ADHD Questions
ADHD and Development
Can ADHD go away and come back?
Charles Li, MD
April 20, 2023
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Many children with ADHD will experience periods of improvement as they get older.
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But, ADHD symptoms do tend to fluctuate. Studies on teenagers show that ADHD symptoms can return from time to time in those who recover.
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Different symptoms can recover at different rates. Hyperactivity symptoms tend to get better faster than inattention symptoms.
Generally, children with ADHD tend to get better as they get older. But, improvement is a long process.
Often, a person can feel like they’re getting better, just to have their symptoms return.
One study set out to gather statistics on ADHD improvements over time in teenagers.
In the study, researchers found that around 30% of those with ADHD will get entirely better at some point. However, among those who get better, 60% will have their symptoms return occasionally.
Researchers studied a group of 558 children with ADHD over 16 years. They found that 30% will experience full remission at some point. However, 60% of these individuals will experience recurrence as well.
As the study authors put it below, only 9.1% of those with ADHD that they studied experienced full and persistent recovery.
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A majority of these fully remitting youths (∼60%) experienced full or partial recurrence of ADHD after the initial period of full remission. Only 9.1% of the children with ADHD demonstrated recovery from ADHD
According to the data in this study, ADHD goes away and comes back in around 64% of cases.
On the bright side, the data shows that ADHD sticks around persistently in only 11% of cases, meaning that most will get better with time.
Researchers found that most individuals with ADHD will experience fluctuating symptoms throughout adolescence and young adulthood.
As you can see in the chart of ADHD outcomes over time, most individuals in the study reach the state of fluctuating ADHD symptoms within the first ten years of follow-up.
Most with ADHD will experience some periods of improvement over time. However, recurrence is common.
The authors concluded that generally, those who get better from ADHD will still experience symptoms and impacts on their lives from time to time.
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The results are consistent with previous findings that, at a single time point, most individuals who no longer meet DSM criteria for ADHD still experience elevated symptoms or impairments or are actively treated with medication
Symptom Types and Remission
Different symptom types can show different patterns of recovery. Research shows that difficulties with attention tend to stick around longer than those with hyperactivity.
One study found that by age 18, most individuals will have shown significant improvement in their hyperactivity symptoms. However, most will continue to have enough challenges with attention to still qualify for ADHD.
A study of 128 boys found that hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms of ADHD were more likely to get better compared to difficulties with attention.
Conclusions
ADHD has an unfortunate tendency to return, even after it disappears. Recovery can be a long process with lots of stops and starts.
Children with ADHD often struggle with symptoms after they mature into adults, particularly inattention-type symptoms.
If you or a loved one struggles with ADHD, talk to your doctor about treatments. There are many effective treatment options for both adults and children with ADHD.