ADHD is an abbreviation form for the commonly known disorder – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is the most common mental condition that mainly occurs at a younger age. At times, when patients do not get diagnosed at a younger age, the symptoms will arise more abruptly in adulthood.
Under the condition of ADHD, a person will face difficulty in paying attention or keeping focus. The person can also be hyperactive and show hasty acts without having self-control on the body movements. It is estimated that around 8.4% of children and 2.5% of adults are diagnosed with ADHD. In the ratio of boys is to girls, it is commonly seen that ADHD symptoms are more in boys.
Symptoms of ADHD : –
The common symptoms of ADHD that occur in children are more easily diagnosed as compared to adults. In general, there are three types of ADHD diagnosis – inattentive, hyperactive, and combined. A person is diagnosed with symptoms that have occurred over the past six months. We have also given a few points that are included in these types to elaborate its effect on the body.
Inattention type – These symptoms will occur in patients approx — the age of 17 or below. You can be diagnosed with ADHD if you have 5 to 7 of the given symptoms.
- Not able to pay attention to regular tasks.
- Unable to stay focused on doing everyday activities, like – reading or having a conversation with someone.
- The person does not follow the instructions and quickly loses focus over any task.
- The person does not have much likeness for tasks that involve mental effort for preparing up reports or completing work at school or office.
- Do not keep a record of things and often loses them with time. It can be even a regular use thing that you usually tend to forget where you kept it.
- Children with ADHD can easily get distracted towards other things.
- You may have a habit of forgetting normal things like – making a phone call, paying bills, etc.
Hyperactive or impulsive type – The symptoms listed below will occur in a person who is 17 years or above. The person might be diagnosed with ADHD if he/she has 5 or 7 of the given symptoms at the same time.
- The person may fidget a lot, taps his/her feet while sitting, and unable to stay in a still position.
- The person can have a habit of loitering around at the workplace or even in school. It is difficult for them to stay seated in one place.
- May run around in the area, which is inappropriate and impolite.
- Unable to play or do leisure activities without making any noise.
- The person will always be “on the go,” as if they are running late for something.
- The person has a habit of talking too much and unnecessarily.
- Always in the habit of speaking in between conversations. People often take this act as ill-manner, but more or less, it can also be a sign of ADHD.
- Not able to wait for his/her turn. The person can be very impatient.
There are no lab tests to get to know if you have a severe condition of ADHD or not. The evaluation is done through the process of gathering information from teachers, parents, or others who are in close touch. It may also include testing of vision and hearing ability of the person.
Cause of ADHD: –
There have been no specific reports for the actual cause of ADHD. But it has been proved that genetics contribute to the cause of ADHD. If there is a person in your family who has ADHD symptoms, chances are the same symptoms that may arise in his/her bloodline after years or even decades.
Besides the role that gene plays in causing ADHD, there can be other reasons as well for the rise of ADHD. Some of the causes and risk factors of ADHD are –
- Injury in the head or brain
- A child’s premature birth
- Exposure to harmful environments substances like lead
- Consumption of alcohol or tobacco at the time of pregnancy
- The child is under-weight
The above-listed causes are supposed to be the actual reason for the cause of ADHD. But, there have been some myths related to this disorder that are not true to its core. Some of them are – overeating sugar products, poverty, social and family issues, watching too much TV, and bad parenting. These signs can make the situation worse, but they can never be the cause of ADHD symptoms.