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You’re off by a little bit: it’s not a chemical imbalance but an actual neurological difference. ADHD develops when the brain is very young and results in permanent differences in cognition and executive function.

We do use dopamine (via stimulants) to treat it, though. We essentially flood the brain with excess dopamine and hope that it’s enough to overcome the deficits caused by developmental differences.

I think norepinephrine also plays a role

Oligoantigenic/elimination diets have been shown to improve symptoms, may not work for everyone and still may not be as effective as stimulants

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.0073...

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9257090

The chemical imbalance is one side-effect of the actual structural issues in the brain that cause ADHD.

This is why ADHD medication does not fix many secondary problems. (Examples include memory retrieval, time blindness, emotional regulation, etc)

I believe the more current thinking is that it’s a functional connectivity issue rather than a chemical imbalance, but nobody knows for certain.