I didn’t get diagnosed until I was in my mid-forties. I’m from the same generation of “drugs for kids are bad, just let them be kids”, with an added sprinkling of “my kid can’t have ADHD, he’s too smart”.

Dude•, I fully endorse behavioral changes to mitigate ADHD behaviors, but they only go so far. As my address levels increased with age, my coping methods gradually fell apart, and then very suddenly collapsed. I spent the last three months drinking shit-loads of coffee and spending all of my office time playing FTL instead of taking care of essential administrative tasks. It was getting bad.

The point is, therapy and behavioral changes are good. But they have limits. Don’t rule out medication, just trust the doctor to know their shit. Also advocate for yourself if the doctor is too cautious. Mine was worried about stimulants and my blood pressure at my age and (lack of) cardiovascular health. It hasn’t been a problem at all

eta: •dude is officially a gender neutral term btw

e^2: i have been told the above is more harmful than not. I’m not too proud to admit I have more to learn