I disagree that ADHD does not have an organic etiology. We don't know what may be happening in the brain, but it is increasingly evident that there is an organic component to all of the mental disorders, including personality disorders. There are many tools for people to learn and adapt to help them function in general society, especially behavioral modification strategies and cognitive therapy. Medications should also be viewed as possible tools. Each person is different and finding out what works for you, including medication, will take some time and experimentation.

Many people with ADHD are able to create a niche for themselves in which many of the symptoms of ADHD become adaptive strategies for success or survival. Instead of continuing to fit into a round hole, they find or create a square one. They may continue to have difficulty in relationships, in part because of difficulty in regulating their affect.

There is a huge difference in the effect on one's life between the mimimal symptoms needed to make a diagnosis and someone with all, or nearly all, of the signs and symptoms to an extreme degree.

It is probably overdiagnosed in children and underdiagnosed in adults.

Janie