The A1 Reviews

The Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

By Connie Limon

The symptoms appear early in a child’s life. They include:

• Inattention

• Hyperactivity

• Impulsivity

Many normal children have these symptoms at a low level. The symptoms of ADHD may also be caused by some other disorder. To properly diagnose ADHD in children, the child should receive a thorough examination and diagnosis by a well-qualified professional.

When do the symptoms most often occur?

• They will appear over the course of many months

• The symptoms of impulsiveness and hyperactivity often precede symptoms of inattention, which may not appear for a year or more.

Are the symptoms the same in all settings?

• This depends upon the demands the situation poses for the child’s self-control.

Children who cannot sit still or are otherwise disruptive will be noticed more in school than the children who are inattentive daydreamers. An impulsive child acting before thinking may be singled out as just a “discipline problem.” The child who is passive or sluggish may be seen as just “unmotivated.” Both types of children may have different types of ADHD.

When is ADHD suspected?

• The symptoms of restlessness, acting without thinking, and sometimes daydreaming time away can be seen in all children at one time or another. It is when these symptoms begin to affect performance in school, social relationships with other children, or behavior at home that ADHD may be suspected.

Is this disorder easy to diagnose in children?

• The symptoms vary so much across settings, it is not easy to diagnose.

• When inattentiveness is the primary symptom it is especially difficult to diagnose.

Three patterns of behavior that indicate ADHD according to the most recent version of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders include:

• Several signs of being consistently inattentive

• A pattern of being hyperactive and impulsive far more than others of their age

• They may show all three types of behavior

There are three subtypes of ADHD recognized by professionals. They are:

• Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type (does not show significant inattention)

• Predominantly inattentive type (does not show significant hyperactive-impulsive behavior)

• Combined type (displays both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms)

What is hyperactivity?

• Children that seem to always been on the go or constantly in motion. They may run around touching or playing with any and everything in sight, may talk continually.

• Sitting still at the dinner table or during a school lesson or story time is a difficult task.

• Squirming, fidgeting in seats or roaming about the room

• Wiggling their feet

• Touching everything

• Noisily tapping a pencil

• Hyperactive teenagers or adults feel internally restless and often report needing to stay busy. They may try to do several things at once.

What is impulsiveness?

• Children who seem unable to stop their immediate reactions or think before acting

• Blurting out inappropriate comments

• Displaying emotions without restraint

• Acting without regard for the later consequences of their conduct

• May be unable to wait for things they want or to take their turn in games

• May grab a toy from another child

• May hit others when upset

• As teenagers and adults, they may impulsively choose to do things that have an immediate but small payoff

What are some of the signs of hyperactivity-impulsivity?

• Feeling restless

• Fidgeting with hands or feet

• Squirming while seated

• Running, climbing or leaving a seat in situations where sitting or quiet behavior is expected

• Blurting out answers before hearing the whole question

• Having difficulty waiting in line or taking turns

What are signs of inattention? According to the DSM-IV-TR, the signs of inattention include:

• Often becoming easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds

• Often failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes

• Rarely following instructions carefully and completely losing or forgetting things such as toys, pencils, books and tools needed for a task

• Often skipping from one uncompleted activity to another

Source: National Institute of Mental Health

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information in this article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All health concerns should be addressed by a qualified health care professional

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved

Author: Connie Limon. Visit http://nutritionandhealthhub.com and sign up for a weekly nutrition and health tip. The article collection is available as FREE reprints for your newsletters, websites or blog. For a variety of FREE reprint articles on various topics rarely seen elsewhere visit http://www.camelotarticles.com

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