Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, is a common mental disorder. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 3 percent to 7 percent of the school-aged children in the United States suffer from it and about half of the patients continue to suffer from ADHD as adults, states the Partners Resource Network. ADHD can be divided into three subgroups based on the symptoms. These include predominantly inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and a combination of these two. According to the Partners Resource Network, the symptoms of minor ADHD are the same as those of more severe case. In minor ADHD, the symptoms are only less severe and may occur less frequently.
Inattentiveness
A person with ADHD has a hard time listening to instructions. He is forgetful and does not start his project until in the last minutes. While a person with severe ADHD may not get his project done at all, a person with less severe ADHD gets his homework done, but it is full of errors and looks as it was put to together in a rush. An ADHD patient is inattentive at home, as well. He forgets his wife's birthdays and fails to remember that he is supposed to pick his daughter up after a ballet class. Not Drs. Richard H. Weisler and David W. Goodman state in an article published in the November 2008 issue of the "Primary Psychiatry" journal that ADHD patients are more likely to get divorced than people without this condition.
Hyperactivity
One of the hallmark symptoms of ADHD is hyperactivity. In more severe cases, this might be seen as an inability to sit still or concentrate on any task. In less severe ADHD, however, the patient may be able to concentrate but only for a short period of time. He may need frequent breaks from work, and is only able to focus on an environment that has no distractions such as TVs or radios. A person with less severe ADHD may try to do several tasks simultaneously without actually completing any of them. Such patients may benefit from breaking the tasks into more manageable parts. Thus, instead of trying to clean the kitchen, he may focus on doing the dishes, wiping the floor, or cleaning the oven.
Poor Impulse Control
ADHD patients also suffer from poor impulse control. This often results in walking out of a job or getting in car accidents, say Drs. Weisler and Goodman. Substance abuse is also common among ADHD patients. It has been estimated by Dr. Martin D. Ohlmeier and colleagues that 44 percent of adults with ADHD abuse alcohol while only approximately 24 percent of adults in the general population have this problem. The study was published in the March 2008 issue of "Alcohol and Alcoholism."
References
- "Partners Resource Network": Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- "Primary Psychiatry"; Assessment and Diagnosis of Adult ADHD; Richard H. Weisler, MD., David W. Goodman, MD; 2008
- "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention": ADHD
- "Continuing Education Courses": Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Nature, Course, Outcomes, and Comorbidity
- "Alcoh and Alcoh J"; Comorbidity of Alcohol and Substance Dep; Martin D. Ohlmeier; March 2008
