July 10, 2026, 7:04 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Even “It Girls” have ADHD. Paris Hilton was diagnosed in her 20s and is now open about it. She talks about the tricks she uses to make daily life easier. She has even designed her home to be neurodiverse, as shown in her video series “Inclusive by Design.” But what trick is behind this–and how has Hilton’s ADHD shaped her?
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“Something’s Wrong with Me”–ADHD in Childhood
ADHD often leaves marks on children. According to a study in the “Journal of Pediatric Psychology,” children with ADHD more frequently have lower grades, weaker results in reading and math tests, and are more likely to repeat a grade.1 ADHD also affects mental health, not just in the classroom. Another study from 2025 shows that affected children and adolescents have more than double the risk of depression and a significantly increased risk of anxiety disorders.2
The challenges ADHD poses for children were also experienced firsthand by Paris Hilton, even though her diagnosis came years later. As she tells “People,” she struggled in school to remember things, constantly lost her homework, and got in trouble with teachers. “When I was growing up, no one talked about ADHD,” Hilton says. This made her feel like something was wrong with her, and she learned early on to mask her emotions instead of showing them.
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It was only through interactions with others affected that she learned to understand her past feelings. What she once saw as a flaw, she now views as a strength: “Now I see it as a kind of superpower, and without it, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
Hilton wants to share this message with the world–literally. So, she opened her front door: In the three-part video series “Inclusive by Design,” she shows how she has tailored her home and office to her neurodivergence–and that of her team. She uses a simple trick to help manage daily life with ADHD better.
What is Neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence describes when a person’s brain functions differently from the majority. This includes ADHD, autism, or dyslexia. It’s not about a disease but a different way of thinking, learning, or processing stimuli.
With This Trick, Paris Hilton Wants to Outsmart Her ADHD
A key trick Paris Hilton uses in her daily life relies on maximum visibility. In her experience, things are quickly forgotten when they disappear behind closed doors.
A central issue for Hilton is the so-called object permanence. She describes her ADHD experience like this: “With ADHD, there’s something called object permanence. If you don’t see something, it basically doesn’t exist in your mind.” That’s why she has equipped her craft room with transparent drawers. Her closet follows this principle too, as cabinets and drawers without glass doors are consistently labeled. This trick allows her to see at a glance what’s inside.
“I have to label everything so I can see everything and my brain can remember where things are,” Hilton explains.
She also applies this approach in her office. A special chair that can be adjusted to different positions is supposed to help her concentrate better. Because sometimes it’s just hard to sit still with ADHD, Hilton explains: “You just feel more relaxed and can concentrate better.”
Object Permanence and ADHD
If you, dear reader, have an ADHD diagnosis yourself, you should not be too quick to apply object permanence to yourself. What is quickly associated here–even by Hilton herself–is not as scientifically clear as the “It Girl of 2005” portrays.
Object permanence is originally a developmental psychology concept from early childhood and not an officially recognized ADHD symptom. While many people with ADHD do experience similar issues–such as things quickly becoming “out of sight, out of mind”–a scientifically robust link between ADHD and impaired object permanence has not yet been proven.3