While an ADHD diagnosis can be a barrier to someone trying to enlist in the military, it does not automatically disqualify someone from applying, especially if they can demonstrate that they do not require medication or accommodations.
With inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity being predominant symptoms, an ADHD diagnosis raises justifiable “red flags” concerning military service as it is a frequent reason applicants are disqualified (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], n.d.; Department of Defense, 2018).
However, despite these studies, the VA doesn't give ADHD a disability rating, which is a percentage of disability assigned to a veteran's service-connected conditions. This means that ADHD, as a diagnosis, has not been put into law, which means compensation for the diagnosis can be daunting.
However, because ADHD is not disqualifying per se, individuals who want to serve in the military are encouraged to pursue this option, along with other career possibilities.
If you're newly diagnosed with adult ADHD, you may: Have trouble with daily responsibilities, time management, organization, self-control, concentration, and memory. Get distracted easily. Lose things often.
ADHD is considered a chronic and debilitating disorder and is known to impact the individual in many aspects of their life including academic and professional achievements, interpersonal relationships, and daily functioning (Harpin, 2005).
Under both the ADA and another law known as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, ADHD is considered a disability in the United States, but with strict stipulations. For instance, ADHD is considered a protected disability if it is severe and interferes with a person's ability to work or participate in the public sector.
If you disclosed your ADHD diagnosis prior to enlisting and received a waiver, you are unlikely to be discharged from the military for having ADHD. You can be discharged from the military for failing a drug test, so if you take ADHD medication and do not have permission, you might be kicked out of the military.
These may include your medical history, military criminal record, age, physical fitness level, and drug use. Your educational background or history of mental illness may also disqualify you from joining.
Due to the risks to flight safety posed by ADHD, regulatory authorities worldwide consider ADHD a disqualifying condition for pilots.
They have a “bidirectional” relationship, meaning each one can impact the other. Some studies found that when you have ADHD, you're four times more likely to also have PTSD. And you're twice as likely to develop ADHD when you have PTSD. Their symptoms can look the same, and they can cause similar changes in your brain.
While additional years of experience can help to improve driving habits, adults with ADHD must constantly be aware of how symptoms can affect their driving. Adults with ADHD tend to be at greater risk for having accidents, receiving traffic tickets, and driving without a license or on a suspended license.
Most applicants disclose their ADHD history in conversation with the recruiter, but they also must indicate their ADHD history in the medical documents they must fill out as part of the enlistment process.
ADHD usually would not be a serious enough condition to render someone incompetent to stand trial.
For anxiety disorders (for example, panic disorder), a person cannot enter the armed services if they needed any inpatient care, or outpatient care for more than 12 months cumulatively. They must not have needed any treatment for their anxiety disorder in the past 36 months.
Although services can accept applicant waivers with less stringent restrictions (e.g., the Air Force will consider waivers for recruits stable off medications for 15 months), ADHD diagnosis is consistently a common disqualifier for military service.
The most common mental health problems among personnel and veterans are depression, anxiety and alcohol problems. Some people experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Response 1: Antidepressants are disqualifying for one year after you stop taking them. You must stop with your doctor's advice; do not stop on your own. These medications often have to be reduced slowly to lower side effects and reduce risk of relapse.
Some substances considered “smart drugs” such as Adderall are prescription-only; military members using Adderall without a prescription are in violation of military regulations that govern the use of controlled substances.
If you are interested in a career with the Armed Forces you should personally contact them. The Armed Forces has stated that candidates with hyperactivity, uncomplicated by violence or criminality, absent for more than two years without treatment, may be fit for enlistment.
Current or history of academic skills or perceptual defects (315) secondary to organic or functional mental disorders, including, but not limited to dyslexia, that interfere with school or employment, are disqualifying.
ADHD Assessment & Treatment Centres
To legally protect the rights of people with ADHD in Australia, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA), a person's ADHD must be classed as a disability according to the criteria as specified in the DDA. DDA disability definition criteria relevant to people with ADHD: 1.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder1.
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.