ADHD In Children

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Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder that affects children, teens and adults. It is a “persistent” (on-going) pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that gets in the way of day-to-day life and development. People with ADHD have problems with keeping attention, executive function (the brains ability to begin an activity, organize itself and manage tasks) and memory. The symptoms for ADHD begin in childhood at the age of 12 (according to changes made in the DSM-5; previously the age was 7) The three types of ADHD are inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined (a combination of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive). The DSM-5 symptom criteria for ADHD are persistent pattern …show more content…
Children that have combined presentation show both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms for at least 6 months. Most people, when thinking of ADHD, tend to picture a child with combined presentation; these children are described by teachers and parents as being careless, forgetful, sloppy, distractible, rushed, irresponsible, or restless. Children that have combined presentation have problems with behavioral inhibition meaning they do not have the ability to control or regulate immediate impulses to reach their long-term goals. This causes them to have a difficult time paying attention and controlling their over-active impulsiveness at school and home. Most kids diagnosed with ADHD in clinics or hospitals show combined symptom …show more content…
Some consider it to be a separate condition because it is so different from other ADHD symptoms. Children with sluggish cognitive tempo show different cognitive processing problems like slow processing speed and memory problems. They are more likely to develop externalizing disorders (conduct problems, substance abuse). Medications used to treat ADHD are less effective for kids with sluggish cognitive tempo. For now, researchers are studying children with sluggish cognitive tempo to find out if it is indeed a separate disorder for future versions of the DSM (Harrington & Waldman, 2010). ADHD had always been thought to be a childhood disorder but now it is well known that teens and adults can have it too. Though, older teens and adults exhibit symptoms differently than children. With hyperactivity/impulsivity children tend to jump out of their seat and yell out an answer whereas an adult will simply feel restless and impatient. With inattention children won’t listen to their parent or teacher while an adult will daydream and forget to make appointments. Another difference is in the DSM-5 that states that an adult only requires 5 out the 9 symptoms for ADHD instead of 6/9 like