ADHD symptoms in teens: What are the early signs of ADHD symptoms in teens?

Overview: What do ADHD symptoms in teens look like?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurological and developmental disorder that is often initially diagnosed in children. The disorder affects executive functioning: staying focused, paying attention, staying on task, resisting distractions, and controlling impulses and emotions. Struggling with executive functioning is normal in childhood and adolescence, but ADHD compromises a child’s ability to function. Inattention, lack of focus, not completing work, careless mistakes, forgetfulness, distractibility, fidgeting, and walking away impulsively are signs of ADHD in children. They do all these things so often that their schoolwork, peer relationships, and daily life suffer markedly. The core symptoms of ADHD generally improve with maturity. By the teenage years, children usually develop more control over these behaviors. Instead, ADHD in the teen years is more likely to manifest as impulsivity, risky behaviors, procrastination, disorganization, and emotional volatility. Teens with ADHD are more likely than their peers to have other mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and antisocial tendencies. Granted, all of these are symptoms of adolescence, too. The difference is that ADHD significantly impairs the teen’s ability to function. Fortunately, combining treatments can help minimize symptoms and teach adolescents successful adaptive strategies to benefit them for a lifetime.

RELATED: 6 ADHD myths and misconceptions

What are the early signs of ADHD symptoms in teens?

ADHD is less commonly identified in a teen than in a young child. Healthcare professionals don’t usually consider an ADHD diagnosis unless ADHD symptoms are present in childhood. Therefore, the early signs of ADHD present when they are children. These include:

• Problems with attention and focus

• Problems completing work

• Disorganization

• Forgetfulness

• Hyperactivity

• Inability to control or resist impulses

These are the core symptoms of ADHD, but they typically improve as a child grows up. Teens often have better control over these core symptoms, so there are usually other signs that ADHD may be the right diagnosis, provided that they had ADHD symptoms as a child. These other signs include: 

• Impaired functioning in several environments

• Procrastination

• Impulsivity

• Emotional dysregulation

• Frustration

• Oppositional behaviors

• Risky behaviors

RELATED: Is your child being misdiagnosed with ADHD?

Other ADHD symptoms in teens 

According to the official diagnostic criteria for ADHD, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the core symptoms involve inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. A child must have at least six signs of one of these problems. 

Symptoms of inattention include:

• Inability to complete tasks 

• Carelessness or failing to pay close attention when engaged in activities 

• Inability to stay focused on activities or tasks

• Being disorganized when engaged in tasks, chores, or activities

• Losing things required to complete tasks or activities

• Avoiding tasks that require mental effort

• Not listening when spoken to

• Easy distractibility

• Forgetfulness about routine activities

The hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms of ADHD are:

• Frequent fidgeting or squirming

• Inappropriately or impulsively leaving a seat

• Inappropriately running about or climbing

• Inability to play quietly

• Frequently “on the go”

• Excessive talking

• Inability to wait for a turn

• Blurting out answers

• Frequently interrupting others or intruding on others

Though they may have better control over the core symptoms of ADHD, adolescents may have other signs:

• Disorganization

• Procrastination

• Emotional dysregulation

• Frustration

• Low self-esteem

• Poor school performance

ADHD symptoms in teens vs. anxiety symptoms 

ADHD can easily be mistaken for other mental disorders with similar symptoms. In turn, other mental disorders can easily be mistaken for ADHD. These include autism, learning disabilities, oppositional defiant disorder, sleep problems, language disorders, and anxiety. Contrary to popular belief, anxiety isn’t just one disorder, but it encompasses several disorders, including generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and selective mutism. Though ADHD and anxiety share some symptoms, anxiety is marked by fear or excessive worry. ADHD primarily involves hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, or a combination of these three symptoms.

RELATED: Anxiety treatments and medications

Types of ADHD symptoms in teens: How can I tell which one I have? 

ADHD has two major types of symptoms: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Some people with ADHD have mostly one type of symptom, while some have both types of symptoms. For this reason, mental health professionals may sometimes describe a teen with ADHD as:

• Predominantly inattentive (formerly called attention deficit disorder or ADD)

• Predominantly impulsive or hyperactive

• Both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive

These are not medically useful terms because the medical treatment is the same. However, they are relevant to setting goals and treatment plans for behavioral therapy, school accommodations, and parenting. 

When to see a doctor for ADHD symptoms in teens

Talk to a pediatrician if ADHD symptoms are noticed in a teen struggling to function at school, at home, or with friends. There is no test for ADHD, so the pediatrician will probably refer the child to a psychiatrist, who will make the final diagnosis. 

It’s not easy to diagnose ADHD. The psychiatrist will weigh several factors:

• Symptoms

• The history of ADHD symptoms when the teen was a child

• Problems functioning in school, at home, among friends, and in the community

• Interviews with parents and others

• Other behavioral or mental health issues 

RELATED: Is your child being misdiagnosed for ADHD?

Complications of ADHD symptoms in teens

Untreated ADHD in teens does not cause medical complications, but living with untreated ADHD is difficult, frustrating, and bruising at an age that is already difficult to navigate. As a result, untreated ADHD in teens can lead to long-term social, behavioral, and mental health complications, such as:

• Academic underachievement

• Difficulty finding and keeping employment

• Antisocial behaviors, including aggression, withdrawal, conduct disorder, or oppositional defiant disorder

• Mood disorders, such as anxiety or depression

• Substance use

• Injury from risky behaviors

How to treat ADHD symptoms in teens

ADHD symptoms in teens require several complementary treatments, including:

• Behavioral therapy

• Parenting education

• School interventions and accommodations

• Medications

Healthcare providers use medications to control many symptoms in teens with ADHD. None of these drugs cure ADHD, but they can minimize symptoms. They include stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamines. These are the first-line treatments and often improve core symptoms with the first dose. Non-stimulant medications, including the antidepressants atomoxetine and bupropion, are also effective, but they may take weeks or months to improve core symptoms. 

RELATED: The benefits of ADHD medications for teens

Living with ADHD symptoms in teens

There is no cure for ADHD. As teens age, they may develop strategies to control and live with ADHD symptoms. Some strategies may be unhealthy and unsuccessful, like substance abuse, procrastination, or aggression. Other strategies might be successful and healthy. That is why behavioral therapy, parenting, and school interventions play a major role in treating teens with ADHD. ADHD medications reduce symptoms, which gives the teen enough relief to develop successful and healthy strategies for achieving goals and completing necessary tasks. As a caregiver, there are a few things that can be done to help young adults succeed:

• Learn about ADHD

• Understand and actively take part in the teen’s treatment plan

• Make sure the teen takes medications as prescribed

• Understand the goals and methods of therapy

• Work toward therapy goals in family life

• Use what the teen is learning in therapy when parenting

• Work with the school

• Keep close track of the teen’s behaviors and symptoms and share this information with the treatment team and school

• Be positive and optimistic 

• Reward progress

• Keep home life structured and organized

• Maintain consistent, predictable, and fair rewards or consequences

RELATED: 6 best exercises for ADHD

What’s next? Additional resources for teens with ADHD symptoms

Test and diagnostics

• Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and teens: what you need to know, NIH National Institute of Mental Health (2021)

• Diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, American Family Physician (2014)

• Is your child being misdiagnosed for ADHD?, SingleCare (2023)

• Symptoms and diagnosis of ADHD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022)

Treatments

• ADHD treatments and medications, SingleCare (2023)

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, StatPearls (2023)

Scientific studies and clinical trials

• Age-related clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with ADHD, Frontiers of Psychiatry (2023)

More information on related health conditions

• Anxiety treatments and medications, SingleCare (2023)

• OCPD vs. OCD: Compare causes, symptoms, treatments & more, SingleCare (2023)