From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (also referred to as Adult ADHD, Adult ADD) is the common term used to describe the neuropsychiatric condition attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when it is present in adults. Up to 60% of children diagnosed with ADHD in early childhood continue to demonstrate notable ADHD symptoms as adults.
Inattentive-type (ADHD-PI) | Hyperactive/Impulsive-type (ADHD-PH)
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In children:
- Forgetful during daily activities
- Easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
- Losing important items (e.g. pencils, homework, toys, etc.)
- Always asking for attention, but
- Not listening and not responding to name being called out
- Unable to focus on tasks at hand, cannot sustain attention in activities
- Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort
- Makes careless mistakes by failing to pay attention to details
- Difficulty organizing tasks and activities
- Fails to follow-through on complex instructions and tasks (e.g. homework, chores, etc.)
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In children:
- Squirms and fidgets (with hands and/or feet)
- Cannot sit still
- Cannot play quietly or engage in leisurely activities
- Talks excessively
- Runs and climbs excessively
- Always on the go, as if "driven by a motor"
- Cannot wait for their turn
- Blurts out answers
- Intrudes on others and interrupts conversations
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In adults, these evolve into:
- Avoiding tasks or jobs that require concentration
- Procrastination
- Difficulty initiating tasks
- Difficulty organizing details required for a task
- Difficulty recalling details required for a task
- Difficulty multitasking
- Poor time management, losing track of time
- Indecision and doubt
- Hesitation of execution
- Difficulty persevering or completing and following through on tasks
- Delayed stop and transition of concentration from one task to another
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In adults:
- Chooses highly active, stimulating jobs
- Avoids situations with low physical activity or sedentary work
- May choose to work long hours or two jobs
- Seeks constant activity
- Easily bored
- Impatient
- Intolerant and frustrated, easily irritated
- Impulsive, snap decisions and irresponsible behaviors
- Loses temper easily, angers quickly
- The tendency to hyperfocus on particularly stimulating or emotionally engaging tasks.
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