What is ADHD? ADHD Symptoms

February 23rd, 2015

A Parent’s Question… How do you know if your child has ADHD, or if they’re struggling due to an environmental situation, or when they’ll need professional help? If you have ADHD, you have it in all places – not just in one or two situations. If the ADHD type behaviors are occurring only in certain situations, there is a problem with that particular setting, but it is NOT ADHD. If your child has the behaviors all of the time, you may want to find out more about ADHD. There are a lot of free checklists online that you can tap into. If the checklists confirm, then you will want to seek a diagnosis by a professional. And, know that there are a lot of alternatives to dealing with ADHD with medication.

What Is ADHD or ADD?

ADHD stands for attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (whether the hyperactive component is evident or not.) The ADD designation of attention deficit disorder is now wrapped into ADHD, even though you may not have the hyperactive component.

These are the five trademark ADHD symptoms:

Short attention span
Distractibility
Disorganization
Procrastination
Poor internal supervision

That being said, there are three recognized subtypes of ADHD. Each of the three subtypes does exhibit the five trademark symptoms. ADHD is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. Usually, in order to be diagnosed with ADHD by a professional, or if you feel your child might have ADHD, the symptoms must have persisted for at least six months and have been present before the age of 7 years. The symptoms must also be severe enough to disrupt school, as well as home life.

The Three ADHD Subtypes

The first subtype of ADHD is where one is predominately inattentive. This is the child who is often labeled the daydreamer. The second subtype of ADHD is where one is primarily hyperactive and impulsive. This is typically the non-stop motion child who is also impulsive and can ‘drive everyone crazy’. This is the student that gets noticed at school and gets in trouble for impulsivity and hyperactivity. The third subtype of ADHD is the combined type, which encompasses inattention, as well as hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Co-morbid Conditions to ADHD

There are also co-morbid conditions — when one has ADHD, they may also have learning problems such as dyslexia, learning disabilities, dyscalculia, Asperger’s, or depression, OCD, ASD, or be bipolar.

ADHD Solutions

To learn more about ADHD I have created the ADHD Classroom and Teaching Strategies course with Digital Learning Tree. (I am a member of their professional development course team.) This course is designed for parents, special educators, and general educators. Gain a better understanding of ADHD and inclusion. Inclusion is one of the current educational movements that advocates educating students with disabilities including ADHD in general education classrooms. This course will help the learner achieve a better understanding of ADHD and intervention strategies that facilitate positive student learning in the inclusive classroom.

The ADHD course covers:

An overview of what is ADHD.
The role executive function and self-regulation play in ADHD and the classroom.
The inclusion model.
Strategies for successful learning in the inclusive classroom.
Differentiated instruction.
Diet and ADHD.
Medications and ADHD.
4 Alternative management techniques for ADHD.
504 Plans for ADHD.
Classroom and home management for ADHD.
ADHD and autism.
Apps for ADHD.
Reference materials include a list of resources for both teachers and parents who would like more help or information on ADHD or the inclusion model.
A wealth of experience, research and knowledge has gone into developing the ADHD and Inclusion course, designed to provide you with skills, training and strategies that can be used in the classroom, field, and at home.