Attention - Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Symptoms of ADHD

The symptoms of ADHD include inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that are inappropriate for age.

There are three different types of ADHD. Combined ADHD (the most common type) includes all of the symptoms. Inattentive ADHD is marked by impaired attention and concentration and hyperactive-impulsive type is marked by hyperactivity without inattentiveness.

To help recognize ADHD, understand that some symptoms that cause impairment must be present before age seven years and some impairment from the symptoms must be present in more than one setting (like home and school or home and work). Also, there must be clear evidence of interference of functioning due to the symptoms at home, in social or work environments.

Symptoms of ADHD

Inattention

Inattention may not become apparent until a child enters the challenging environment of elementary school. In adults, symptoms may manifest in work or in social situations.

A person with ADHD may have some or all of the following symptoms.

• Difficulty paying attention to details or prone to making careless mistakes in school or other activities. Work is often messy and careless.
• Easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupt ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others.
• Inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities.
• Difficulty finishing schoolwork or paperwork or performing tasks that requires concentration.
• Frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another.
• Procrastination.
• Work habits may be disorganized.
• Forgetful in daily activities (for example, missing appointments, forgetting to bring lunch).
• Failure to complete tasks like homework or chores.
• Frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping ones mind on conversations and not following details or rules of activities in social situations

Hyperactivity

The symptoms of hyperactivity may be apparent in very young preschoolers and are nearly always present before the age of seven. Symptoms include:

• Fidgeting, squirming when seated.
• Having to get up frequently to walk or run around.
• Running or climbing excessively when its inappropriate (in teens this may appear as restlessness).
• Difficulty playing quietly or engaging in quiet leisure activities.
• Always on the go.
• Often talks excessively.

Hyperactivity may vary with age and developmental stage.

Toddlers and preschoolers with ADHD tend to be constantly in motion, jumping on furniture and having difficulty participating in sedentary group activities (such as listening to a story).

School-age children display similar behavior, but with less frequency. They are unable to remain seated, squirm a lot, fidget or talk excessively.

In adolescents and adults, hyperactivity may manifest itself as feelings of restlessness and difficulty engaging in quiet sedentary activities.

Impulsivity.

Symptoms of impulsivity include:

• Impatience.
• Difficulty delaying responses.
• Blurting out answers before questions have been completed.
• Difficulty awaiting one's turn.
• Frequently interrupting or intruding on others to the point of causing problems in social or work settings.
• Initiating conversations at inappropriate times.

Impulsivity may lead to accidents (knocking over objects, banging into people, etc). Children with ADHD may also engage in potentially dangerous activities without consideration for the consequences (climbing to precarious positions).

Many of these symptoms occur from time to time in normal youngsters. However, in children with ADHD they occur frequently, at home and at school, or when visiting with friends, and they interfere with the childs ability to function normally.

ADHD is diagnosed after children consistently display some or all of these behaviors in at least two settings, such as at home and in school, for at least six months.

Long-Term Outlook

Some children with ADHD (approximately 20-30%) develop learning problems that may not improve with ADHD treatment. Hyperactive behavior can be is associated with the development of other disruptive disorders, particularly conduct and oppositional-defiant disorder. The reason for the relationship is not known.

Even though a great many children with this disorder ultimately adjust, some -- especially those with an associated conduct or oppositional-defiant disorder -- are more likely to drop out of school and fare more poorly in their later careers than children without ADHD.

Inattention tends to persist through childhood and adolescence into adulthood, while the symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity tend to diminish with age.

As they grow older, some teens who have had severe ADHD since middle childhood experience periods of anxiety or depression.

There are several warning signs for ADHD that seem to get worse when demands at school or home increase. They are:

• Not listening to instructions.
• Inability to get organized, either at home or at school.
• Fidgeting, especially with the hands and feet.
• Talking too much.
• Failure to finish projects, including chores and homework.
• Difficulty paying attention to and responding to details.