David W. Goodman, MD: Adult ADHD Challenges During COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made things challenging for patients with psychiatric disorders like attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

While stress, social isolation, and shelter-in-place orders can exacerbate symptoms of depression and anxiety, the situation can also wreak havoc on the symptoms of impulsivity association with ADHD. And that impulsivity could lead the individual to be in situations where they are more susceptible to contracting the virus.

How COVID-19 impacts ADHD treatment and care was a major topic during the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD) 2021 Annual Conference with several abstracts and plenaries planned to discuss the topic.

In an interview with HCPLive®, David W. Goodman, MD, FAPA, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, explained how ADHD patients may have struggled greatly in the last 10 months and how that struggle could have both short- and long-term issues.

Not only are ADHD patients more likely to contract the virus because of the symptoms that come along with the disorder, they may struggle with the at home situation that could harm interpersonal relationships.

Goodman said one of the concerns is adult ADHD patients with children may have to juggle too many things between work, maintaining a home, and the virtual schooling of their children.