The ADD & ADHD Help Center

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most studied conditions in child and adolescent health, and also one of the most confusingly reported. A parent who has just been told that their child might have ADHD will usually find two things within an hour of searching: a great deal of strong opinion, and very little plain explanation of what is actually known.

This site exists to be the plain explanation. It is an independent reference. It sells nothing, recommends no product, represents no clinic or practitioner, and has no position to defend about how anyone should be treated. Every page here has one job — to describe a topic clearly, say who the recognised authority on it is, and link you to them.

What ADHD Actually Refers To

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by a persistent pattern of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. The National Institute of Mental Health describes it as one of the most common disorders of childhood, frequently continuing into adolescence and adulthood.

The terminology has shifted over the decades, which is a common source of confusion. "ADD" was once used for the presentation without prominent hyperactivity, and "ADHD" for the presentation with it. Current diagnostic practice uses a single term — ADHD — with different presentations describing which features predominate. Older material, including much of what is still circulating online, uses the earlier vocabulary. Both terms appear on this site because both are still what people search for.

What This Site Covers

The material is organised the way questions tend to arrive, roughly in the order a family encounters them.

• Recognising it. The symptoms and signs that make up the diagnostic picture, and the hyperactivity and impulsivity features specifically.
• Understanding it. What research says about causes and risk factors, and which popular explanations the evidence does not support.
• Assessment. How ADHD is actually assessed by clinicians, and why online questionnaires are not diagnoses.
• Medication. A neutral overview of the classes of medicine used, with individual reference pages on methylphenidate, the amphetamine class, and the history of stimulant prescribing.
• The wider picture. The range of approaches clinicians consider alongside or instead of medication, what the evidence shows about diet and nutrition, and support at school.
• Adults. ADHD in adulthood, including diagnosis later in life.
• Related topics. Depression alongside ADHD, and a small reference section covering nutrients that come up repeatedly in ADHD discussion.

How Common Is It

ADHD is common enough that most classrooms contain at least one child who meets criteria for it, and it has historically been identified more often in boys than in girls. That last point matters more than it sounds: the inattentive presentation is quieter, disrupts other people less, and is correspondingly easier to miss. A child who is not causing trouble but is quietly falling behind may go years without anyone asking the question.

Prevalence figures vary between surveys depending on how cases are counted and which population is sampled, so this site does not quote a single headline number. CHADD, the largest ADHD advocacy and information organisation in the United States, maintains current summaries, as does NIMH.

A Note on What You Will Not Find Here

There is no online test on this site that will tell you whether you or your child has ADHD, because no online test can do that. There are no dosing figures, no treatment protocols and no tapering schedules, because those are decisions made between a patient and a prescriber who knows their history. There is nothing for sale, and no supplement, programme or practitioner is recommended anywhere on this site.

What there is instead: a clear description of each topic, an honest account of where the evidence is strong and where it is thin, and a direct link to the authority that publishes on it. For families that want a single starting point outside this site, MedlinePlus from the U.S. National Library of Medicine collects the government and professional-body material in one place, and the American Academy of Pediatrics publishes parent-facing guidance at HealthyChildren.org.

Where to Begin

If a teacher has just raised a concern, start with symptoms and signs, then read how assessment works so you know what to expect from the process. If a diagnosis has already been made and medication has been mentioned, the medication overview is the page written for that moment. If you are an adult who has begun to recognise a lifelong pattern in yourself, start with adult ADHD.