports.

Example 6

F is a man in his 60s who used to work as (an architect or lawyer) but he struggled to get to the meetings on time or keep up with the paperwork. Since separating from his wife, he has not been able to pay his bills on time and he has accumulated debt. Since a young age, he could not keep track of his belongings and he has lost countless wallets and pairs of glasses.