ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed in kids. But just because you’ve graduated from stickers and backpacks to spreadsheets and briefcases doesn’t mean the disorder can’t affect you. 
In fact, a 2012 Australian study found that 6 percent of middle-aged guys report symptoms that could spell an ADHD diagnosis. And the number of adults using meds to treat the disease jumped 53 percent from 2008 to 2012, according to an Express Scripts report.
The hallmarks of ADHD are difficulty staying focused or paying attention, trouble controlling behavior, or acting hyperactive. It’s a developmental disorder, meaning that it begins when you’re a kid, says Anthony Rostain, M.D., the medical director for the adult developmental disorders section at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.
But ADHD commonly can persist into adulthood, causing problems with your job, other responsibilities, or your relationship. Fortunately, it can be treated—you just need to be aware that you have it.
Scientists agree that ADHD is a medical neurobiological
disorder. It is an illness or deficit of the nervous system most often due to genetic or biological factors. Family, twin and adoption studies have found that heredity is the most common cause of ADHD. Medical research has shown that some dopamine genes have been found to be associated with ADHD. If a child has ADHD there is five times more likelihood that another family member will also have the disorder. While ADHD symptoms may be caused by injury to the brain, or exposure to alcohol, nicotine or lead in the developing brain, this is not the cause in the vast majority of children with ADHD.
ADHD is not new; it has been described in literature and medically documented for more than two centuries. ADHD is a chronic condition that can present at all levels of severity and rarely occurs by itself.
There are three core symptoms, the inability to regulate attention, the inability to regulate activity, and difficulty with inhibitory behavior resulting in impulsivity. However, difficulty with regulating emotions is often an issue as well.
It is important to note that symptoms of ADHD can vary from day to day and hour to hour, and while many children may exhibit these symptoms, it is the degree of presentation, the inability to regulate them and a level of impairment, that results in a diagnosis.
How Do Executive Functions Play a Role in ADHD?
New research has shown us that children and adults with ADHD often have weaknesses in the areas of executive functioning (EF). Executive functioning is the mental process that allows us to plan ahead, evaluate the past, start and finish a task and manage our time. Executive functioning skills enable us to: identify a problem, find solutions, organize ourselves, regulate our behaviour and emotions, control our attention levels and resist distractions.
If you can not relax you may suffer from ADD.
Working memory, an important part of executive functioning, is a skill that allows us to keep information in the brain and work with it at the same time. Working memory directly impacts reading comprehension, written expression, math skills and the ability to pay attention and resist distraction. Students with ADHD also frequently process information coming in and going out at a slower speed. Children with deficits in these areas, are frequently mislabeled as being unmotivated, defiant, and lazy.
IF YOU EASILY BE DISTRACTED you may have ADD.
How Often Does ADHD Occur?
ADHD is the most common mental health disorder of childhood. Studies throughout the world have reported the occurrence of ADHD in school age children as being between 5% and 12%. This means that on average there are at least one to three children in every class with ADHD. More boys than girls are diagnosed at a rate of 3 to 1.
If you have trouble in academic work in school you may have ADD.
However, since girls are less likely to display outward hyperactivity and impulsivity, and as many women as men are diagnosed in adulthood, we know that we miss diagnosing many girls with ADHD in childhood. Females with ADHD are equally impaired in the areas of attention and social and academic problems as males. Eighty percent of adolescents who were diagnosed as children continue to meet the criteria for diagnosis, and of those children, over sixty percent report continued impairing symptoms into adulthood.
IF YOU DELAY WORK AND PROJECT.Test for ADD.
Are There Different Types of ADHD?
There are three different presentations of ADHD based upon clustering of the three core symptoms. Children and adults who only have hyperactive and impulsive symptoms are diagnosed as ADHD, hyperactive-impulsive (this is very rare); those who display only significant impairment in inattention are referred to as ADHD, inattentive (formerly known as ADD), and those who display all three symptom clusters are referred to as, combined inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive (the most common).
IF YOU DELAY TASK AND DAILY WORK.Test for ADD.
IF YOU DISORGANIZED. All the time test for ADD.
How is ADHD Treated?
Treatment for ADHD should always include multiple elements and approaches. The first element of treatment should always be education about ADHD for caregivers, other family members, and individuals affected by ADHD.
IF You have trouble with relationship . test for ADD.
Studies have shown that providing education on ADHD greatly increases the chance that individuals will continue with their treatment long term. Along with education, best practices in treating ADHD includes: regular follow-up visits with a medical practitioner, continued support for families with information about ADHD and its management, patient,
If you have a quick temper . test for add.
parent and teacher training, special educational accommodations and behavioral interventions along with medication. It needs to be noted that not all people with ADHD require medication and it is often the level of impairment that dictates this.
If you are impulsive and leave for small arguments .The ADD Workers can cost a lot of money and problem to the workplace , they can affect other workers .
In uncomplicated cases of ADHD, medication management is fairly straightforward and typically effective with minimal side effects. The medications that are most often used to manage ADHD symptoms are classified as stimulant medication, however nonstimulant medications are now also available. Stimulant medications have been around for more than fifty years with thousands of research studies indicating their safety and effectiveness.
If you like thrill and risky sport and activity that cause high adrenaline rush.
However, as with all medications, even over the counter products, side effects can occur so routine follow-up visits with a physician are advised to assess the level of effectiveness and occurrence of side effects. Immediate contact with the prescribing physician is recommended if side effects are significant. Often a change in dose or switching to another medication can alleviate side effects.
If you always lose things and display items .test for ADD.
In the last five years, the development of once a day, time released medications, both stimulant and nonstimulant, have significantly improved the life of many children and adults with ADHD.
If you are restless ,hyper bee and distracted all the time.
These new medications are difficult to abuse, reduce the stigma of having to take medication if front of others, prevent gaps in symptom relief and decrease the chances of exaggerated rebound symptoms happening several times a day. Unfortunately these new medications can be expensive.
Those adult who smoke have higher ADD problems.
As with all medication, reaching the highest level of effectiveness with the least amount of side effects is always the aim of treatment. Building a strong working relationship with your practitioner is the key.
If your child or someone in your family have it, test for ADD.
Studies have shown that while treating ADHD symptoms with medication alone, doctors are now able to improve many of the symptoms of ADHD in a short period of time, however a multimodal approach is much more effective and is always recommended.
If you have trouble in your workplace or trouble performing daily work that not caused by lack of sleep or stress.Test for ADD.
Thanks for reading. Wish you all the best.
Steve Ramsey, PhD – Public health.
Calgary, Alberta- Canada