by: Dr. Craig A. Maxwell
If you suspect your child has ADHD, you’re not alone. Millions of parents just like you are looking for information on ADD so they can better understand how to cope with their child’s troubling behavior. If you suspect you have attention deficit disorder yourself, there are natural steps you can take to reclaim your focus and live a healthier, more productive life.
What is ADHD?
ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a common behavioral disorder that affects 8-10% of school-aged children. Children with ADHD may understand what their parents, caregivers, and teachers expect of them but have difficulty completing tasks due to the inability to pay attention. Children with attention deficit disorder may look badly-parented on the surface but they are virtually unable to control their impulses. They are no more able to hold their attention to a task anymore than a blind child is able to see.
The Three Types of ADHD
- The Inattentive Type
The inattentive type of ADD is sometimes harder to diagnose because it doesn’t present with the expected hyperactivity.
Children with this type of ADHD are:
- Easily distracted
- Slow to comprehend information
- Prone to daydream
- Unable to follow instructions
- Very forgetful
- Noted to make careless mistakes on homework or tests
- Don’t listen when spoken to
- Are easily bored
- Miss details
- Prone to have trouble with organization
- Hyperactive-Impulsive Type
Symptoms of hyperactive-impulsive attention deficit disorder include:
- Inability to play quietly
- Non-stop talking
- Interrupting
- Intruding on the personal space of others
- Difficulty listening
- Blurting out answers
- Excessive running, jumping, and climbing
- Difficulty remaining seated
- Fidgeting when seated
- Combined Type
ADHD combined type is a combination of both the hyperactive and impulsive types of attention deficit disorder. Your child may have difficulty focusing on tasks and also have trouble with impulse control. He may be the child who gapes open-mouthed out the window one minute only to jump up and run amok the next. ADHD combined type affects about one third of children with attention deficit disorder.