Every day begins the same way: I forget something. My glasses, keys, phone, earbuds, lip balm, wallet, hairbrush, myki, hair tie, my toddler’s shoes, hat, mittens, jumper, socks, bottle, or breakfast. It could be any of them.

I spend at least 10 minutes each morning searching for one or more of the above. It drives me, and my partner, completely mad.

The ADHD tax costs Australians more than $20 billion annually.Credit: Getty Images

Sometimes I lose these items for good. I’ve left my phone in a taxi or public toilet more times than I care to admit, and on my latest journey abroad, I left my glasses on the plane and my headphones at the hotel. Neither were cheap to replace.

So why don’t I have a dedicated space for all these items? Believe it or not, I actually do. But when I get home and am distracted, I plonk my stuff wherever it fits and then forget about it.

Welcome to the life of a person with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – and the tax we pay every day.

In case you think the term “ADHD tax” is a joke or a self-diagnosis social media phrase, it’s not. A 2019 analysis from Deloitte Access Economics estimates 800,000 Australians have ADHD (though many experts believe the number is now closer to one million), with the social and economic cost of the neurodevelopmental disorder costing more than $20 billion a year.

Of this, $12.83 billion relates to financial costs – GP visits, specialist services........

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