Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (abbreviated as ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder which is characterized by neurodevelopmental deficits. As such it manifests itself during early childhood through delayed achievement of developmental milestones, especially in the domains of speech and motor coordination. For this reason, it is considered as a pediatric condition (Barkley, 2014). Nonetheless, there have been discussion and deliberations which aim to find out if there is an adult variant of ADHD or if ADHD persists till adulthood if it is not properly managed during childhood (Franke et al., 2012).
This paper focuses on both pediatric ADHD and adult ADHD, as well as answers the question: Is ADHD a disorder of childhood only or does it progress into adulthood as well? The aim of the study is to show that childhood ADHD if not appropriately managed during childhood does progress and persist till adulthood where it manifests itself as adult ADHD.
The discussion will progress as explained hereafter. To begin with, ADHD is described in brief as well as related to its diagnostic criteria and symptoms. Thereafter, childhood ADHD will be explored in detail, and this also focuses on its progression throughout childhood into adolescent. Then, ADHD is analyzed in relation to adolescents. Finally, adult ADHD is explored. This way, the discussion will delineate the progress of untreated, or poorly managed, ADHD from its earliest manifestation till adulthood as well as trace the persistence of symptoms throughout the lifespan of the affected individual.ADHDADHD is a neurobiological condition characterized by neurodevelopmental deficits which manifest themselves by the age of six years, and then persist for a period exceeding six months. The three main symptoms of the condition are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Inattention usually manifests itself as attentional shift which means that the affected child has problems paying attention or focusing on a single task. Hyperactivity manifests itself as excessive activity which usually causes the affected child to experience difficulty in controlling his or her behavior. Impulsivity causes the affected person to exhibit sudden and inappropriate behaviors. These symptoms thus affect the ability of the ADHD child to interact properly with his or her home and school settings. Moreover, the affected children experience difficulty when engaging in recreational activities (Mash & Barkley, 2014). According to statistics provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013, an estimated 39 million children were affected by ADHD across the globe. This makes ADHD the most prevalent psychiatric disorder in the pediatric population (Vos et al., 2015). No single cause has been attributed to ADHD, and presently the condition is hypothesized to be caused by a combination of factors, with the main ones being genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and drug use (Gordon, 2010). The main diagnostic criterion used to diagnose ADHD is the 5th Edition of theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (usually abbreviated as DSM-V). DSM-V categorizes ADHD into three subtypes depending on the predominant symptoms, and these subtypes are …
