Many secondary symptoms of ADHD occur in almost all children and adults having this disorder. Disorganization is one symptom that can be extremely problematic in school, the professional work place and at home. All those suffering from ADHD, including hyperactive and inattentive, have trouble with disorganization. Keeping track of paperwork, organizing a desk and keeping things clean at home is a monumental task for them. Since their minds are so often occupied with multiple things at once, it is difficult for them to slow down enough to realize what needs to be done. Routine and everyday tasks are also very difficult for these individuals to handle. Once tasks become mundane and routine, their attention goes out the window.

Individuals having ADHD are also unable to plan. This symptom goes hand and hand with disorganization. If you are disorganized on a regular basis, planning ahead is just not possible; you live from crisis to crisis, from one problem to the next. Many individuals with undiagnosed ADHD are doing precisely that. The conflict provides stimulation, but does not provide any chance for growth. Additionally, persons with ADHD have a strong tendency to change plans even from day to day. What seems interesting one day may not seem so the next day; or perhaps the planning required to make something happen is just too much for the individual to handle. When it comes down to the details, it is very hard for someone with ADHD to continue attending.

Another secondary symptom of ADHD is difficulty in controlling emotions. This is most likely caused by the fact that individuals with ADHD get overstimulated very easily. As they cannot filter out the stimuli around them, they become bombarded quickly and do not know what to do; they become disoriented, and quickly lose the ability to control their emotions.

Individuals suffering from ADHD also have difficulties in proceeding from one activity to the next. This can actually be both a good and a bad quality. Many people with ADHD have the ability to hyperfocus, i.e., focus for long periods of time on subjects and projects they enjoy. This can be very helpful in some careers, but much less so in other areas of life. If you are involved with something you enjoy, but have to perform another type of chore, this is a negative quality. Individuals with ADHD will not want to stop what they are doing, and will have difficulty doing so.

Time management is another issue that almost all individuals with ADHD encounter problems with. They do not experience time in the same manner as people not suffering from ADHD do, and so keeping track of it is difficult. People with ADHD often underestimate how long something will take, and fail to leave enough time for another activity. They also tend to be chronically late.