Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. It describes a pattern of neurodivergence of brain development and reasoning. ADHD affects a child/ young person’s concentration and focus, physical activity levels, impulsivity ie inability to control sudden urges. Likewise, restlessness is a significant attribute of ADHD as it impacts negatively on concentrating.
The three main categories ADHD:
- Hyperactive and impulsivity: Hyperactivity and impulsivity co occur in people with ADHD as they tend to be physically active. Traits of ADHD include frequent fidgeting, rocking or moving around a lot and struggling to sit still. People with ADHD are often described as being energetic and impulsive as they tend to speak or act first before thinking, including difficult waiting on a queue or for their turn.
- Inattentive: A child with this type of ADHD can often finds concentrating challenging, particularly when it is of no interest to them. Listening and processing information is also difficult. They become easily distracted, as their brains find something more interesting to occupy and focus on, or they try to process what is going on around them. They appear disorganised, forgetful and/or constantly losing things.
- Combined: This type is a combination of the two above. Most people have traits that fall into both areas and identify with the combined type of ADHD.
While living with an ADHD brain may prove to be difficult, it can also come with strengths. A person with ADHD is often very enthusiastic and energetic. They are often able to hyperfocus on topics of interest and can be very creative in their approaches to tasks and activities of interest.
