top of page
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD can look and feel different across individuals! Much of the time, individuals who exhibit more behavioral dysregulation symptoms as a child may be noticed, while quieter more inattentive folks may not receive attention until later in life. While the following experiences are common amongst individuals with ADHD, this does not describe everyone's experience, and is meant to serve as helpful information.
ADHD may present in children (younger than 12) with some of the following behaviors and experiences:
*Difficulty sitting still at one's desk in school, in restaurants, and/or at home
*Blurting out answers before getting called on, interrupting frequently
*Difficulty playing quietly with others or by self
*Excessive talking (more talking compared to other same-aged children)
*Losing things frequently (i.e. forgetting backpack, lunch box, homework, pencils, favorite toy, etc).
*Struggling to focus on a task for more than a couple minutes
*Child appears to be restless more times than not, excessive fidgeting
*Tendency to run and jump on things constantly, even after being re-directed
*Many of the above symptoms and difficulty in particular with reading or struggling to complete homework (taking much longer than same-aged peers to complete homework)
*Note: Learning disorders and learning difficulties are more common in children with ADHD- early intervention can make a huge difference for working on these skills deficits
*Often not listening when spoken to
*Child appears to be frequently day dreaming, perhaps asking you to repeat yourself often
If many of these symptoms are present, even during periods where your kiddo appears to not be stressed or agitated, an ADHD assessment may provide important information
ADHD in adolescents (13-17)
In middle and high school, teens may start to find that the difficulties they experienced in childhood have become more noteable
*Difficulty with grades may become more apparent; however, not all students with ADHD receive failing grades. Many high achieving students are able to receive A's. It is important to know that a high GPA does not rule out ADHD
*Teenagers with ADHD may start to notice more emotion dsyregulation difficulties (irritability, sadness, anxiety, depression)
*Teenagers may also struggle with reading directions, focusing at work, making careless mistakes in their work, not listening when spoken to, and start to dread completing longer/repetitive/boring assignments.
*Procrastination is common in individuals with ADHD; many report report that having an imminent deadline gives them the final push to initiate work
*A messy room or tendency to leave items all over the house is not uncommon
*Forgetfulness in daily activities, difficulty remembering appointments, and forgetting to respond to texts, are also common
*Fear around being socially rejected, especially if the teenager experienced any bullying related to younger childhood ADHD symptoms
ADHD in Adults
Many individuals reach adulthood and later wonder if their life experience has been impacted by undiagnosed ADHD. Many adults- particularly hard-working/motivated individuals, are able to compensate with the symptoms of ADHD for many years before realizing that things feel "harder than they need to be."
Common experiences may include:
*Feeling like tasks are much harder/take much longer than others around you
*Feeling that you have to blurt out what you are thinking or you may forget it; or a tendency to be quite impatient
*Tendency to lose even valuable items, such as keys, wallet, purse, phone, etc.
*A history of car accidents or speeding tickets that are related to not paying attention
*Difficulty getting even basic house-hold tasks done
*Starting a task and getting immediately side tracked by something else on your to-do list
*Tendency to begin new and exciting things and later not complete them (either due to getting bored, forgetting about it, or finding a new exciting hobby/task)
*Difficulty managing your money due to impulsive spending or lack of organization
Articles About ADHD
bottom of page