ADHD misinformation on TikTok is shaping young adults’ perceptions. An analysis of the 100 most-viewed TikTok videos related to ADHD revealed that fewer than half the claims about symptoms actually align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.

[u/mvea]

https://news.ubc.ca/2025/03/adhd-misinformation-on-tiktok/

[u/manicdee33]

The original data is still based on studies that examined young males, specifically young white males.

And even in that population the general opinion of medical professionals was that you "grow out of it" because no adults are diagnosed with ADHD because DSM specifically limits diagnosis to children.

[u/karosea → u/manicdee33]

Which is rage inducing at best. I want to throw someone into the sun anytime I hear a professional try to tell me kids grow out of ADHD.

[u/oddmanout → u/karosea]

I was diagnosed as an adult. Apparently I grew into it.

[u/Almostlongenough2 → u/oddmanout]

I "grew out" of the hyperactivity and "grew into" was what was called ADD at the time I was originally diagnosed.

[u/oddmanout → u/Almostlongenough2]

All joking aside, that's what my therapist said, is that it was most likely missed when I was a child because I was missing the hyperactive part of it. If you're ADHD without the H, they just think you're lazy and unmotivated.

[u/ThatGuyinPJs → u/oddmanout]

I think the most common phrase on my school report cards was "needs to apply himself more."

[u/pblokhout → u/manicdee33]

I think the more modern analysis is that about 75% (iirc) lose the hyperactivity part of adhd post-adolescence.

From the perspective of society, their problem, you being annoying, is solved. You've "grown out of it".

[u/Nymanator → u/manicdee33]

This is not why medical professionals believe this. They believe it because plenty of research supports that ADHD symptoms and the impairment they cause generally improve in children (of both sexes) over the course of their maturation and development. This doesn't mean that they disappear necessarily or no longer cause any problems; just that (mostly likely) through some combination of neurological maturation and learning to manage their symptoms over time the person is no longer as affected by the disorder. This is not a justification for withholding treatment though, because research also supports that children diagnosed with ADHD who receive consistent treatment do better than children who don't, including as adults.

[u/yobeefjerky → u/Nymanator]

As an adult with ADHD, I think it's important to point out that "learning to manage symptoms" is often misconstrued from someone masking more effectively, the disorder continues to negatively affect every part of their lives, they just learned how to pretend it isn't.

I still agree with you, though, treatment is necessary, and the earlier treatment starts the better.

[u/Nymanator → u/yobeefjerky]

I'm not intending to sound disrespectful, but this is something I've genuinely struggled to understand: what is the difference between masking and learning to manage externalized symptoms? Would it be that with masking, there's a disproportionate increase in internalizing symptoms?

[u/Almostlongenough2 → u/Nymanator]

Would it be that with masking, there's a disproportionate increase in internalizing symptoms?

Pretty much this. It's like keeping the fidgeting held in vs. using a fidget toy or a stress ball.

[u/manicdee33 → u/Nymanator]

Masking is entirely about managing externalised symptoms — that's basically the definition: "the stuff we do to hide our condition from neurotypical people we have to deal with."

We get better as masking over time because of practise. We end up finding ways to cope better. For example someone with ADHD might stumble upon the Pomodoro Technique and find that it helps manage time better. With practise they find that certain blocks of time work for them, and they need to provide free time and distractions and snacks to keep going through the day. But disrupt their system and the mask falls away: if the right snacks aren't available or if distraction time gets chewed up by meetings, their coping strategy falls apart and the mask falls.

It looks to the outside observer that ADHD symptoms have "improved" (ie: reduced) but that's only because the masking (effort spent covering the symptoms) has gotten better.

Someone living with a broken leg can develop techniques for scaling stairs and moving around their home or workplace. It may look like the symptoms of a broken leg have improved (their mobility is improved at least) but they'll be far better off with getting their broken leg set.

[u/Uturuncu → u/Nymanator]

Absolutely on internalizing the symptoms, yes. The mask we wear is also extremely energy taxing. Speaking from the experience of autism+ADHD, I would say that keeping the mask on when being witnessed in person takes at least half or more of my available processing power that I could be using for whatever task it is I'm supposed to be focusing on. More when directly interacting, but even just like. Sitting at your computer at work requires you to keep track of a bunch of little social rules and norms that you wouldn't observe if you were at home alone.

The sheer amount of things that neurotypicals just know how to, can do by default, and expect everyone else to do to be treated like a human being is absolutely staggering, and with autism in particular, having to learn all those rules manually and then run mask.exe to not be seen as a repulsive weirdo or complete asshole is so, so much of the reason we tend to have anxiety, depression, and trauma as comorbidities.

[u/kuguara → u/Nymanator]

I think, usually other people aren't as affected anymore, not necessarily the person with ADHD.

[u/Nymanator → u/kuguara]

This is not how the studies are conducted. It is a combination of self-reported data as well as from other observers (parents, teachers, therapists, and psychiatrists, usually).

[u/monsantobreath → u/manicdee33]

That's medical tautology.

[u/manicdee33 → u/monsantobreath]

The issue is that many GPs won't issue a referral to a psychiatrist for ADHD because you're an adult who wasn't diagnosed with ADHD as a child. They're getting better educated over time, but even with routine "professional development" they will be stuck with the knowledge that they chose to absorb when they were studying.