The language

A medical doctor who can diagnose ADHD and prescribe and manage medication.

A clinician who can evaluate and diagnose, and run the deeper testing. Doesn’t prescribe.

A psychologist who specializes in detailed cognitive testing, sometimes used for complex or unclear cases.

Your general doctor. Many can diagnose adult ADHD and prescribe, or refer you to a specialist.

Provides talk therapy. Doesn’t diagnose ADHD, but helps you build skills and process the emotional side.

A non-clinical guide for the practical mechanics: planning, systems, follow-through. Training varies, so vet them.

The brain’s management system: planning, starting, organizing, remembering, and switching gears. What ADHD mainly affects.

The mental sticky note that holds information while you use it. Often shorter with ADHD.

Two brain chemicals tied to focus, motivation, and follow-through. Stimulants raise their levels.

Locking onto something so completely that everything else disappears. The flip side of distractibility.

An intense, painful reaction to feeling criticized or rejected. Many people with ADHD describe it.

Working extra hard to hide symptoms and look fine. Common in people diagnosed late, especially women.

An umbrella term for brains that work differently from the typical: ADHD, autism, and others.

A warmer, in-community way of saying neurodivergent. Same idea, less clinical.

Shorthand for having both ADHD and autism, which overlap more than the systems once assumed.

Doing a task alongside another person, in the room or on a call, so it’s easier to start and stay with.

When more than one condition shows up together, like ADHD alongside anxiety. Common, not a separate failure.

The manual clinicians use to define and diagnose conditions, including ADHD.

The WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, a short screening checklist, not a diagnosis.

The two broad medication paths. Stimulants act fast; non-stimulants are gentler and build over weeks.

Immediate-release wears off in a few hours; extended-release covers most of the day from one dose.

The trial-and-error period of adjusting type, dose, and timing to find your fit. Normal, not failure.

Two kinds of formal school support plans, built from an evaluation report.