The Many Faces of ADHD
Attention Magazine October 2025
Ever wondered why we still need ADHD Awareness Month? After all, CHADD has been supporting individuals and families affected by ADHD since the mid-1990s, there are many websites and books on ADHD, and it is one of the most well-researched brain-based conditions. When up to ten percent of the population has ADHD, we all know someone with the diagnosis or someone who suspects they have ADHD.
Even with so much information available, misinformation remains and attitudes can be slow to change. We still need ADHD Awareness Month because we are coming to understand so much more about how it affects individuals, families, and communities.
In 2025, the ADHD Awareness Coalition—CHADD, ACO, and ADDA—is working with partners across the United States and worldwide. “The Many Faces of ADHD” is this year’s theme because, while we have unmistakable symptoms and experiences in common, each person’s experience with ADHD is different. And each person’s response, treatment plan, and family and community support will be different. Each of us can offer a different face or way of having ADHD.
Lived experience and information
The coalition’s 2025 focus is on the lived experiences of people with ADHD, supporting their stories with information from researchers, medical professionals, and authors. Our website, ADHDAwarenessMonth.org, highlights personal stories, videos, and art created by members of the ADHD community. Each story, video, and artwork offers a glimpse into someone’s life as one of the many faces of ADHD.
“I have ADHD, I was born with ADHD, and I like having ADHD,” wrote Alison. “It’s not a problem, but it was until I got diagnosed. I have been constantly told that I am too this, too that, not enough of this and not enough of that. I masked and hid my true self. This served me well in the short-term but not in the long-term. Getting my diagnosis changed nothing, yet it changed absolutely everything because I finally knew that nothing was wrong with me.”
“At 52, I was diagnosed with ADHD, and it changed my life,” Helen shared. “I slowly and gently reframed my life, realizing my neurodivergence wasn’t a barrier to overcome but something to embrace. ADHD is part of my story, not my limitation.”
“For years, I navigated life through a fog of disorganization,” offered Seb. “I could never quite keep up. The diagnosis was a mix of relief and shock. I realized how easy it is for late-diagnosed ADHD to hide in plain sight, especially in adults who’ve spent years masking symptoms.”
Each of these individuals generously shared their face of ADHD to help bring awareness and encourage other people to seek and receive the support they need. You can read their stories, and we hope you will share your own.
How you can increase ADHD awareness
You can help increase ADHD awareness and understanding this month and throughout the year. Sharing your story, in whatever way is comfortable for you, has a profound effect. If you’re not ready to share your own experiences publicly—and that is okay—sharing evidence-based information and the stories of other people is equally important.
When we share our experiences and stories, we achieve several goals. The first is creating space for someone who feels alone with their diagnosis or questions on ADHD. You let them know they are part of a large, vibrant community. You can show them they have strengths they might not yet have realized.
Giving a face to ADHD helps to break stigmas and reduce barriers. People who learn your story can see that ADHD is something one has, not who one is. Stories and information help to challenge myths and replace them with truths about people, treatment options, and support networks.
When you put a face to ADHD, you help others understand that ADHD is part of the human experience and deserves to be acknowledged. People can see that someone they know, or work with, and care about, happens to have ADHD. It does not define them, but it does play a part in how they live and move and succeed in the world.
Reliable information you can share
Throughout October you can find reliable information, along with events and personal stories on CHADD.org and ADHDAwarenessMonth.org. All our social media pages will have memes, pictures, tips, articles, and interviews with ADHD experts around the world that you can share on your own pages.
CHADD, ACO, and ADDA will offer awareness events online, and many local CHADD chapters will host community events. Attend these events and bring back information to share with family and friends.
You can also check out the resources available from Canada’s Centre for ADHD Awareness at CADDAC.ca and ADHD Europe at ADHDEurope.eu. Additional ADHD awareness partners are listed at ADHDAwarenessMonth.org/Coalition.
Become a CHADD member
If you haven’t already, join CHADD in support of ADHD awareness. Our chapters work in their communities to bring evidence-based information and lived experiences to community events and local municipalities. CHADD works on a national level to advocate issues important to the members of the ADHD community, including healthcare and treatment options, educational rights, and funding for needed community supports.
If you are a member, consider gifting CHADD membership this holiday season or donating to help support our educational programs. Your gifts help so many people and bring greater awareness of ADHD.
Supporting CHADD during ADHD Awareness Month
ADHD Awareness Month is the perfect time to show your support for the ADHD community by donating to CHADD. With your donation, we can do more for the 22 million children and adults with ADHD across the United States. As the leading resource on ADHD, we rely on donations to ensure we can provide unwavering advocacy, trusted help and support, and evidence-based resources every day. Now more than ever, your donation makes a difference. Donate to CHADD today.
Karen Sampson Hoffman, MA, CDMP, is CHADD’s director of marketing and liaison to the ADHD Awareness Month Coalition.
