What are the symptoms of ADHD on Adults? Additionally to the common symptoms found in children, many adults present a logical outgrow of those symptoms. The following suggested diagnostic criteria is from the book “Driven to Distraction”, a very well written and informational resource by Edward M Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D.
Note of the Authors: “Consider a criterion met only if the behavior is considerably more frequent than that of most people of the same mental age.”
ADHD is a chronic disturbance in which at least fifteen of the following are present:
1. A sense of underachievement, of not meeting one’s goals (regardless of how much one has actually accomplished).
We put this symptom first because it its the most common reason an adult seeks help. “I just can’t get my act together” is the frequent refrain. The person might be highly accomplished by objective standards, or may be floundering, stuck with a sense of being lost in a maze, unable to capitalize on innate potential.
2. Difficulty getting organized.
A major problem for most adults with ADHD. Without the structure of school, without parents around to get things organized for him or her, the adult may stagger under the organizational demands of everyday life. The supposed “little things” may mount up to create huge obstacles. For the want of proverbial nail – a missed appointment, a lost check, a forgot deadline- their kingdom may be lost.
3. Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started.
Adults with ADHD associate so much anxiety with beginning a task, due to their fears that they won’t do it right, that they put it off, and off, which, of course, only adds to the anxiety around the task.
4. Many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow-through.
A corollary of number 3. As one task is put off, countless projects have been undertaken, while few have found completion.
5. Tendency to say what comes to mind without necessarily considering the timing or appropriateness of the remark.
Like the child with ADHD in the classroom, the adult with ADHD gets carried away in enthusiasm. And idea comes and it must be spoken – tact or guile yielding to childlike exuberance.
6. A frequent search for high stimulation.
The adult with ADHD is always on the lookout for something novel, something engaging, somehting in the outside world that can catch up the whirlwind that’s is rushing inside.
7. An intolerance for boredom.
A corollary of number 6. Actually the person with ADHD seldom feels bored. This is because the millisecond he sense boredom, he swings into action and finds something new; he changes the channel.
8. Easy distractibility, trouble focusing attention, tendency to tune out of drift ways in the middle of a page or a conversation, often coupled with the ability to hyperfocus at times.
The hallmark symptom of ADHD. The “tuning out” is quite involuntary. It happens when the person isn’t looking, so to speak, and the next thing you know, he or she isn’t there. The often extraordinary ability to hyperfocus is also usually present, emphasizing the fact that this is a syndrome not of attention deficit but of attention inconsistency.
9. Often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent.
Not a symptom, but a trait deserving of mention. Adults with ADHD have unusually creative minds. In the midst of their disorganization and distractibility, they show flashes of brilliance. Capturing this “special something” is one of the goals of treatment.
10. Trouble in going through established channels, following “proper” procedure.
Contrary to one might think, this is not due to some unresolved problem with authority figures. Rather, it is a manifestation of boredom and frustration: boredom with routine ways of doing things and excitement around novel approaches, and frustration with being unable to do things the way they’re “supposed” to be done.
11. Impatient; low tolerance for frustration.
Frustration of any sort reminds the adult with ADHD of all the failures in the past. “Oh, no.” he thinks,”here we go again.” So he gets angry or withdraws. The impatience drives from the need for constant stimulation and can lead others to think of the individual as immature or insatiable.
12. Impulsive, either verbally or in action, as in impulsve spending of money, changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans, and the like.
This is one of the more dangerous of the adult symptoms, or depending on the impulse, one of the more advantageous.
13. Tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about, alternating with the inattention to or disregard for actual dangers.
Worry becomes what attention turns into when it isn’t focused on some task.
14. Sense of insecurity.
Many adults with ADHD feel chronically insecure, no matter how stable their life situation may be. They often feel as if their world could collapse around them.
15. Mood swings, mood lability, specially when disengaged from a person or project. The person with ADHD can suddently go into a bad mood, then into a good mood, then into a bad mood all in the space of a few hours and for no apparent reasons. These mood swings are not as pronounced as those associated with manic-depressive illness or depression.
Adults with ADHD, more than children, are given to unstable moods. Much of this is due to their experience of frustration and/or failure, while some of it is due to the biology of the disorder.
16. Restlessness.
One usually does not see, in an adult, the full-blown hyperactivity one may see in a child. Instead, one sees what looks like “nervous energy”: pacing, drumming of fingers, shifting position while sitting, leaving a table or room frequently, feeling edgy while at rest.
17. Tendency toward addictive behavior.
The addiction may be to a substance such as alcohol or cocaine, or to an activity, such gambling, or shopping, or eating or overwork.
18. Chronic problems with self-steem.
These problems are the direct and unhappy result of years of frustration, failure or of just not getting it right. Even the person with ADHD who has achieved a great deal usually feels in some way defective. What is impressive is how resilient most adults are, despite all the setbacks.
19. Inaccurate self-observation.
People with ADHD are poor self-observers. They do not accurately gauge the impact they have on other people. They usually see themselves as less effective of powerful that other people do.
20. Family history of ADHD or manic-depressive illness or depression or substance abuse or other disorders of impulsive control or mood.
Since ADHD is probably genetically transmitted and related to the other conditions mentioned, it is not uncommon (but not necessary) to find such family history.
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“Logical outgrow”? One doesn’t ’shed’ ADHD symptoms over time, though they may change and become less obvious as coping techniques mature.