Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can affect the wellbeing of adults and children, but it becomes less of a health concern if you catch it early. This means that, as a parent, you need to know the warning signs and subtypes of ADHD so that you can become more proactive with helping your child to lead a normal life.
Predominantly Inattentive Type – You might hear this referred to as attention deficit disorder, or ADD, but now it’s known as predominately inattentive ADHD. As you can work out from the name, your child may have this type of ADHD if he or she finds it extremely difficult to pay attention, focus, finish tasks or follow instructions. Wellness experts believe that this type of ADHD often goes unnoticed in schools, because predominately inattentive children don’t disrupt the other students, so it’s important to be on the lookout with your own kids. This is especially the case with your daughters, as this is the most common form of ADHD among girls.
Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type – If your child has this type of ADHD, he or she will shown hyperactive and impulsive behaviours. This means your child might fidget a lot, interrupt often, or find it difficult to take turns. While inattention may not affect your child’s wellbeing as drastically as with the predominately inattentive type, focusing on tasks may still be somewhat of an issue with this kind of ADHD.
Combined Hyperactive-Impulsive and Inattentive Type – Across all children, this is the most common type of ADHD. You might find your child displays a significant number of symptoms related to all three categories; impulsive behaviours, difficulties concentrating and extreme levels of activity and energy.
Adult ADHD – While this can be a form of any of the above subcategories of ADHD, it’s important to give it a special mention. Adults with ADHD usually have had the disorder throughout their childhood, but it often goes unnoticed until a friend or co-worker observed problems at work or in your relationship. Even though you can be diagnosed with any of the above subtypes of ADHD, the symptoms may be different as there are differences between adults and children in terms of maturity, physicality and experience.