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A few years ago, I participated in an Ask the Expert Chat
on "ADHD and Relationships", sponsored by the National Resource Center
on ADHD. In this free forum, the public is invited to ask questions of a
top ADHD expert in a live online chat. This text-based Q&A is
later stored in the CHADD Ask the Expert archive (you
can view the topics at that link but access is limited to CHADD
members). Participants had so many questions, we had no room for the overflow, so I am sharing them here.
Question: When beginning a new relationship, at what point do you suggest disclosing that you have ADHD and what is a good way to do it?
Hi Rebeca,
Well, I wouldn’t mention it on the first date! Or perhaps even the third or fifth.
I’d give the person time to get to know you first, so you can avoid the risk of letting that person’s possible misconceptions about ADHD filter perceptions of you.
Then again, if despite your best efforts, you still have a tendency to “blurt” or “mishear” or some other common ADHD-related trait, it might be good to provide a little education first, so the person won’t misinterpret your behavior as, for example, rude or uncaring. Even then, though, you don’t have to say “I do this because I have ADHD.” Because, again, you don’t know the person’s level of understanding of ADHD. Instead, you can say something like this: “Sometimes I have trouble arriving places on time. I just want you to know that if I’m ever late to meet you, it’s not because I don’t care. I’m working on strategies, but sometimes I slip.”
