Some of these patients complain that Rath is “invalidating” their experience when they don’t get the diagnosis they expect. Rath is frustrated when patients come in because they’ve seen some TikTok videos and they’re hoping to “understand themselves better”, which she said is “not really medically necessary”. The DSM-5 states that adults should have at least five ADHD symptoms to get a diagnosis, and those symptoms must cause “significant impairment” in at least two settings (like work and at home, for example). “The average adult has two or three symptoms of ADHD,” she says. Maggie Sibley, a psychiatrist at the University of Washington who specializes in diagnosing and treating ADHD, said the condition is relatable even to people who don’t necessarily have it. Such videos are leading some who have unknowingly struggled with ADHD for years to seek treatment while also attracting curiosity from people who have more typical focus issues. “The current struggle is … also due to the paucity of neurodivergent knowledgeable healthcare practitioners available in the first place,” said Jared DeFife. Some of the videos in the study made false claims about ADHD, including that people with ADHD “lack object permanence”. “What is scary is that there are a lot of non-credible sources out there that are putting out information about these medical conditions.”Īccording to one study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, about half of the most popular TikTok videos about ADHD are “misleading” and the other half are “useful”. “On one hand, I think it’s really wonderful that we’ve got more information out there that can help people better understand themselves,” she said. Rath says that TikTok “drives at least 50% of our current requests for intakes right now”, and her feelings about this are complicated. Some videos have disclaimers, informing viewers that they should not replace medical advice, some are from users who list medical credentials, or are from people who have been diagnosed – but it’s not clear how credible each video is. They list symptoms like daydreaming, swaying to avoid things while walking or picking skin for hours. TikTok videos with titles like “5 signs you have ADHD” and “5 things ADHDers hate,” are driving a lot of interest around adult ADHD. As more of those adults are beginning to seek treatment, the medical system is unprepared to serve them. “The current struggle is not just due to increased demand, but also due to the paucity of neurodivergent knowledgeable healthcare practitioners available in the first place,” he said, adding that the majority of adults with ADHD have historically gone undiagnosed and untreated – as many as 80% until recently. Jared DeFife, a psychologist who conducts ADHD evaluations at his private practice in Atlanta, said the lack of knowledge about adult ADHD was already a problem before the pandemic. “Covid has really clogged up multiple states’ licensing timelines,” said Rath. They confirmed that Covid-19 created a new awareness and conversation around adult ADHD – while simultaneously blocking the resources needed to treat it. Of the more than 30 practices the Guardian contacted, the dozen who replied confirmed that demand doubled or tripled in the last three years. Since the pandemic, practitioners around the country have found themselves in the same position as Rath – inundated with more requests than they can handle for adult ADHD evaluations.
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