ADHD: A Quick Overview

ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is a condition that generally affects children in their preschool or early school years. More than 2 million children in America are affected by this behavioral disorder. Children showing symptoms of ADHD exhibit impulsiveness, inattention and hyperactivity. Thus these children find it difficult to control their behavior or actions.

Let’s have a quick overview on ADHD.

There are three subcategories or types of this disorder:

1. Predominately Hyperactive Type

2. Predominately Inattentive Type

3. Combined Type

Each type has its own characteristics and peculiar symptoms.

The Predominately Hyperactive Type: Impulsive behaviors and hyperactivity are the predominant characteristics of this type of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The child is unable to sit still. It wriggles the hands or feet to reflect unwillingness. The child may just get up and run. Sort of impatience is evident amongst such children. Such behavior may disrupt the proceedings and teaching in the class. The child is unable to sit comfortably and peacefully. It is unable to grasp properly the home work assigned.

The Predominately Inattentive Type: This type of child has no proper control over itself. It pays lots of attention to insignificant things. It has no control over the disciplined and obligatory activities such as, homework assigned. The child continues to lose and forget things that are essential for school activities. Its power of reception stands hampered, it is unable to grasp the import of the instructions issued to it by teachers and parents. Otherwise the child is very intelligent but that is for its own cause. You can not channelize that intelligence as per your directions to the child.

The Combined Type, as the name indicates is the combination of both. This is the most common type of ADHD in children.

Due to the peculiar nature of the ADHD, the diagnosis is not very easy. Stress in the children may cause similar types of symptoms, but actually it is not ADHD. Unsteady behavior of the child is again not ADHD. When you take your child to the doctor, naturally the doctor will ask you questions to make a correct diagnosis. Therefore, it is preferable for you to keep the recordings of the unusual pattern of the child's disposition to things. Many of the serious problems that affect the parents indirectly affect the children also.

So, ADHD is not an ordinary type of stress. You can not fix a definite time frame for the stress to subside. As, it is the type of stress, related to deformity in the child, lots of patience is required with those assigned with the task of teaching or general looking after the child. The child may not feel that it has stress. At that level, it is normal behavior from its point of view. The real stress is in looking after it to achieve some sort of semblance of a normal child.