If you are
familiar with ADHD, you likely know the struggle of staying with this common
mental condition. While any person with ADHD wants to be a get-it-done kind of
person, frequently, neither their brain nor body can gather the energy to put
anything in motion. Might be you disrupt others, and even though it can be
off-putting to individuals, maybe you cannot stop. You may lose focus, or
possibly more precisely, shift focus from one thing to another, getting off
track.
When you are staying
with ADHD, either by association or because you yourself have it yourself, even
apparently small tasks—like emptying a laundry basket, finishing a page of
homework, or clearing a desk of piles of paper—seem overwhelming.
Signs and
Symptoms According to Hadar Swersky
- Hyperactivity: Staying in
constant motion such as tapping a hand or foot, moving around, fidgeting, squirming,
including when it is not suitable. This is one sign often seen in kids.
- Inattention: Having a number
of tabs open, losing persistence, wandering off task, and feeling unable
to stay focused, which can increase into being generally disorganized.
- Impulsivity: Acting without
thinking, even if those actions have an increased potential for harm. With
children, this may be something like walloping another child over a
coveted toy. In adults it can be saying something insensible to peers
without thinking, or spending money unnecessarily.
Other examples
of impulsivity:
- having problem delaying gratification
- excessively interrupting others
- making significant decisions without thinking about the
long-standing consequences.
Of
course, all individuals can be inattentive or fidgety at times, but
it is noticeably different with ADHD in that these behaviors are more severe
and take place more frequently. They can also make life harder socially at work
or at school. People with ADHD might have one of the above signs or symptoms,
or a mixture; most kids have the kind of ADHD that is a combo of symptoms. In
preschoolers, the most common sign is hyperactivity.
How Is ADHD
Diagnosed?
A doctor or
pediatrician may identify signs of ADHD in you or your child, and might offer a
preliminary diagnosis, but if they do not have wide-ranging ADHD-specific
experience, they must be sending you to a certified clinician like a
psychologist or psychiatrist.
Hadar Swersky says that ADHD
is also commonly confused with other conditions, like anxiety, which can have
similar symptoms to ADHD, like poor concentration and inattention, or autism
spectrum disorder, which may share symptoms such as trouble interacting with
peers and appearing to not focus on.