25% would be one in every four people. That’s a lot.
Even if we take a geometric mean on that, 5% is one in every 20. That means most larger groups you’ve ever been a part of, like a class or something, likely had an ADHD person. It’s about the same level of prevalence as Asian people in the US. 5% is not negligible. Even 1% isn’t negligible on a society scale, and if you’re talking to a community focused on a specific thing, something that only already to 1% of people in an unfiltered sample will be very common in that community.
On top of that, mental conditions like ADHD are not a binary thing that flips in your brain, where you either have it and you get all of the effects or you get none. It’s a spectrum, it’s a fuzzy category to begin with (which accounts for the wide range of percentages you see), you can feel very ADHD-like effects even if you don’t meet the ever-changing criteria of a medical diagnosis. Which is why it changes so much to begin with, because there is no simple marker like with a virus.
In either case, don’t gatekeep a condition, especially not in a way that suggests that people should just do better. It’s the equivalent of saying “don’t be sad” to a depressed person.
25% would be one in every four people. That’s a lot.
Even if we take a geometric mean on that, 5% is one in every 20. That means most larger groups you’ve ever been a part of, like a class or something, likely had an ADHD person. It’s about the same level of prevalence as Asian people in the US. 5% is not negligible. Even 1% isn’t negligible on a society scale, and if you’re talking to a community focused on a specific thing, something that only already to 1% of people in an unfiltered sample will be very common in that community.
On top of that, mental conditions like ADHD are not a binary thing that flips in your brain, where you either have it and you get all of the effects or you get none. It’s a spectrum, it’s a fuzzy category to begin with (which accounts for the wide range of percentages you see), you can feel very ADHD-like effects even if you don’t meet the ever-changing criteria of a medical diagnosis. Which is why it changes so much to begin with, because there is no simple marker like with a virus.
In either case, don’t gatekeep a condition, especially not in a way that suggests that people should just do better. It’s the equivalent of saying “don’t be sad” to a depressed person.