Symptoms of ADHD
ADHD is a condition that lives throughout a persons whole life. It can affect children, teens, and adults.
The symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Children display these traits most often when growing up. But with ADHD, which stands for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, these symptoms are inappropriate for the child’s age.
ADHD is most common in children and teenagers, but adults can also have it. If an adult has ADHD they may have different symptoms then that of a child or teen. For example, an adult may experience restlessness instead of hyperactivity. Adults who have ADHD consistently have problems with relationships and employment.
Inattention may not be seen in a child until it enters the challenging world of school. And with adults it may not be seen until they start work.
Symptoms of Inattention include:
Having difficulties staying focused and being careless at school work; producing work that is often messy and careless; easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to noises or events that are usually ignored by others; not being able to stay and focus on a task; difficulty finishing work that requires concentration; frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another; procrastination; disorganized work habits; forgetfulness in daily activities; frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one’s mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations.
Hyperactivity symptoms may be apparent in very young preschoolers and are nearly always present before the age of seven.
Symptoms of Hyperactivity include:
Fidgeting, squirming when seated; getting up frequently to walk or run around; excessively running or climbing when its not appropriate (in teens this may appear as restlessness); having troubles staying quiet; always talking even when its not wanted.
Symptoms of Impulsiveness include:
Impatience; difficulty delaying responses and blurting out answers before questions have been completed; difficulty waiting for one’s turn; frequently interrupting or intruding on others to the point of causing problems in social or work settings; starting conversations at inappropriate times; not listening to instructions.
As children grow older, some teens that have had severe ADHD since childhood, experience periods of anxiety or depression.
Sometimes when children with ADHD have to much demanding from home or school, their symptoms tend to get worse.
These symptoms include:
• not being able to get organized
• fidgeting, especially with the hands and feet
• talking excessively
• failing to finish projects, including chores and homework
• not focusing and not responding
• doing poor in school
• being isolated from peers due to poor grades and secondary depression
Symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness tend to go away with age, but inattention often stays with the child all the way up to being an adult. And may never completely go away.