they thought it went away as adults because  1 they can potentially structure their lives so the adhd isnt a problem until it is  this takes a degree of social and financial privilege in the ability to do so and even then the support system developed can be overwhelmed - such as by having children especially when they also have adhd and increasing responsibilities at work and you are just expected to handle it on your own i lament the fact that my adhd is controlled enough that i can be a kick-rear individual contributor at work but to go any higher i really need my own administrative assistantpersonal assistant - but that isnt an option until executive levels or for someone to marry well enough that their spouse can support them and can afford to pay for helperspersonal assistants  2 the obvious symptoms of hyperactivity and distractibility are either turned inward or redirected to more appropriate outlets  this can look like picking career paths that allow for a lot of activity or even running around the office like to the copy machine going to talk to someone in person even if the question could have been a quick email  this feeds into why the risk of drug addiction appears to increase for those who had been on adhd medications as children experts thought it was outgrown around puberty so the patient was taken off medication the patients still sought relief from their most debilitating symptoms but official channels were not available so they end up turning to street pharmacists who dont have the patients interests in mind  side effects and ensuring everything is working properly - and there is no quality control  3 the obvious symptoms observable by others also just happen to coincide with negative personality traits - so people just think you are an inconsiderate lazy loser with no ambition and a big mouth and aggression problem or you are just an inconsiderate lazy flighty space cadet or something like that  resources i like  the how to adhd channel on youtube  adhd homestead blog  and other various blogsreddittumblr posts  various books about adhd and setting up things so symptoms are not so debilitating  ill also read scientific papers about various aspects when i can get my hands on them