Symptoms (observed by the patient)

01

  • 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)

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ADHD patients are likely to:

  • Be unable to sustain attention during lectures, reading, taking notes, etc.
  • Be easily distracted by irrelevant thoughts or stimuli

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • Ignore and not listen when spoken to directly

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  • Have problems organising work, sequencing priorities, keeping things in their suitable places, doing work without creating a mess, managing time, and meeting deadlines

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  • Find it hard to be seated in the classroom or in the office
  • Be unable to play or engage in hobbies quietly

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  • Run around when it is inappropriate to do so
  • Have trouble waiting for their turn

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  • Fidget and squirm in their seats because of their hyperactivity
  • Be constantly in motion

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  • 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