It is estimated that 5-20% of the U. S. population experiences ADHD affecting their ability to focus and learn. ADHD is considered to be the number one childhood psychiatric disorder today, affecting more than two million children in the U.S.
ADHD is the result of biological differences in the parts of the brain associated with paying attention, impulse control, and activity level.
While ADHD is biologically-based, and usually present from birth, symptoms may not become problematic until the individual begins to struggle trying to meet life’s expectations. As a result, ADHD can emerge clinically anywhere along the life span, and in any life domain.
They may be very intelligent people, but because of their concentration and memory problems, they perform poorly at school or college, and seldom reach their full potential.
GENERAL SYMPTOMS:
They often feel listless, and can lack motivation and energy, because of their constant struggle to concentrate and focus on their work.
Sometimes they can even develop depression, because of their inability to achieve and negative feedback from those around them.
Often have associated behavioral problems in class, at home and in the workplace, due to their impulsive behavior and hyperactivity, they are restless.
Symptoms:
Often fidgets with hands or feet, or squirms while seated.
Has difficulty remaining seated.
Easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.
Has difficulty awaiting turn in games or group activities.
Often blurts out answers before questions are completed.
Has difficulty playing quietly.
Often talking excessively.
Often interrupting, or intruding on others.
Often engages in physically dangerous activities, without considering
possible consequences.
Often shifts from one uncompleted task, to another.
Has difficulty following instructions.
Has difficulty sustaining attention, in tasks or play activities.
Lack of attention to details; makes careless mistakes.
Doesn’t listen when directly spoken to.
Does not finish tasks or follow directions.
Difficulty in organizing tasks.
Avoid tasks which required sustained effort.
Feels the need to be malicious, and hurt someone; but are the sweetest kids around.
Exhibit the constant need to kiss and touch everyone around.
Are possessive.
Difficulty in following instructions and completing tasks, despite the desire to do so.
Has a short attention span.
Difficulty concentrating, and maintaining focus, on the task at hand.
Can’t pay attention, seem to forget the moment after you teach them something. Very quickly forgets what has been studied.
Often seems not to be listening.
Easily distracted by sounds and other things happening in the environment.
Tendency to daydream.
Are constantly misplacing and losing things.
Often forgets things necessary for tasks or activities.
Forgets daily routines.
Often forgets and neglects chores and tasks.
Often loses possessions,
Often loses track of time, forgets appointments.
Hyperactivity Symptoms
Fidgeting; inability to sit still.
Leaving seat in classroom when required to sit.
Inappropriate playing, running, climbing, etc.
Inability to play quietly.
Needing to be constantly alone, or with someone.
Doesn't fatigue easily; constantly driven.
Talks excessively.
Blurts out answers before questions are complete.
Having six or more items that significantly impair, from each of these lists, constitutes a diagnosis of ADHD.
One 10-year-old with ADHD summed up the symptoms this way:
"You wouldn't want to be inside my head, you'd be trampled to death."
Some classify ADD/ADHD children into four major groups. Each of these groups has different symptoms and behavioral expressions, which reflects the many different kinds of ADD/ADHD children:
1. Support-Needy.
2. Stimulation/Excitement Seekers.
3. Destructive.
4. Changeable/Restless.
1. Support-Needy
• Hypersensitive to environmental factors.
• Moody (anger and tears), and impressionable.
• Lazy, and apathetic day dreamers.
• Inconsistent thoughts,
Cannot materialize what he thinks (theorizing).
Thoughts come too fast, and cannot stay put in one channel.
• Has fictitious thoughts, and builds castles in the air.
• Inability to concentrate,
Weakness of memory.
• Slow learners, need to “mull” things over; which leads to being perceived as “dumb”, even by the child himself.
• Passionate indulgence to acquire unnecessary objects,
Mental restlessness.
• Easily fatigued, mentally and physically, with a desire to lie down.
• Complain they want to do something, but they don’t know what.
• Anxieties and phobias in children: fear of darkness, being alone, of animals. Of going to school, fear of failure in school, fear of being laughed at.
• Aversion to the company of strangers and crowds;
Likes to be one-on-one, being with his one “best” friend; or would rather play by himself.
• Chronic worriers: about leaving home, coming too late at school, not performing well at school, about the welfare of their parents.
Sensitive about horrible things they see on TV, and in the street; and are greatly disturbed by them.
• Lack of discipline.
Have untidy appearance.
• Very attached at the home, does not want to leave family to go to summer camp.
Cries when having to go to school; hangs on to their mother, and looks for constant reassurance.
Invites friends to come play at his home; but does not want to play at friend’s home, unless it is in the immediate neighborhood.
• When family splits (divorce), this child can feel lost; and will join a gang, “just to belong”;
Or he suddenly changes his behavior from easy going, to very volatile, even aggressive behavior, (cursing, inappropriate sexual behavior, kicking, punching holes in the wall, etc.).
• When sick, is very clingy, wants constant reassurance; wants to be held or have mother at home.
• Loves playing in nature, in the woods, camping on an island.
Loves all kinds of animals; dogs are often their only friend.
• Cannot tolerate noise, and crowded places.
• Has a great imagination.
• Standing in one place tortures him most.
Dislikes exercise, except being in the water, (pool, ocean).
• Very stubborn: can brood for hours.
Can throw temper tantrums when refused something.
• Likes to collect things: cards, memorabilia, “antiques”, toys;
And dislikes to share them, except with his best friend.
• Loves food in general; eats or snacks all the time.
Favorites are rich, creamy foods, ice cream, milk;
Likes meat, although it often disagrees with them.
Chews on his pencil; or as a baby will eat sand at the beach.
• Timidity: in conversations, at parties, at school: they don’t like the attention drawn to themselves, they don’t like to be looked at.
They avoid taking the initiative; are always followers, never a leader; even to the point of cowardice
2. Over stimulation, looking for Excitement.
• Are Suspicious and jealous.
Quarrelsome, with tendency to harm others, and cruelty to animals.
Sometimes they have an exaggerated, pathological love for animals; (it is the only being that they bestow their attention on).
• Lack of affection.
Anger over trifles.
• Can’t sit still while doing his homework,
Restless legs while sitting; tap’s his pencil while sitting.
Sitting still in a classroom, is like a bird being in a cage: they need to interrupt the teacher, and call out answers when not asked.
• Rudeness and mischievousness,
• Absent minded: loses thread of conversation, loss of short-term memory, inattention, easily distracted by slightest diversion, is in a constant brain fog.
• Best time to do their mental work is the evening, (8 p.m. till 3 a.m.), unfortunately that’s when they come “alive” for other things too:
They love the night life, and go to the extreme of switching the day life, to the night life; of course then they are exhausted the next day in school.
• Tendency to conceal things.
Lies easily.
Boasts all the time.
Conceals “parts” of the real him: his performances at school, athletic performances, successes with the opposite sex, etc. Also, he exaggerates the extent of them.
• Loves and needs company: the more people, the better.
Has no problems to get acquainted with strangers. People are very charmed by
the psychotic child, who is full of tricks and inventiveness.
• Loves to hang out with a bunch of his friends, looking for mischievous things to do, looking for the next short-living thrill.
They are dare-devils. They take risks, just to look good with their friends;
They incite others to do the same daring deeds.
They love films with high speed, stunts, guns.
They rather live a short life, full of excitement, than a long “boring” life.
• Can be very jealous of: friends, younger siblings;
and the success other children have at school, and towards the “jocks” at school.
• Children that have colic’s, from birth on.
• Impatient, wants things now,
Can’t take no for an answer.
• Will do anything to get the attention of others: bright clothes, orange hair, tattoos, rings through the nose, flaunting their bodies with tight jeans, miniskirts, bare midriffs; they love to “shock” people and their parents.
• Mind on sexual organs, preoccupied with sexuality
• Great physical stamina when excited by things he is doing: sports, dancing, playing music;
Otherwise complains about feeling too fatigued to do his homework when returns from school; but feels great again in the evening.
• Mental and physical restless sleep.
• Suspicious, mean, selfish.
• Suicidal tendency in the heat of passion. (“No one understands me;” two friends committing suicide together).
3. Destructive
• The child can’t explain, and does not realize, his symptoms.
• Mentally dull, ignorant, stupid.
Sulky, sullen, morose.
• He can read, but can’t retain, must reread to comprehend.
Slowness in comprehension, they forget what they were about to say.
• Urge for destruction is very characteristic: breaks things, with a malicious intent;
loves to destroy toys, books, your furniture;
Cruelty, with absence of remorse.
• At slightest provocation, and even without, resorts to fighting, cursing, nasty behavior;
Everybody is out there to hurt him.
He hates everything: his life, school, work, parents, the government.
• Lack of sense of duty and responsibility.
Cold blooded
Perverted.
• Aversion to company, introvert;
Locks himself up in his room, and plays on the computer;
Asocial, misanthropic.
• Depression, despair, sulking with suicidal tendencies:” giving up on life.”
A lack of passion.
• Laughs inappropriately; exp. in school, at a funeral, etc.
• They like to hurt people, (emotionally too), and animals:
Will kick their dog for no reason;
They like to hurt their younger siblings, out of the satisfaction it gives them.
• Disrespectful to any authority, (teachers, parents, physicians, police, etc.).
They dress to shock people, but not for the thrill, rather to hurt people, out of meanness, as a show of disrespect for the rest of the world.
• They are fascinated with cemeteries, satanic cults, Dracula,
And have a morbid interest in skeletons, or medical books, looking up pictures of deformed people.
• Unsuccessful in arithmetical calculations.
• Great restlessness, driving him out of bed.
• No mercy, sympathy or affection, despotic, domineering.
• Hereditary tendency to alcoholism.
Consumes alcohol, not in order to belong, or for the excitement, but rather to numb their isolated, sad feelings.
Tendency to take street and medical drugs.
Addictive personality.
• Fascination especially with knives, and guns.
• Tendency to depression; wants to be left alone.
Indifferent to pleasurable things.
Avoids people in general, (not because he is timid, but because he does not like people in general)
• Complete aversion to meat,
• Behavior worse from sunset to sunrise.
• Tendency to: Depression, suicide, mental disease; and a family history of alcoholism.
4. Dissatisfied and Changeable
• Good memory, but easily fatigued by mental work; becoming confused and averse to mental work.
• Impatient if their wishes are not met fast enough;
or give up easily, when the desired result takes too long.
• Easily impressionable,
Easily enthusiastic, but tiring quickly in their interest; they change the object/subject of their interest very quickly.
• Temper tantrums. They will break and throw things when their little whims are not satisfied quickly enough.
• They constantly crave excitement, and new things.
They hardly take the time to explore the new things, settings, places, etc.
• Loquacious (speaks a lot) in class.
Gets frustrated with rigid teachers; and easily argues with excitable ones.
• Loves to run around while listening to music.
• Tend to be allergic to fury animals, (dogs, cats).
• Have an argumentative, and contrary, behavior.
• Biting.
Destroying toys, books.
• Refuses to come into consulting room, shrieks, yells and kicks.
Unreasonable terror in a medical examination, or with strangers.
• Loves: bacon, smoked foods, milk, salt, chocolate.
• Fear of thunder, being alone, being in the dark.
The following learning disabilities stem from the same cause as dyslexia, so they too can be corrected.
Handwriting difficulties (dysgraphia)
Math difficulties (dyscalcula)
ADD (attention deficit disorder)
Auditory perception disorder
Motor coordination difficulties
Problems with time and order
