Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioural disorder that affects roughly 11% of school-age children. Boys are about three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with it, although it’s not yet understood why.

The condition used to be known as attention deficit disorder or ADD, but in 1994 it was renamed ADHD.

Raising a child with ADHD can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that the child is not being difficult on purpose; the child has real difficulty controlling his or her behaviour without medication or behavioural therapy.

Symptoms

ADHD has been broken down into three subtypes, each with its own pattern of behaviours:

  • An inattentive type
  • A hyperactive-impulsive type
  • A combined type, which involves a combination of the other two types, and is the most common.

Warning signs include:

  • Failure to listen to or follow instructions
  • Inability to organise oneself and school work
  • Fidgeting with hands and feet, i.e. having trouble sitting still
  • Talking too much
  • Leaving projects, chores and homework unfinished
  • Having trouble paying attention to and responding to details
  • Acting without thinking
  • Problems with interrupting or intruding
  • Avoidance or dislike of tasks that require mental effort
  • Tendency to lose things such as toys, notebooks, or homework
  • Forgetfulness in daily activities

Symptoms usually become evident either in preschool or in primary school and can continue into adolescence and adulthood.

Evaluation and treatment

To have ADHD, a child must:

    • Display behaviours from one of the three subtypes before the age of seven
    • The behaviours must be more severe than in other children of the same age
    • The behaviours must last for at least six months
    • The behaviours must occur in and negatively affect at least two areas of a child’s life such as school, home, day-care settings, or friendships.

If left untreated, ADHD can have long-term effects on a child’s ability to make friends or do well at school or work and, over time, he or she may develop depression, poor self-esteem, and other emotional problems.

 

Prognosis

While there is no cure for ADHD, the good news is that with proper treatment, children with ADHD can learn to successfully live with and manage their symptoms as they mature.

 

Sources

About ADHD. Retrieved from http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/About-ADHD.aspx
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml

 

(Revised by M van Deventer)