The Cost of ADHD - Treatment a Must for Mental, Physical and Financial Health

According to recent studies ADHD is one of the mostand it can cause more lost work days.
costly health conditions in the U.S. - topped only byMany psychiatrists that treat adults with ADHD ask
alcohol abuse and clearly ahead of drug abuse intheir clients to bring in their employee evaluations, most
terms of cost.of the evaluations brought in read like a textbook case.
Annually, alcohol abuse costs American families $86The ADHD adult will talk out of turn, have difficulty
billion in lost household income. The annual cost forfollowing through with instructions, show lack of focus,
ADHD is $77 billion and the annual cost for drug abusehave difficulty finishing projects and complain of being
is $58 billion.disorganized.
Hard costs, like out-of-pocket medical treatment, areSymptoms like these make it very hard for an adult
only one aspect of lost income. ADHD high schoolwith ADHD to maintain a successful work
graduates and college graduates make considerablyenvironment. More often than not, these are the
less money annually than their non-ADHD counterparts.employees that get passed up for a promotion or are
Research indicates that it doesn't matter if the personunder-employed according to their abilities.
with ADHD has the same level of education asNot only does the adult with ADHD have more
someone who does not have ADHD, the person withproblems at work, without successful treatment the
ADHD will make less money than the person withoutADHD adult typically also has:
ADHD. The numbers are between $4500.00 and- Higher Divorce rates.
$10,000.00 annually. People with ADHD suffer from- Lower levels of satisfaction with all aspects of their
symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity -lives.
which are not always conducive to the work- Less likely to have a positive self- image or be
environment.optimistic.
Although about half the children with ADHD learn to- More likely to abuse drugs or alcohol.
adequately manage their symptoms into adulthood, the- More driving accidents.
other half continue to struggle as they transition fromMost experts agree that if ADHD is detected and
school to work. If ADHD goes untreated into adulthood,treated at a young age, the ADHD adult will be less
the symptoms can affect their financial health bylikely to struggle with work and their everyday duties.
making it harder to hold down a job, making it harder toThe key is in finding successful and healthful treatment
obtain the education needed to land high-paying jobsfor the ADHD adult.