Do the ADHD challenges peak with puberty?

Or is this grandmother just getting old and tired? Here's an article on the subject, but I'd rather hear your opinions on this.

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/2059.html

Challenges with impulsive behavior and peer group acceptance became issues in our family around puberty because my son was often not supervised (didn't want to be in homework room after school) and began going out with friends in the evening. He is very social and others enjoy his company. We live in a city. Naturally he learned how to use public transportation, and collected several bus transfers in all the different colors so he and his friends could all take bus rides together. In middle school he experimented with marijuana and alcohol. He had great difficulty writing down homework assignments and completing them. There were visits to the principals, arrests and suspensions. Some of his friends had to leave school (2 boys with ADHD). I'd say that in growing up, kids will have various opportunities and choices to make, and mistakes made in adolescence result in a "bumpy ride" for child and parent(s). Every child is different. By the time they reach adulthood most understand the meaning of consequences and can smooth out their lives.

I guess since I raised two girls first, the moodiness and meltdowns just seem normal as we head into puberty... :D

Teens are a challenge whether they have ADHD or not. I think our biggest challenge is realizing that he is getting old enough to make good/bad choices, and that we have to help them realize that consequences are real.

Hang in there!

Thanks ladies!

SK,

I skimmed the article and highly appreciate the advocacy for teens therein. I do not think that adhd challenges 'peek' with certain age groups specifically as both genders and people of all age ranges go through physical change, challenges, traumas, loss, illness, etc., and deal with coping strategies that either work or have to be revised based on life experiences. I think the adolescence period is a difficult time, and even harder when having adhd without tools, support and acceptance. That in itself is a peek time along life's travels, but I can also see it as one of many - beginning and ending at the point of when symptoms are understood and manageable and when they are not. Thanks for sharing this.