The disorder, which affects executive function, can cause distinct challenges in the kitchen, leaving many to develop their own accommodations.
From a young age, Linda Yi was drawn to the kitchen and loved watching her parents make Sichuan dishes inspired by their native Chengdu. But when she’d ask them to go over a step or recipe she’d watched them make dozens of times, they’d reply the same way: “You still don’t remember?”
When, in her mid-20s, she became one of the 4.4 percent of adults ages 18 to 44 diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D, her relationship to cooking changed for the better. She said the diagnosis helped her “see the areas of my brain that need support,” and to adapt, as many cooks with the disorder have.
For many adults, A.D.H.D. symptoms can present differently than they do in children, and in some cases, become more severe amid job, relationship and household stressors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And these challenges prove especially true in the kitchen.