Allison Burk’s daughter was struggling. The American teenager had uncontrolled emotions, a decreased ability to pay attention and trouble completing work on time. A family doctor suggested testing for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

艾莉森·伯克（Allison Burk）的女儿在挣扎。 这位美国少年的情绪不受控制，注意力的能力降低，并且按时完成工作麻烦。 一位家庭医生建议测试注意力缺陷/多动症或多动症。

This led to an unexpected discovery: The teen had ADHD, and her mother, Allison Burk, did too. During her daughter’s testing, Burk thought, “Wait a minute. This sounds familiar.”

这导致了一个意外的发现：这名少年患有多动症，她的母亲艾莉森·伯克（Allison Burk）也做了。 在女儿的测试中，伯克想：“等一下。 这听起来很熟悉。”

“I was able to piece together that this might be something I was experiencing,” said Burk, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. She sought testing for herself and was diagnosed with ADHD — at 42 years old.

伯克说：“我能够拼凑这可能是我正在经历的事情。” 她寻求自己的测试，并在42岁时被诊断出患有多动症。

More adults are being diagnosed with ADHD. Diagnoses have been rising for at least 20 years but seem to have increased sharply in the last few years.

更多的成年人被诊断出患有多动症。 诊断至少有20年的增长，但在过去几年中似乎急剧增加。

A recent government study suggested that more than 15 million adults in the United States — about 1 in 17 — have been diagnosed with ADHD. The condition starts in childhood, but about half of adults with ADHD are diagnosed when they are 18 or older.

最近的政府研究表明，美国有1500万成年人（大约17分之一）被诊断出患有多动症。 病情始于童年，但是大约一半的ADHD成年人在18岁或以上时被诊断出来。

Some doctors say the number of people seeking ADHD testing is sharply increasing.

一些医生说，寻求多动症测试的人数急剧增加。

“Just in our clinic, requests for assessments have doubled in the last two years,” said Justin Barterian. He is a psychologist based at Ohio State University.

贾斯汀·巴特里安（Justin Barterian）说：“就在我们的诊所中，过去两年的评估要求增加了一倍。” 他是俄亥俄州立大学的心理学家。

ADHD makes it hard for people to pay attention and control their behaviors. The disorder can be genetic. Doctors often treat the disorder with drugs, behavioral therapy, or both.

多动症使人们很难关注和控制自己的行为。 该疾病可能是遗传的。 医生经常通过药物，行为疗法或两者治疗这种疾病。

Judy Sandler is 62 years old and lives in the U.S. state of Maine. She was diagnosed in her 50s. Sandler describes what ADHD feels like for her. “It’s like there’s an engine in you and you feel like it’s always running, and you can’t turn it off except with medication,” Sandler said.

朱迪·桑德勒（Judy Sandler）今年62岁，居住在美国缅因州。 她在50多岁时被诊断出。 桑德勒描述了多动症对她的感觉。 桑德勒说：“就像你里面有一台引擎，你觉得它总是在运行，除了用药物外，你不能将其关闭。”

ADHD has been called the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in American children. More than 7 million children in the U.S. have been diagnosed. The disorder was once thought to be something that resolved as children became adults.

ADHD被称为美国儿童中最常见的心理健康障碍。 已诊断出美国超过700万儿童。 曾经认为，随着孩子成年，这种疾病被认为是解决的。

But now, experts say they believe that many people are not diagnosed as kids and that the disorder continues into adulthood.

但是现在，专家说，他们认为许多人没有被诊断为孩子，并且这种疾病持续成年。

Adults with the condition talk about having trouble focusing on immediate responsibilities and planning their time. Some say the disorder has led to problems in their personal relationships.

患有这种情况的成年人谈论要专注于立即责任并计划时间。 有人说，这种疾病导致了他们的人际关系问题。