I gave a presentation called “Elevating the Relationships of Couples with ADHD” at the National Alliance for Relationship and Marriage Education in July of 2023. I presented an overview of ADHD, a summary of existing research, preliminary findings of my research from the CARE Lab at UGA (with co-presenters Dr. Ted Futris and Dr. Evin Richardson), and recommendations for providing relationship and marriage education to participants with ADHD.
“Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects an estimated 4.4 – 5% of the U.S. population. This common disorder can affect many areas of life: work, finances, health, parenting, and family life, including couple relationships. Millions of couples grapple with the daily challenges conferred on their relationship and lives together by one or both partner’s ADHD. Researchers and practitioners who work in couple relationship education (CRE) are keen to tailor our efforts to make our programs more ADHD-friendly, but may not know where to start. In this presentation, we will establish a baseline understanding of the symptoms, prevalence, and associated risks of adult ADHD, as well as current research regarding how ADHD effects couple functioning and stability. We will then share preliminary findings from an evaluation study examining the experiences of couples with ADHD who participated in the CRE program, ELEVATE: Taking your Relationship to the Next Level. Recommendations will be shared for educational programs working with couples with ADHD.”