Symptoms (observed by the patient)
- Difficulty in focusing attention
- Restlessness
- Unfocused motor activity (fidgeting, twitching, tics)
- Impulsive decision-making
For children to be diagnosed with ADHD, six or more symptoms should persist, for at least six months, to a degree that is inconsistent with the brain development corresponding to that age. For older adolescents and adults, five or more symptoms should persist.
Source: nimh.nih.gov, adhd-institute.com
Signs (observed in the patient)
ADHD patients are likely to:
- Be unable to sustain attention during lectures, reading, taking notes, etc.
- Be easily distracted by irrelevant thoughts or stimuli
- Averse to tasks that need sustained mental effort, such as doing homework, completing forms, reviewing lengthy content, etc.
- Disregard instructions and fail to complete schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace
- Be forgetful in daily activities, such as chores, errands, making calls, and keeping appointments
- Lose items such as school supplies, wallets, keys, paperwork, spectacles, and cell phone
- Overlook or miss details, make careless mistakes in school, at work, or during other activities
- Ignore and not listen when spoken to directly
- Have problems organising work, sequencing priorities, keeping things in their suitable places, doing work without creating a mess, managing time, and meeting deadlines
- Find it hard to be seated in the classroom or in the office
- Be unable to play or engage in hobbies quietly
- Run around when it is inappropriate to do so
- Have trouble waiting for their turn
- Fidget and squirm in their seats because of their hyperactivity
- Be constantly in motion
- Talk non-stop
- Speak out an answer before the question has been completed, finish others’ sentences, or interrupt the flow of a conversation
Source: nimh.nih.gov