There’s this idea/concept/phrase, ADHD Tax, that a lot of ADHDers use to reference the extra effort, resources, and time they must put into everything they do. The idea is that this extra effort is taxing on them. Usually it’s an emotional toll, but it can be a monetary one as well.
For example….The other day my son planned to visit a favorite game store to play a board game with friends. He would walk from our home in Oakland to the BART station (a 30 minute walk), take the train to a second station, change trains, get off in Berkeley, and walk several blocks to the store. It was hot and he had a lot to carry, so I offered to drive him to the second station saving him time and the trouble of having to change trains.
Generous and kind of me, right?
But something about that change of plans threw him off his plan and instead of catching the train to Berkeley, he took the train back to the station in our neighborhood.
FACE PALM.
In the end, I drove him to the game store. Even so, he was late, and the stress of being late, messing up, and feeling stupid…. that was the ADHD tax. And the tax to me? My time and $$ for gas.
I laughed about the whole thing and he tried to laugh about it because there was nothing to be gained about being mad about the situation.
Read more here: ADDitude Magazine on the ADHD Tax