The primary symptoms of ADHD are hyperactivity, impulsivity and
inattention. In normal children, these symptoms can appear in low
levels. But in children with ADD, these problems will be severe and
happen over and over again for a long period of time. But because
many of these symptoms can be found in normal children, it is very
important to make sure you get a thorough examination by a qualified
mental health professional.
Again, all of these primary symptoms will be severe and of long
duration. For people with ADHD with hyperactivity, symptoms of
hyperactivity and impulsivity will appear before any symptoms of
inattention. The symptoms of a child with hyperactive ADHD will
be much more visible than the child with inattentive ADD. The child
with inattentive ADD may be viewed as a space cadet, but this may not
become prevalent until later years. A child who is impulsive may
be viewed as a behavior problem, while a child who is quiet and spacey
will be viewed as lazy and unmotivated. But, these are both ADD
even though they look very different. Because there are so many
variations in ADD and what it looks like, it can difficult to
diagnosis. And the longer you go without being diagnosed, the
more complex ADD starts to look.
Signs of hyperactivity/impulsivity are restlessness, distractibility,
interrupting and saying things without thinking and being excessively
physical. As a child gets older, the impulsivity side of their ADD will
take a more damaging toll if not dealt with. Impulsive ADDers tend to
get into drugs, break the law and do other destructive things at an
earlier age.
Signs of inattention are getting easily distracted, making careless
mistakes, becoming easily disorganized, the inability to follow
directions correctly and poor follow-through. Also, inattentive
ADDers become bored easily which leads to task switching. People
with inattentive ADD tend to go the longest without getting
diagnosed. This occurs because the symptoms are less visible and
less distracting to their surrounding environment. But it does
not mean that the disorder is any less disabling for the individual.
People with inattentive ADD have a higher rate of anxiety and
depression because they tend to internalize their symptoms more.
If an individual has combined type ADHD, they will have almost all of
the symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. These
are the most severe cases of ADD and can be difficult to treat.
Combined type ADDers have a lot of trouble getting organized, but many
times their impulsivity prevents this. Individuals with combined
type ADHD will have the highest chance of not doing well in school and
being a behavior problem for teachers and parents. They also tend to
have problems with social skills.
Keith Londrie II is a well known author. For more information on ADHD, please visit living-with-adhd.us/ ADHD for a wealth of information. You may also want to visit keith's own web site at keithlondrie.com/keithlondrie.com/