What is ADHD?

Today, undergraduate intern Michaela Higgins is publishing her first post on behalf of Upward!

What is ADHD?

Oftentimes, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is seen as a mental disorder that just causes a person to become hyperactive and unable to focus. While those characteristics may be true of many cases, they are not the only factors of ADHD. Most commonly, it is used to describe children who are energetic and “need to be given a label” to explain this energy. But ADHD is much more complicated than that. For starters, ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders. While this disorder is often diagnosed in childhood, that does not mean that:

· It is something that people grow out of, or

· Adults cannot also be diagnosed with ADHD.

Though ADHD might seem to be a modern issue, the symptoms have been being discussed since the eighteenth century. Doctors have been noticing the inability to focus and other symptoms similar to ADHD for a long time, but the American Psychiatric Association did not recognize ADHD as a disorder until 1968, and it was not even given its name until 1987. Thankfully, we have grown tremendously in our knowledge of the disorder since then. Even though we have grown in our knowledge about ADHD, one thing has remained the same throughout a lot of the research: the symptoms are typically noticed in childhood.

ADHD in Children

Being diagnosed with ADHD at a young age looks slightly different from being diagnosed in adulthood. During childhood, the symptoms for ADHD typically manifest with three main problems: focus and attention, impulse control and hyperactivity, and trouble with emotional regulation. These characteristics may not be new information to you. They might even sound like normal child behavior. But the complexity of them might be unfamiliar. For example, let’s say that a child has been struggling with attention in and outside of the classroom for the school year. This child may speak out of turn, be easily distracted, excessively fidget, and have trouble keeping their cool when someone upsets them. While this may seem to be just “bad behavior” to people around them, these actions may actually point towards the child having ADHD. Though the child may want to be attentive to the lesson, if something does not keep their interest long enough, they might lose focus on the task and have a hard time refocusing when told to. They are not trying to be “disrespectful” or “funny,” they simply cannot keep their focus on something that they do not have a lot of interest in. This mindset of remembering that the child cannot control their inattentiveness or hyperactivity can be applied to all of the symptoms of ADHD. It does not matter that another child you may know also has ADHD and is able to control their symptoms; the expression of ADHD can vary from person to person.

ADHD in Adults

Even though many people view ADHD as a mental disorder that is “only for children,” that does not mean that adults do not struggle with the disorder as well. In fact, there are many adults who have ADHD. Yet, because ADHD symptoms are often seen as “typical child behavior,” they are not diagnosed until their adult years. By then, the adult may think that they are able to control their symptoms well, but this can cause more harm than they realize. While the hyperactivity issue of ADHD may go down during adulthood (typically replaced with restlessness and fidgeting), that does not mean that all symptoms decrease. The struggles with attention, impulsiveness, and emotional regulation continue to persist during the adult years. Some common adult ADHD symptoms include disorganization, poor time management, restlessness, frequent mood swings, and trouble coping with stress.

Diagnosing ADHD

One major obstacle to care for people who suspect they may have ADHD is being able to get an appointment for an evaluation. All across Alabama, there are long wait times to see providers who are able to evaluate children and adults for ADHD. Alabama residents in smaller towns often have to travel to larger cities such as Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, or Mobile in order to see a provider who can perform such an evaluation. Wait times for an evaluation appointment in Alabama often range from 6-12 months. At Upward, we are able to offer shorter wait times—at least for now! Dr. Ramsey offers pediatric evaluations for ADHD for children ages 6-17, and Dr. Rathmell offers adult evaluations for ages 22 and up. Click here to learn more about the evaluations we offer at Upward.

Risks of Untreated ADHD

While many times, adults have “control” over their symptoms by adulthood, that does not mean that they are free from the risks that come with them. Adults who go without treatment for their ADHD could risk difficulty in relationships, job instability, higher risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, and many other issues. One major issue that adults with untreated ADHD face is the risk of accidents. Though that may sound super vague, and you might think “accidents can happen to anyone,” that is not what I mean. Adults with ADHD have a much higher risk of getting into accidents because of their ADHD, especially because of the impulsivity symptom. Because ADHD causes a person to act without thinking, people with ADHD are much more likely to get themselves into dangerous situations than someone who does not have ADHD. One statistic even reported that there was a 74 percent increased risk of vehicular crashes in adults with ADHD. Let’s imagine that an adult with ADHD went out with friends one night. They might have driven themselves there, but then they had a few too many drinks, so they should not drive back home. While someone without ADHD is able to see that they should not drive under the influence of alcohol, a person with ADHD might make a quick decision that they are okay to drive, instead of thinking about the consequences of that decision. If they choose to drive under the influence, not only is the alcohol affecting how they drive, but their ADHD affects their focus while driving as well. With those two factors combined, their chances of getting into a car crash (or at least getting a ticket) become very high. That is just one example of how going untreated in adulthood could be dangerous for someone with ADHD.

Treating ADHD

The only way to lower the symptoms and risks of ADHD is through treatment. A lot of the time, people with ADHD are wary about the treatment that comes with it. They think it might take away from who they are as a person, but that could not be farther from the truth. Treatment is in place to help people with ADHD be the best version of themselves possible. There are many medications that help with the symptoms of ADHD---most commonly, stimulant medication is prescribed. These medicines work by increasing the number of neurotransmitters in the brain, which results in the improvement of the symptoms of ADHD. Medication is not the only treatment for ADHD though. Sure, medicine might be the fastest way to see an improvement of symptoms for ADHD, but it is not the only way. There are many different forms of therapy that could also help with ADHD symptoms, such as behavioral therapy. These treatments can help in areas besides ADHD as well, since ADHD has a high comorbidity rate (which means that there is a high chance a person with ADHD will qualify for the diagnosis of something else at some point in their life). It is easy to brush off the signs of ADHD as something to deal with later, but it is best to speak to someone as soon as you notice that something might be wrong. Our knowledge of ADHD has grown tremendously in the last few decades, making it the best time to talk to doctors about symptoms in history. Upward therapists are highly trained in ADHD evaluations for children and adults, and Upward also offers behavioral treatment to adults with ADHD. If any of these symptoms stand out to you, we would love to speak with you about the best plan of care for dealing with your symptoms.

To learn even more about ADHD in children and adults, visit here or here.