Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD, is one of the most common mental conditions. The prevalence of ADHD currently among adults is 4.4%. Still, there is a lot of misinformation around the world regarding the condition. To ensure an inclusive future, we must do everything to learn more about mental disabilities like ADHD. So in this article, we will discuss ADHD and its types.
It’s important to know how you can diagnose it in children. It is important for them to get it diagnosed early. In order to make sure that they are getting the right treatment, we must ensure that we check children for symptoms. To know if a child has ADHD, we must have some information about it. Let’s get to discussing the condition, its symptoms, and how many types it has.
What is ADHD?
ADHD or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that primarily affects the behaviour of people and how they act. The major symptoms are that people often seem restless to others, have difficulty concentrating, and are also more prone to acting on impulse. Because of these clear signs and symptoms, doctors can diagnose ADHD during childhood.
Mostly, the symptoms of ADHD start showing when a child is at an early age and may progress with the change in circumstances of the child. For example, the symptoms may worsen as the child starts school. In most cases, experts can make the diagnosis from the age of three to seven. Sometimes it’s diagnosed even later, and in a few cases, it might not be diagnosed until adulthood.
The symptoms get less intense as the child ages, but the adult still experiences some problems during their adulthood. People can also be more prone to additional issues such as anxiety and sleep disorders.
What Are The Causes of ADHD?
A number of factors can cause ADHD. Although the exact cause is unknown, it is widely known to be present in families and can be passed down through the generations. However, some factors that may cause ADHD are being born prematurely. ADHD is more prevalent in those born before the 37th week of pregnancy), those having a low birth weight, drug abuse, and drinking or smoking throughout pregnancy.
The condition is seen in people of all intellectual capabilities but is more common in those with any kind of learning capabilities. Usually, during childhood, it is treated with appropriate educational support alongside medication if it is needed. For adults, it is more often than not treated with medicines in addition to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
How Many Types of ADHD are There?
Usually, we can divide it into three types: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. Let’s get to learn about them in detail.
Inattentive Type:
In inattentive type ADHD, the person has more inattention symptoms than hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Although it is not to say that people having inattentive type will not have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness, they may get these at some point, but they aren’t the most prominent. The main symptoms of inattentive type can all be related to inattention.
People may miss details and might find it difficult to pay attention at most times. They can get distracted easily and can get bored in no time. If you have the inattentive type, you may have trouble focusing on the task at hand. Moreover, you may struggle with organizing thoughts and retaining new information.
Hyperactive-Impulsive Type:
In hyperactive-Impulsive type ADHD, a person usually has very few symptoms related to the inattentive type ADHD. Some common symptoms that people with hyperactive-impulsive type show are fidgeting, squirming, talking too much, talking out of control, blurting out sentences that don’t make sense to others, and running or climbing up at inappropriate times. Hyperactive-Impulsive people are more likely to have issues with being quiet at most times.
Children who are overly active can also have the hyperactive-impulsive type. They usually have difficulties playing quietly with other kids and may start running and jumping around during inappropriate times. Even in children, one of the major signs of hyperactive-impulsive is that they talk excessively. Moreover, they usually have less patience in most situations.
Combined Type:
When anyone shows at least six symptoms of inattentive ADHD and at least six symptoms of hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD, they are most likely to have combined type ADHD. Combined Type ADHD is present in inherited genes. You are also likely to get combined type ADHD because of environmental factors during pregnancy or infancy. Tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy can also cause the child to have a combined type of ADHD.
As mentioned above, it is not uncommon. What we need to do is treat people with ADHD in a normal way, just like you would treat anyone else. This cannot be done unless we have information, which these days is not difficult to get on the internet. We hope that with the help of this article, you are now aware of ADHD and its types.
