Executive Functions are found in our frontal lobe and don’t finish developing until our brains are around 25 years old. Executive Functions are the CEO of our brains. They control abilities like planning, organizing (both our physical spaces and items as well as our thoughts), task initiation, attention, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, self-monitoring, and emotional regulation.

Although many adults have been able to modify their environments to best suit their current way of functioning, many find it exhausting. They frequently require many more steps and effort to be able to “keep it all together”. Many adults with ADHD struggle to manage their time, might lose things almost compulsively – bank cards, keys, cell phones, forget their children’s activities, friends’ birthdays, or may struggle with interpersonal relationships. Many adults report that their friends and families are annoyed with them. They usually share that people in their lives say things such as “you’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached” or “we tell you an hour earlier so you’ll make it on time”.

Many people struggle to understand that the individual is not choosing to engage in certain behaviours; ADHD is a neurobiological disorder. It is not a matter of choice for these individuals. It’s also not a lack of intelligence or knowledge, rather ADHD is described as a disorder of performance. Although they know how to complete these tasks, actually doing them is extremely difficult.