Does it seem like everyone in Sask. has ADHD? And can social media help you diagnose it?

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Cierra Geisbrecht saw her ain puerility successful a caller mode aft her girl was diagnosed with attraction shortage hyperactivity upset (ADHD).

Two years ago, her girl was going into Grade 1, and exhibiting behaviours that verged connected extreme, including outbursts of anger.

When her girl was diagnosed with ADHD, it was the starting constituent for her parent to spot parallels with her ain beingness arsenic a kid, and into adulthood, becoming overstimulated oregon aggravated oregon compulsively spending money. That led to her ain diagnosis with big ADHD.

But societal media was besides a large assistance for her successful knowing her ain neurodiverse brain.

"TikTok gets a atrocious rap, but determination are a batch of large professionals connected determination with a batch of antithetic information; they interruption it down into ways that are digestible for the typical, mean person," she told CBC's podcast This is Saskatchewan successful its latest episode.

Dr. Stefan Brennan is simply a Saskatoon-based psychiatrist who's seen his ain nine-year-old lad watching clips connected YouTube and TikTok that place wellness issues similar ADHD.

Social media has decidedly helped amplify the connection that radical could beryllium struggling with the disorder, helium said. 

"That's not ever needfully a atrocious thing," helium said. "When I started moving with big ADHD, it was very, precise underdiagnosed and radical often didn't cognize wherever to spell oregon however to commencement looking astatine attentional and attraction and absorption and hyperactivity issues due to the fact that they were an adult."

At the aforesaid time, helium cautions against utilizing TikTok oregon societal media arsenic a reliable screening tool. People whitethorn spot these societal videos and fishy they person ADHD, but getting a diagnosis and uncovering effectual attraction is the adjacent step, helium said. 

And radical are progressively getting diagnosed with ADHD, helium said, with doctors besides apt doing a amended occupation of diagnosing it much effectively.

Currently, US and Canadian information suggests that betwixt 4 to 5 per cent of the colonisation mightiness person ADHD, though Brennan says that fig does look to beryllium increasing. The Student Wellness Centre astatine the University of Saskatchewan, for instance, reports that 7.3 per cent of their students person been diagnosed with ADHD. 

Getting a diagnosis arsenic an adult

It's not uncommon for adults similar Geisbrecht to recognize they person ADHD erstwhile their ain children spot a wellness nonrecreational for behavioural issues, Brennan said.

"They truly admit that a batch of the aforesaid symptoms resonate with them, oregon possibly did successful their ain childhood, their schoolhouse years, their assemblage years oregon starting with work," helium said, pointing to issues similar focusing connected a task oregon getting distracted. 

One complicating origin of utilizing societal media to diagnose ADHD is that it's precise improbable a idiosyncratic conscionable has the 1 issue, but alternatively is apt to person different issues, similar slump oregon anxiety, helium said, adding that radical whitethorn commencement to get frustrated due to the fact that they're getting medicine oregon counselling for those issues, but it conscionable isn't addressing their problems. 

"ADHD is the portion of the representation that conscionable hasn't truly been identified oregon treated," Brennan said.

Nailing down that she did so person ADHD was a game-changer for Geisbrecht, who was capable to get connected medicine that helped her with her absorption and handle overstimulation. 

"But it besides gave maine immoderate validation for however I was feeling erstwhile I was increasing up and wherefore I was the mode I was. Because oftentimes kids with ADHD are conscionable labelled arsenic bad, you know, troublemakers," she said.

"I yet benignant of recognize my encephalon a small spot much now."

This communicative is from the This is Saskatchewan podcast — your transportation to the stories Saskatchewan is talking about. Every week, we screen section issues that matter. Hear the voices that are creating change, shaping argumentation and fuelling creativity successful Saskatchewan.

Tune into This is Saskatchewan every Wednesday connected CBC Listen oregon wherever you get your podcasts.