ADHD Costs Adults $77 Billion in Lost Income
Adult ADHD Affects Income and Educational Achievement in U.S.
Early Treatment May Prevent Economic Loss continued...
Experts say early identification and treatment of ADHD in young adults can help prevent some of the most significant effects the disorder can have on their educational achievement.
"Seventy-five percent of millionaires in this country have an undergraduate degree," says David Goodman, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who also spoke at the briefing. "If you don't finish college because of your ADHD and not being treated, you significantly limit your financial and occupational future."
"That's why it's critical for these folks to be identified so they can reach their maximum potential and improve their quality of life," says Goodman.
While treatment cannot change a person's educational past, researchers say treatment of ADHD at any age can help adults maintain employment and secure their financial future.
But they say biggest problems in treating adult ADHD is getting people to recognize the disorder in themselves.
"In childhood, it's other people who identify the child with ADHD. In adulthood, who is going to identify the adult who spent the last 20 years in this mindset and doesn't have a basis of comparison?" says Goodman. "They don't know that life can be any different. They just figure everybody is chaotic and forgetful, and they don't come into a physician's office and say, 'I have a problem.'"