Introduction
Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common disorders emerging at early stages of the child’s development.
ADHD might have both short-term negative effects on the child’s development and long-term implications for functioning in adolescence and adulthood.
The symptoms of the disorder might develop already in early childhood and persist throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood; the impact of these symptoms might impair the person’s abilities in social, educational and vocational domains (Redmond 133).
Overview of the disorder
Differences between ADD and ADHD
There are many misconceptions about symptoms and categorization of ADHD with many people being confused by the ‘hyperactivity’ aspect and leaving their symptoms untreated.
ADD is an abbreviation for attention deficit disorder which was used previously to define the disorder; the present term covering symptomatology of this disorder is ADHD, attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.
Symptoms, causes and tendencies
The body of research shows that that the disorder can be caused by genetic factors; children of parents with attention deficit are more likely to develop the disorder.
Premature birth and low birth weight might be the causes of the disorder as well (Reading 300).
Heritability rate for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder might be as high as 76% (Konopka 174).
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is commonly divided into three types: inattentive, hyperactive and combined.
Inattentive ADHD (ADHD-I)
Inattentive ADHD is characterized by difficulties in focusing and maintaining attention, learning and processing new information, following instructions; children are easily distracted but not hyperactive (American Psychological Association).
ADD is a term that is generally used to define the inattentive type of ADHD.
Children with inattentive ADHD are likely to have impaired sleep: “14% of children with ADHD-I do not get adequate sleep, 31% have a delayed sleep onset, and 41% need to catch up on sleep on weekends” (Becker et al. 157).
Hyperactive ADHD (ADHD-H)
Hyperactive ADHD is characterized by fidgeting, nonstop talking, impatience, tendency to interrupt, difficulties in focusing on quiet tasks, waiting and sitting still (American Psychological Association).
Combined ADHD (ADHD-C)
ADHD’s combined type is marked by a combination of the latter two types and their symptoms.
Lifespan development of ADHD
Children
Symptoms of ADHD typically develop in early childhood, particularly at the age prior to six years.
As Schubert states, “ADHD affects approximately 3-5% of school age children” (Schubert 1).
“Children with ADHD exhibit a number of problems in a range of environmental contexts, but most notably in the home and the classroom where their behaviour can be disruptive, and interfere with the wellbeing of other family and class members” (Dryer et al. 79).
Researchers found that “children with ADHD-I tend to have later age of onset [] and are less assertive and knowledgeable about appropriate social skills than children with ADHD-C” (Orinstein & Stevens 121).
Developmental implications for children with ADHD include speech and language development delays (El Sady et al) and poor academic achievements and learning abilities (Pungello et al.).
Adolescents
Adolescents are typically affected by persisting ADHD symptoms, though their persistence varies depending on the type of ADHD.
ADHD-I symptoms, e.g., inattentiveness, are more likely to persist throughout adolescence and into adulthood than the symptoms of hyperactive ADHD, which are likely to decrease over time (Holbrook et al. 11).
Adults
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is prevalent among 2 to 5 percent of adults (Kooij et al. 67).
Like in children, ADHD in adults is associated with cognitive and psychiatric impairment (Biederman et al. 692).
ADHD symptoms related to hyperactivity tend to evolve into inner restlessness in adulthood (Kooij et al. 67).
Some symptoms of the disorder change towards adulthood as noted in DSM-V: these may include addictive behaviors, difficulties in relaxing, sensation-seeking, excessive talking in social environments and impulsivity.
Gender differences in symptoms, impacts and long-term implications
The disorder is generally more prevalent among boys (Konopka 174), though ADHD profiles have no significant sex differences.
If girls are diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the most prevalent type is inattentive ADHD (Rucklidge 357).
Adolescent girls are more vulnerable to the following symptoms: “lower self-efficacy and poorer coping strategies” and slightly higher rates of anxiety and depression (Rucklidge 357).
Males have more difficulties in controlling physical aggression and some other externalizing behavior patterns.
Conclusion
Although attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is not very common, its symptomatology and effects are rather disruptive both for the affected individual and for surrounding people.
ADD and ADHD are currently handled as interchangeable terms, while ADD might be also identified with inattentive ADHD.
The disorder commonly develops in childhood and progresses into adolescence and adulthood affecting wellbeing and functioning of the individual.
Given the disruptive nature of ADHD, timely diagnostics and treatment are highly desirable in order to prevent negative repercussions.
Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013.
Becker, Stephen P., et al. "Sleep Habits in Children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder Predominantly Inattentive Type and Associations with Comorbid Psychopathology Symptoms." Sleep Medicine, vol. 21 (2016), pp. 151-159.
Biederman, Joseph, et al. "Gender Effects on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults, Revisited." Biological Psychiatry, vol. 55, no. 7 (2004), pp. 692-700.
Dryer, Rachel, Michael Kiernan, and Graham Tyson. "Implicit Theories of the Characteristics and Causes of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Held By Parents And Professionals In The Psychological, Educational, Medical And Allied Health Fields." Australian Journal of Psychology 58.2 (2006), pp. 79-92.
El Sady, Safaa Refaat et al. “Language impairment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in preschool children.” The Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics, 14.4 (2013), pp. 383-389.
Holbrook Joseph R., et al. “Persistence of Parent-Reported ADHD Symptoms from Childhood through Adolescence in a Community Sample.” Journal of Attention Disorders, vol. 20, no. 1 (2016), pp. 11-20.
Konopka, Lukasz M. "Understanding Attention Deficit Disorder: A Neuroscience Prospective." Croatian Medical Journal 55.2 (2014), pp. 174-176.
Kooij, Sandra J., et al. “European consensus statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD: The European Network Adult ADHD.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 10 (2010), p. 67.
Orinstein, Alyssa J., and Michael C. Stevens. "Brain Activity in Predominantly-Inattentive Subtype Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder during an Auditory Oddball Attention Task." Psychiatry research, vol. 223, no. 2 (2014), pp. 121-128.
Pungello, Elizabeth P., et al. “The effects of socioeconomic status, race, and parenting on language development in early childhood.” Developmental Psychology, 45.2 (2009), pp. 544-557.
Reading, Richard. "What Causes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?." Child: Care, Health & Development 38.2 (2012), p. 300.
Redmond, Sean M. “Language impairment in the attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder context.” Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research (Online), 59.1 (2016), pp. 133-142.
Rucklidge, Julia J. "Gender Differences in Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder." The Psychiatric clinics of North America, vol. 33, no. 2 (2010), p. 357.
Schubert Romaine. “Attention Deficit Disorder and Epilepsy.” Pediatric Neurology, vol. 32 (2005) pp. 1-10.
