Signs and Symptoms

Attention—deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be divided into three main types¹:

Inattentive Type

Hyperactive-Impulsive Type

Combined Type

A person must have 6 out of the 9 symptoms of either the inattentive or hyperactive type of ADHD, or both, to be diagnosed with the condition.¹ Someone who shows symptoms of both types is said to have ADHD combined type.¹ Although many of these behaviors appear to be "normal" for many young children, a child with ADHD is affected by them much more. In other words, unlike children without ADHD who may behave in these ways once in a while, children and teens with ADHD experience these symptoms on a regular basis.

In order for an individual to be diagnosed with ADHD, he or she must have symptoms for at least 6 months.¹ In addition, he or she must have experienced some hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms that caused impairment before the age of 7.¹ Also, the symptoms must clearly cause significant problems in at least two important areas of the person's life, such as home, work, school, or social life.¹

• Often doesn't pay attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities
• Often has a hard time keeping his or her attention on one task or activity
• Often appears not to listen when spoken to directly
• Often fails to complete tasks or doesn't finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions) etc.
• Often has trouble organizing tasks or activities
• Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn't want to do things that require a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework)
• Often loses things needed for tasks, such as homework, toys, and personal belongings
• Is easily distracted by things going on around him or her
• Is often forgetful in daily activities

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Symptoms of ADHD Hyperactive-Impulsive Type¹

Hyperactivity 

• Fidgets often with hands or feet or squirms in seat
• Frequently gets up from seat when remaining in seat is expected
• Often runs around or climbs on things when and where it is not apporpriate (adolescents or adults may feel very restless).
• Has trouble playing or enjoying leisure activities quietly.
• Is often "on the go" or acts as if "driven by a motor"
• Is often extremely talkative

Impulsivity

• Frequently blurts out an answer before the speaker has finished asking a question
• Often has a hard time waiting for his or her turn
• Often interrupts or "butts in" others' conversations or games

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Symptoms of ADHD Combined Type¹

• Has symptoms of both inattentive and hyperactive types for at least 6 months

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References

1. American Psychiatric Association:  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 2001.

Overview of ADHD

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a diagnosis of ADHD should only be made by trained healthcare providers, as many symptoms may also be part of other conditions such as bodily illness or other psychological disorders.  Hyperthydroidism, for example, is a medical condition that may present with hyperactivity symptoms and affect attention.  Also, it is not uncommon that physically and mentally, nonpathological individuals exhibit at least some of the symptoms from time to time.  Severity and pervasiveness of the symptoms leading to prominent functional impairment across different settings (school, work, social relationships) are major factors in a positive diagnosis.

Adults often continue to be impaired by ADHD.  Adults with ADHD are diagnosed under the same criteria, including the stipulation that their symptoms must have been present prior to age seven.  Adults face some of the greatest challenges in the areas of self-control and self-motivation, as well as executive functioning, usually having more symptoms of inattention and fewer hyperactivity or impulsiveness symptoms than children do.

ADHD is a developmental disorder meaning that certain traits will be delayed in the ADHD individual.  These traints will develop but just at a much slower rate than the average person.  With ADHD it has been estimated that this lag could be as high as 30-40% in the development of impulse control.  Symptoms of ADHD are often seen by the time a child enters preschool.  Those with ADHD typically have a greater degree of parent-child conflict and emotional reactivity.  During the elementary years an ADHD student will have more difficulties with work completion, productivity, planning, remembering things needed for school, and meeting deadlines.  They will also have an increased chance of failing a school year.

The incidence of speech problems, central auditory processing difficulties, and coordination problems are higher than that of the general population.  A marked decrease in academic skills such as reading, spelling, or math is common with children who have ADHD.   Only 5% of those with ADHD will get a college degree, compared to 27% of the general population (US Census, 2003).  37% of those with ADHD do not get a high school diploma even though many of them will receive special education services.

The prevalence of ADHD among children and adults is estimated to be in the range of 4% to 8%.  Approximately 10% of males and 4% of females have been diagnosed.  This apparent gender difference may reflect either a difference in susceptibility or the possibility that females with ADHD are less likely to be diagnosed than males.

How PACE and BrainSkills can positively impact those with ADHD

Cognitive training, as provided in the PACE program or on-line with BrainSkills, targets the areas of learning that are deficient or delayed.  For those with  ADHD, an improvement is often seen in areas of concern because specific emphasis is placed on impulsivity, attention, divided attention (multi-tasking) and memory skills.  Combined, these factors work to:

• improve an individual's ability to work independently by addressing sequencing and planning skills
• decrease the need for specific instruction to complete a task by working on memory and reasoning skills
• build multi-tasking skills and decrease distractibility concerns
• enhance skills needed to maintain attention and to resist impulsive behavior
• target processing speed skills needed to complete tasks in a timely manner
• address and resolve auditory processing skills and word attack deficiencies that impact reading and spelling
• and improve many more areas.

PACE and BrainSkills work to improve:

Processing speed - to perform relatively easy mental tasks quickly

Working memory - to store, retain and retrieve information

Visual processing - to picture, manipulate, organize, comprehend, and think with visual information

Word attack - to know and apply the sound codes in order to pronounce unknown words

Auditory analysis - to blend, segment, discriminate, and analyze speech sound within a spoken pattern

Logic & reasoning - to reason and solve spatially defined problems which require high level conceptual abilities

For further information, please view the selections below.