r/adhdwomen • u/Mamahei2 • 1d ago
General Question/Discussion Do some of y’all have genetic ADHD?
Literally my mom, my sister, my niece, my nephew, and I all have ADHD as well as me and my mom having autism.
Edit: I’m more so talking about ADHD being a dominant trait (at least for my family)
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u/Mierkatte 1d ago
I believe it’s all genetic… 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Granite_0681 23h ago
Point me to the first person in a family to get diagnosed and I will point out classically undiagnosed and potentially in denial people in the previous generation….
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u/ralphjuneberry 19h ago
I was just thinking the other day how absolutely hellish all of human history was for folks - and not in the usual “little-to-no-sanitation” kind of way. For example, I have had misophonia my entire life. As a child, I would pray to God to be stricken deaf. We weren’t religious. I didn’t encounter the word ‘misophonia’ until late college - and am still learning to understand it many years later - but being able to name it and have others validate has made an entire world of difference. And that’s just one little tiny example.
All of these neurodivergent things - humans have all been suffering through them with such little relief for so, so, long. The breadth and depth is so vast. It’s … mind-boggling.
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u/Western_Ring_2928 17h ago
Society was more tolerant in many ways back in the days. The connection to nature was available to more people. The phase of life was easier and more in tune with our biology and the cycles of Earth. Our suffering nowadays comes mostly from our society being inhumane to everyone.
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u/ralphjuneberry 16h ago
Thank you for replying to me, but I respectfully disagree. The general ‘society’ is barely tolerant now, and much less so going back even one generation. Unfathomable racism, misogyny, -phobia of every sort and degree, leading to so many being killed directly and indirectly. There is no utopian ideal that we have strayed from, but rather one to strive towards.
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u/Imlostandconfused 13h ago
My favourite game is finding 'patient zero' among my ADHD friends and loved ones' families. My fiancé and his two sisters have ADHD and he was stumped about where it came from. All it took for me was hearing one phone call between him and his mum to determine it. Then he told me about his grandfather's brief obsession with collecting Mini Cooper's- dude bought like 8 during the first year of his retirement. Patient zero. We couldn't go back further than that, but it's satisfying and my fiancé appreciated it because he genuinely never considered that his mum and grandfather had it until I pointed it out. It explained a lot about his childhood when he realised.
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u/DenM0ther 9h ago
Hahahaha I love doing this too!
Both sides of my family have significant amounts of ADHD, one side with few AuADHDer's. Most of them didn't want to accept it, dx or not. They'll still reference traits of it (and their other conditions) as explanations or excuses!!!
My ND (dx) bf, got quite offended when I said that his grandfather sounded like he had adhd. He was(is?) internalising it as something being 'wrong'. Overtime bf thought about his granddad and agreed.
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u/Mamahei2 23h ago
U right
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u/Mierkatte 23h ago
My mom def has undiagnosed ADD. My dad had undiagnosed anxiety and a touch of OCD. So my genes are just lovely! Whether learned, adaptive, or in my DNA, I didn’t stand a chance. Oh and not to mention the trauma in my household from neglectful parents. And then having CPTSD… from living 47 years with undiagnosed ADD and believing that all along I was simply defective, flawed, and crazy.
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u/BossImaginary5550 19h ago
Mine is cause by trauma
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u/devhmn 18h ago
Depending on the situation, your trauma may be like mine... caused by an undiagnosed parent.
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u/unicornelia 10h ago
Or it can be both probably, I think it's hard to separate 🙁
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u/DenM0ther 9h ago
100% 2 adhd parents' led to adhd kids. The parent(s) causing trauma coz of their adhd... undiagnosed or diagnosed, the point is more untreated/unabated behaviour and parenting techniques.
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u/Blobby_Dobby 23h ago
Not in my case. Neither of my parents have it, and I’m the only one of my 4 siblings that has a diagnosis. It honestly kind of sucks having neurotypical parents… they don’t really understand the way my mind works
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u/Atarlie 23h ago
Genetic doesn't mean that your immediate family is also guaranteed to have it/have a diagnosis. Just that there's a gene expression for a condition which is passed down.
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u/Blobby_Dobby 23h ago
I’m well aware what genetic means.
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u/smulingen 21h ago
But you may pass it down... so it's genetic in your case too.
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u/Blobby_Dobby 5h ago
Yeah, but that’s not what I’m saying. It came out of no where for my family as neither of my parents have it or any of my grandparents. The closest would be my dad’s brother who’s autistic. Also, can y’all stop fighting me on this? I’m literally just telling you what happened to me
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u/MalayaJinny 21h ago
Its 60% inherited. One of your parents may have the gene but not expressed. Neither of yours could have the genes and you were the lucky one that got a gene recombo. Or, you're one of the 40% that has it for other reasons.
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u/jbarneswilson 1d ago
yes, my dad’s side is rampant with adhd and my mom’s is rampant with autism. luckily i got both
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u/LiorahLights 23h ago
ADHD on mums side, autism on dad's and they made me AuDHD 🤣
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u/ColoredGayngels AuDHD 22h ago
Same hat! Mom's ADHD-I, dad's probably on the spectrum and his dad probably is too. My brother and I are both AuDHD, our other three siblings are all almost certainly ADHD, if not one of them also being AuDHD
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u/anangelnora 23h ago
It’s all genetic lol.
AFAIK my mom had adhd, by dad is the autistic one (probably my grandpa) and my sister may have one or the other but she won’t admit it. My dad’s brother is def autistic as is his son. All not diagnosed.
I also think my dad’s mom might be adhd or something cause she’s awesome.
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u/hiddenvalleyoflife 1d ago
I don't know where I got it from, honestly. My parents don't share my struggles. Feels quite lonely, especially when most other people with ADHD seem to be able to identify it in their family members.
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u/tiredoftryingtobe 23h ago
My family has it but I'm the first diagnosed. The rest of them refuse to believe me and one sibling doesn't believe ADHD or Autism are real. My mom,who is a retired teacher, told me to my face a few months ago that I'm not ADHD because I did good in school and didn't cause problems. It's lonely this way too.
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u/hiddenvalleyoflife 22h ago
In my case, my mother is the world's most neurotypical person and my father is a workaholic (and has been for decades) who doesn't relate to the vast majority of my ADHD symptoms, so even if he did have ADHD it would be much milder than my own.
I won't lie, seeing people in this thread say that it must always be genetic makes me feel quite unsupported and not valid. Not ruling out that it is genetic in my case, of course, but with no other family members I know struggling like this, what am I supposed to think?
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u/tiredoftryingtobe 22h ago
I understand, thankfully for me I can look around and see the raging epidemic of ADHD in my family even if they can't or refuse to acknowledge it. Do you know what your mother 's nutrition was like whenever she was pregnant with you. I went to a training and there was an epigeneticist from ASU who shared that broad spectrum b vitamin deficiencies actually make a child in utero 70-90% more likely to develop neuro divergent and mental health conditions. And genetics are funny, I have brown/hazel eyes and so did my ex husband but our daughter has beautiful blue eyes. She's a random genetic throw back. You may be too. You having ADHD could have even been influenced by your grandmother's pregnancy with your mother because all of the eggs that your mother ever had were created while she was in utero and their creation was impacted by all of the things going on in your grandma's life and that wonderful situation trickles back all the way to the beginning of humanity.
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u/hiddenvalleyoflife 22h ago
My mother's health was fine, from what I've heard - but yeah, genetics are weird and in the end I don't really care why I have ADHD. It's just an attribute that I live with.
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u/tiredoftryingtobe 20h ago
I just wanted to help you see that you're not an imposter and you deserve validation.
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u/DenM0ther 9h ago
I think that maybe don't pay as much attention to the negative perception of 'how was your mother's health?' It was only a question. I think the important point the commenter was trying to make, was for you to feel supported - you'd said it's lonely to be the only adhder in the family.
Fwiw, I agree with possible health implications - often quite mild or not picked up. Science shows what the father eats in the lead up to conception impacts future health of the child too, in different ways, but still there.
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u/vpblackheart ADHD-C 22h ago
I don't think it's all genetic. We don't know enough about how the brain works to declare that as 💯 fact. We may never know.
My family has Bipolar, autism, depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, etc. Some are diagnosed and some are not.
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u/cornflakegrl 22h ago
I won’t even tell my family. I know how they’ll react and I don’t need the bad vibes.
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u/tiredoftryingtobe 20h ago
I don't blame you, my sister tried telling me I was just bipolar. It wasn't until she saw the difference in my medicated behavior vs my unmedicated behavior that she was like, "oh , maybe you are." She has also done work on herself and is starting to realize she probably does too. Both of her daughters are diagnosed and her youngest is AuADHD. I pegged it when he was about a year old because he didn't talk, he sang. No mama, dada, yes, or no. But he could sing every nursery rhyme he'd ever heard. My family got mad at me and told me I didn't know what I was talking about and I had no right to try to diagnose any of their kids. (My oldest is AuADHD, I worked in preschool, my degree is in child development with an emphasis in autism, and I pegged my sons autism at around 2). He started school and was referred for evaluation. I was right. Of course there's no acknowledgement of that. A few of my siblings view me as wasted potential because I have the intelligence to be a neurosurgeon and I'm wasting my life working with kids.
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u/anna_alabama 20h ago
I’m adopted and AuDHD, and everyone in my family is very neurotypical. I can’t relate to people who have it in their family either
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u/KittyLord0824 23h ago edited 4h ago
I'm pretty sure it's a genetic thing for everyone, but if you mean can you tell whose genetics you got, sure can! That'd be my dad who gave it to all me and my siblings! From what I know about him, might have come from my grandpa, but he never bothered to get to know any of us very well.
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u/CamillaBarkaBowles 22h ago
Is there any other manifestation of ADHD? It’s like saying I am the only one in my family with freckles
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u/Mamahei2 22h ago
What’s the ADHD version of “milk causes autism” from peta /j
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u/Environmental-Row979 21h ago
There’s a whole lot of asshole wellness types who will say that anything from sugar to screen time causes ADHD.
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u/CamillaBarkaBowles 21h ago edited 21h ago
My favourite is trauma causes ADHD. Gabor Mate. ADHD creates trauma! It can also create some great moments, but it’s generally a difficult brainwave pattern for most.
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u/hiddenvalleyoflife 22h ago
I mean, while we know ADHD is indeed highly genetic, that's not the case for all attributes. Most gay people don't have gay parents, for example.
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u/LingonberryOk5168 22h ago
I was diagnosed at 6 years old, my mom was just recently diagnosed at 48. It makes me so sad knowing she went so long not understanding why she struggled with so many things (emotional dysregulation, forgetfulness, inability to focus, etc).
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u/michaltee 23h ago
ADHD is about 80% heritable. So it’s genetic nearly always.
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u/amybeedle ADHD-PI 23h ago
I also found this article about the heritability of executive functioning interesting -
Individual Differences in Executive Functions Are Almost Entirely Genetic in Origin
From the abstract:
Results indicated that executive functions are correlated because they are influenced by a highly heritable (99%) common factor that goes beyond general intelligence or perceptual speed, and they are separable because of additional genetic influences unique to particular executive functions. This combination of general and specific genetic influences places executive functions among the most heritable psychological traits.
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u/jessbepuzzled 1d ago
🙋♀️ my brother, me, both my kids, possibly another sibling as well. Not sure which of my parents, but considering the frequency in the family it probably came down from one of them.
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u/Acrobatic-Aioli9768 1d ago
I mean…how else would you get it?
My dad is definitely the one who passed it down. The symptoms are so obvious with him but he won’t get diagnosed, I don’t even think he knows what it is. He goes through food hyper fixations a lot. I was the first to get diagnosed, then my sister and I’m sure my brother has it too but he doesn’t think so but I can see the signs. I think because he’s really active and he doesn’t have many household responsibilities, his symptoms aren’t as obvious.
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u/ed_menac 23h ago
There are some developmental risk factors in utero and early years, mainly things that damage or inhibit brain development (disease, poisoning)
Bit more explained in here, but yes, largely it's hereditary:
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u/ShitJustGotRealAgain 23h ago
I mean…how else would you get it?
Traumatic brain injuries can also cause adhd. So if you had a really bad concussion, you could develop adhd.
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u/ContemplativeKnitter 21h ago
I know I’m being the obnoxious “well actually” person, but it’s probably more accurate to say that traumatic brain injuries can cause problems with executive function that look a lot like ADHD. According to the DSM-V, you have to have symptoms of ADHD before age 12 for a formal diagnosis of ADHD, so a TBI at 30 doesn’t really cause ADHD as it’s medically defined.
Totally get that it doesn’t really make a difference in real life if you have the same issues and get treated with the same meds, nor do I personally care if someone in that situation calls it ADHD. But it’s not really a non-genetic way to get ADHD.
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u/ShitJustGotRealAgain 16h ago
I'm not trying to "akshually" back to you but I was referring to Russell Barkleys video on adhd and tbi. He cites research that shows tbi can cause adhd. And since adhd is a disorder with a set of characteristics that are needed to be met in a patient in order to be diagnosed and not as indisputable as a broken bone that can be x-rayed I, find it logical to say it's adhd and not something different that just looks like adhd. If there isn't adhd in the family and a patient is diagnosed with ADHD, we don't even know if it's caused by the genes or tbi in individuals. So the need for the distinction is not there.
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u/ContemplativeKnitter 8h ago
That’s fair enough and again, I don’t think it makes a difference in practice. I don’t mean to gatekeep anyone, nor do I think the DSM-V is infallible. I just think it’s interesting how the definition in the DSM-V plays out in practice, as it can have a lot of practical implications. Sorry to be pedantic!
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u/hiddenvalleyoflife 23h ago
While we do have evidence that ADHD is highly genetic, plenty of attributes exist that aren't passed down from parent to child. In my case, none of my parents show ADHD symptoms, yet I still have it.
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u/asianstyleicecream 23h ago
I don’t know.
I was born with a heart defect that prevented oxygenated blood to my brain. Which they’re finding folks like me often are diagnosed with ADHD and/or autism.
It’s hard to know if my parents have it.
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u/Radioactive_Moss 23h ago
Me, my mom, my uncle, my gran, for sure. I’m not sure on my great grandmother because I never got to know her.
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u/SunniMonkey 22h ago
Not going to lie...I thought this said "generic ADHD" and I was like, "Ooh, what's that?! Is it less severe?!"
Blah.
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u/aimsthename88 21h ago
I have it, at least 4/6 of my siblings have it and I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad is on the spectrum.
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u/CavalierMidnight 21h ago
100%. My brother was textbook ADHD little boy, currently undiagnosed but with many other diagnosed mental illnesses. My mom is definitely inattentive-type, with a big helping of PTSD on the side, also undiagnosed. Pretty sure my dad has it as well, and OCD with possibly a touch of the tism(undiagnosed).
My younger sister was diagnosed severe combined type ADHD in college, which eventually led me to explore (and receive) a diagnosis at 33. I’m fairly certain I’m on the spectrum as well, but haven’t explored testing.
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u/jester13456 21h ago
My mom definitely does not have ADHD, and I haven’t seen my dad since I was four and he lives in another country 😀 so I have no idea on whether it’s primarily from his side of the family or somewhere on my mom’s (but my Grandma definitely didn’t have ADHD either, so was so clinically type A, and no idea about my grandma)
But that’s the womp womp about single parent households! That side of the family is a big question mark.
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u/mad-i-moody 21h ago
There’s likely a genetic component but it’s probably not the basic kind of dominant/recessive genetics. It’s likely very complex.
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u/BitterBloodedDemon 1d ago
My grandma, my mom, me, my husband, our son all have ADHD
My dad, one of my sisters, likely my husband, and one of our daughters are ASD
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u/ashkestar 23h ago
I was listening to an interview with my grandma from before she passed, and she was talking about how my grandpa struggled in high school and later in his various jobs. He was really smart, but he could never manage to be on time no matter how he tried, and he needed her help and a lot of forgiveness from his teachers to stay organized enough to graduate. Holding down a job was tough too, because of his issues with lateness, lack of organization, etc. Eventually he split his time between self employment as a refrigeration contractor and working as an artist, and he kinda thrived in his own loosely structured way.
So yeah, I come by it naturally. I always kinda knew my grandpa and dad had something up, but when my mom retired, I realized she's also ADHD as hell, she just covered it up by overworking herself half to death for most of her life.
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u/Unknown_990 Diagnosed ADHD- C. 23h ago edited 23h ago
Yeah, i heard it runs in families, if a sibling has adhd then the parents likely have it too but my parents never been diagnosed with anything, we all seem to have symptoms of an auditory processing disorder tho, they though i might have had that already in pre K, my mom and me are always mishearing words, and actually being not able to focus in a crowd when people are talking is a thing with APD, not adhd ( i just automatically assumed it was due to my adhd, cuz it does have to do with inability to focus. We cant understand or focus when there are noises around us or 5 people are talking all at once in a room
Found out my 60 yr old Aunt was diagnosed a few yrs ago with adhd, shes on medication. We always suspected it tho, since shes always been wired as heck.
They suspect my niece has it now, she just stares out in space apparently, according to my big sis.
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u/ShitJustGotRealAgain 23h ago
Iirc it's like 80% that's genetic. The rest is due to traumatic brain injuries.
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u/Heavy_Abroad_8074 AuDHD 1d ago
My dad, one brother, and I have ADHD. I am autistic, too, and so is my half uncle on my dad’s side. I strongly suspect my sister is autistic as well.
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u/No_Management3663 1d ago edited 1d ago
I can’t say for 100% certain but one of my uncles has been diagnosed with ADHD (my dads half brother) my grandma’s cousin has ADHD, my youngest half sister (same dad), one of my youngest brother on my dads side and my older brother also my dads side and my half brother on my moms side but my mom also happened to use meth at least once during all her pregnancies so that might have a effect on that I don’t know. My dad maybe has ADHD but he’s never been tested but he does have Dyslexia.
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u/sunsetredditor 1d ago
I believe both my parents have it to a degree. 1 of my 2 daughters has been diagnosed; the other has signs of both adhd and autism but no diagnosis because she has high potential and apparently masked it all well. Even my late MIL had adhd - no dx but everyone knew it 😁
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u/Spiritual-Rise-5556 AuDHD 1d ago
I think my dad was ADHD. My mum is 100% undiagnosed autistic. I have both. I think my eldest sibling is NT and my other two siblings might be ADHD.
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u/FortuneTellingBoobs 1d ago
Yeah. My mom and brother are autistic. My daughter and I have ADHD. My son may have autism or be on the spectrum somehow as well, we're not sure.
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u/EarlyInside45 1d ago
Yes, everyone in my family of 5 kids plus dad has it, it just shows itself in different ways with each kid. And, all of the kids' children (and grandchildren) have either ADHD, autism or both.
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u/BarRegular2684 1d ago
Dad and grandma not diagnosed, but they had all the symptoms. My nephew and I both have it. Nephew and my own kid also have autism.
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u/Such_Raccoon_5035 23h ago
My parents are both civil engineers so I got it from both sides lol
Dad is diagnosed, mother is not (but she absolutely has it too)
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u/Top-Service-6654 23h ago
Definitely my late mom & dad & sadly they were both undiagnosed. When I think about how different life would have been for everyone concerned! Also one of my father’s brothers,(my uncle) was either autistic or had ADHD or a combination of both & back in the day you were placed in an institution for it. I cry sometimes for this sensitive soul ,(whom I never met) & his unfortunate life. If only we could go back & re write history…….if only.
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u/TurnipTime1 23h ago
Definitely my mom, suspect my dad as well! Dad’s parents were both diagnosed bipolar like 70 years ago but I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of them had ADHD instead or in addition to. Jury’s out on my mom’s mom (she had a brain tumor removed before I was born and they took a lil chunk of her brain with it so who knows) but I think mom’s dad has a touch of the tism. My brother however is one of the most neurotypical people on god’s green earth and it drives me NUTS
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u/takeyourprecioustime 23h ago
My dad is undiagnosed but he’s like the poster child of adhd, and my sister is autistic for sure but i dont know adhd
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u/googly_eye_murderer 23h ago
My mom and all my living siblings have it. Unsure about my dad (estranged) and youngest half brother (deceased) but I have my suspicions about the latter two.
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u/TrailerParkRoots 23h ago
My kid, spouse and FIL all have it. My spouse actually got diagnosed right after our kid did!
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u/TrailerParkRoots 23h ago
I don’t have a diagnosis but I’m pretty sure I also have ADHD and I think my Mom does too, especially now that there’s a kid in my house with the same “brand” of ADHD that I think I have!
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u/ed_menac 23h ago
Definitely.
My nephew almost certainly has it.
My sister is waiting for an assessment, and my mum probably has it but would never admit that
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u/dead-dove-in-a-bag 23h ago
"you're just like your dad" about EVERYTHING. Its true. Hyperfixation rabbit holes, heads full of random facts, messy AF, etc...
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u/retropillow 23h ago
I have it, my sister have it, my Dad definitely has it, and my niece has such a hardcore level of it.
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u/corey_ell 23h ago
it's a highly heritable thing!
my dad definitely has it, my paternal grandma has it, and my paternal grandpa we're pretty sure has autism. of my brothers and i, 2/3 are nuerodivergent - i have adhd with a smidge of the tism and my brother has audhd. 2 of my cousins on my dad side have autism as well.
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u/perkiezombie 23h ago
Well my dad’s been to prison after driving very impulsively and recklessly and my mom… well let’s just say they probably modelled the DSM-5 on her.
I got hit with that double whammy, there really was no hope 😂
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u/seriouslynope 23h ago
Both my brothers are diagnosed. I'm not, "my inattentiveness stems from my depression. " okay then why does Adderall work for me?
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u/wetkitten_69 22h ago
Ooh yes. Dad was easy to distinguish, and he self- medicates with coffee. Mom took me a while to realize she has it too since hers is much different from Dad's. On Mom's side, I'm pretty sure my Nana has it too, and my Great Aunts children both definitely do and they're kinda obvious (one is super inattentive / slow to do things, and the other is terrible with money and can't hold down a job... ) On Dad's side, I think most of my aunts and uncles do too, and a bunch of my cousins. Also my brother. Dad doesn't believe that ADHD exists (even though he's freaking textbook!), and Mom fought him to have me diagnosed and medicated. Little brother (16 years apart) has more pronounced learning disabilities than I, but Dad refused to get him tested or medicated until the kid failed out of college. Then my help was asked. 🤦♀️
Son and husband have it too.
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u/g3mclub 22h ago
my psychiatrist spent 15 min just letting me yap and then said ‘with adhd as severe as yours, it often must be present in both parents as well.’ i told my parents this and my mom had a Moment of self discovery, while my dad said ‘i don’t have that, let alone 80 of that!!’ which sums it up
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u/PepperPhoenix 22h ago
I’m adopted so it’s hard to know, but I know my half sisters….son? had severe ADHD. I suspect my maternal grandfather has..maybe autism? and that my maternal aunt had the same (they are very similar in some ways) I have a slight feeling my bio-mum might have adhd but I’ve never discussed it with her, and I’m 99% sure my daughter does. Of that list only me and my half-nephew are officially diagnosed….i think.
I suspect that this is not as helpful as I initially thought. Far too much uncertainty. Sorry.
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u/MaesterOfPanic 22h ago
Yes. My mom and two of her brothers were diagnosed; my uncle back in the late 1970s. My grandmother is not diagnosed, but I am pretty sure she has it, too.
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u/WisdomBelle 22h ago
Honestly I think genetics always play some kind of role in ADHD and Autism. I strongly believe my mom has ADHD but she is undiagnosed and she will never realise it.
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u/Similar-Ad-6862 22h ago
My half brother and I both have ADHD. We only have one parent in common and my mum is undiagnosed.
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u/ergaster8213 22h ago edited 22h ago
All ADHD has a genetic component, but yes. My sister has it. My mom has it. My aunt has it. My grandma has it but won't admit that. My sperm donor also probably has it. My family is filled to the brim with mental health conditions (and should have stopped reproducing long ago), and ADHD is definitely a frequently occurring one.
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u/rejectedbyReddit666 22h ago
I’m the only one with a black & white diagnosis, however I’m laid back & chilled compared to my very “ highly strung” mum. My dad was very rigid in his ways. My sister is bipolar & PTSD. Both my daughters have suffered poor mental health at times & I feel bad for passing it on to them but they’re doing well now.
My daughter’s partner has a high functioning autism so I wouldn’t be surprised if my little grandson gets a diagnosis one day too. He’s 5 months old & we worship him.
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u/xithbaby ADHD-PI 22h ago
Mental illness runs on both sides of my family. I was delusional for so long thinking I wasn’t like that and had no problems since my adhd diagnosis was hid from me until I was an adult. Finding out I had it has really opened my eyes to a lot of things I never noticed before not only with myself but the struggle my family had as a whole. So many signs and issues but I just thought it was normal part of life.
My sister likely has it and has spent her whole life self medicating and is a raging alcoholic and so is one of my brothers. She had both of her kids diagnosed with it, and my daughter was also diagnosed as well.
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u/crownofthejewel 21h ago
Absofuckinglutelidefinitely. My dad most likely does and I'm very certain my mam does. They're both over 50 and don't believe in it so there won't be any testing for them. But yeah, just.......so many signs
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u/horseyjones 21h ago
Yep yep. My dad went undiagnosed until his late 40’s, but lucked out when he married my mom who basically ran every aspect of his life including his private practice medical office. My cousin, his nephew, has such severe ADHD he’s been on state disability unable to work for years. My teenaged nephew and niece were just diagnosed this ADHD. My youngest nephew was diagnosed with ASD last year. Strangely tho, I’m the only one of my siblings that has it. Definitely a genetic thing.
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u/nosaladthanks 21h ago
According to my mum, no. It’s just society’s fault that 5 of her 6 kids have adhd (and 3 of us are AuDHD). No genetics in play here!
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u/PopularYesterday 21h ago
ADHD is more heritable than height or intelligence. The largest twin study found heritability approaching 80%. Siblings of someone with ADHD have a 5-7x higher chance of having ADHD. If a child has ADHD, there’s a 47% chance one of the parents has ADHD. It’s very genetic.
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u/Professional-Log-530 21h ago
Yes. My dad, sis, me, 2 of my kids… we all adhd and it’s so frustrating and invigorating being in the room at the same time. 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Not_HavingAGoodTime 21h ago
My mom has it (probably undiagnosed AuDHD)...pretty sure her mom had it. My husband has it. Me and my daughter both have AuDHD. It would make a lot of sense if my son has it too. We're lots of fun to be around when we're all together lol.
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u/Much_Description_670 20h ago
Once I realized I had it i looked around at my family and went...well shit.
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u/LindseyIsBored 20h ago
We all get it from my grandma. My friend said “I’ve never met an old person with such bad ADHD.” My poor kiddo has it so bad. I’m pregnant now and we’re just planning on the littlest one having adhd.
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u/BossImaginary5550 19h ago
Neither of my parents have adhd. I was diagnosed inattentive adhd at 13… mine was caused by heavy narcissistic abuse
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u/bluevelvet39 19h ago
I was the first one in our family to get diagnosed (with 31, I'm now 33), but my cousins (both f) started to suspect the same around the same time... My brother also got a diagnosis 1 year later because of me. My mother isn't diagnosed, but we clearly have it from her. My cousins are the daughters of her sister, my aunt, which was also at a doctors office, because she suspected beginning dementia, but got diagnosed with having "serious lack of focus and concentration"... yeah, i don't know what to say to this, but that was also the reason why my cousins didn't even try to get diagnosed. "We can't have it, it's what her doctor said. The grades were too good." I'm sorry, what? Why did this man refuse to diagnose her with adhd, but attested her bad memory and concentration (she was always like this, but gained brain fog when she had to start chemo, because of breast cancer)? It's still puzzling to me. Even my grandma tends to zone out, always forgets her clothes or bags at our place, and is always half an hour to late...
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u/Ok-Razzmatazz7998 19h ago
Yep. I’m pretty sure we got it from my late grandfather’s side based on the stories he told us about his childhood. My dad and uncles showed signs but it was practically confirmed when 3/4 of my generation (8 of us in total) ended up having trouble in school and being diagnosed with it. I’m the only female out of me and my cousins though.
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u/SeveredSandwich 18h ago
My dad has autism, my mum has ADHD. My siblings have autism and ADHD. I’m diagnosed with ADHD but not autism though I haven’t sought diagnosis yet. My siblings and I also all have hypermobile eds and that’s linked to the neurodiversity as well!
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u/FlatFeature4740 18h ago
My mom side cousin is on the spectrum, i have adhd and so does my nephew. Idk about my mom but she shows traits too
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u/ashleydougherty20 18h ago edited 17h ago
Yup. My mom’s side of the family has several neurodivergent people like my two cousins and my uncle, which is their dad (my mom’s brother). All of them are diagnosed with autism but i’m not exactly sure if there might be ADHD included with that. I’m guessing that if there was, then my cousin would have it because we have basically the same behaviors. He has low support needs like I and his dad do, and my youngest cousin with autism has high support needs.
edit: i also just remembered my other cousin has adhd as well and he’s the oldest cousin on my mom’s side. i’m not sure if he’s diagnosed but he’s talked about having the same issues as me.
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u/MycologistSafe5141 17h ago
Grandpa, great aunt, dad, uncle, me, son. All but 2 undiagnosed.
I’ve also read that PTSD can manifest as symptoms of ADHD and I definitely knew at least two kids who were very hyper but had also dealt with serious trauma in their lives.
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u/WhichAddition862 17h ago
Yes, comt gene mutation runs in the family. So there are several of us buzzing around and it’s kinda nice to have a family squad as well as a friend ADHD squad. Made growing up and navigating it much easier. Two of them are DOs so that was even more helpful in understanding the neuroscience behind it all.
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u/Imaginary_Bother921 ADHD 16h ago
My grandma on my mom’s side and my mom I both believe are undiagnosed ADHD, I’m the first one to think it’s anything other than funny quirks and side effects of being a “stoner”. My mom believes she truly has it but I don’t think she will ever seek a true diagnosis which is fine with me and her :)
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u/Curious_Red_Fox 16h ago
My dad probably had ADHD, one of my little brother is probably one of us (I thought he was a long time before I get my diagnosis) and one of my little sister fit in the boxes too
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u/DailyRambling 14h ago
I believe I got it from my dad who got it from his mum, both were textbook adhd'ers. And I think his sister my aunt has it too. Unfortunately, my my dad and grandma already passed so can't get diagnosed. My aunt could I guess, if she gets curious to find out.
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u/MeowMeow-Mjauski 12h ago
Not only that but as it turns out I seem to be drawn to people with adhd so I am in like an adhd bubble in my friend family too!
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u/candice_opera 12h ago
My mom is always complaining about how messy the house is. The car. Her purse
Complaining of how she is always losing her stuff
Complaining of forgetting chores
She gets easily distracted
Burns meals cuz she kept looking at the tv
Always gets late everywhere
Can't have a organized sleep schedule
And she loses track of things I'm telling her
I think it's genetic
(She doesn't wanna go to a psychiatrist despite how much I recomend. Any ideas. Pleaaase)
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u/-HealingNoises- 11h ago
It and Autism are so strongly genetic and linked in the same group of genes that while it is possible for someone to randomly spawn with the genes, it is incredibly unlikely. As in, if you have 2 other siblings it’s likely one has something, if you have 3 it’s near guaranteed one is. And one parent or grandparent is also a guaranteed as like anything it can skip a generation. But there are strong odds a grandparent and parent from any combination of sides has it.
Considering how we tend to unconsciously gravitate towards each other because we communicate alike, neurodivergent couples are more common than most want to admit which cements it into the bloodline for a good while.
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u/Spanikopita112 9h ago
I thought it was all genetic but I'm the second ever person to be diagnosed my younger brother was the first. My moms side is from Greece so they didnt really have any reliable testing but my mom and grandpa also probably have/had Adhd
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u/SuchEye4866 7h ago
It definitely passed to me from my undiagnosed mum. We've wondered if my dad had autism, but both my children are autistic and my youngest is adhd too.
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u/HydrationSeeker 23h ago
It's all genetic, unless a NT gets a brain injury and develops it. But unlikely to be diagnosed as ADHD....
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