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Understanding Adult Attention Deficit Disorder

By Jill Gonzalez

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) affects approximately 8 million adults in the United States. It is a developmental problem that is characterized by the same symptoms that appear in children: hyperactivity, impulsive behavior and inattentiveness. The primary difference between ADD in children and adults is the way that these symptoms are exhibited.

Children with ADD tend to display hyperactive behavior by constantly squirming or moving around. Adults, on the other hand, are more inclined to feel restless and agitated. Many of the behavioral differences have to do with maturity and a sense of what is and is not appropriate, but there are also other factors at play.

Signs or Symptoms of ADD

Unfortunately, there is still no known cause for the development of ADD in children or adults, but researchers believe that the mental condition is at least partly due to the abnormal functioning of neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are responsible for transmitting chemical messages to nerves, muscles and glands.

The risk factors for adult ADD include the following:

• Family history of ADD or behaviors that are similar to the ones that are characteristic of ADD.
• Premature birth or low birth weight.
• Childhood diagnosis of ADD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
• Smoking or drinking during pregnancy.

Properly diagnosing ADD is generally a difficult thing simply because the symptoms tend to be so vague. In addition, there are a variety of other conditions that have similar symptoms, making diagnosis quite challenging for physicians.

Children who have ADD are at a much greater risk of developing adult ADD, even if they were not formally diagnosed during childhood. Many people mistakenly believe that if a person was not diagnosed as having ADD during childhood, then it isn't possible for them to develop it as an adult. The reality is that children are not always diagnosed with this disorder, even when their symptoms seem obvious.

The most common symptoms that are present in adults with ADD include:

• Problems with organization. Adults with ADD have a very hard time trying to keep things organized both at work and at home. They tend to lose things regularly and are often forgetful. They are also usually procrastinators.
• Difficulty concentrating. We all experience problems concentrating on certain tasks from time to time, but adults with ADD have extreme difficulty concentrating on a regular, consistent basis. These adults are easily distracted and find it difficult to complete any type of task that they begin. They also tend to lose their focus during normal conversations.
• Impulsive behaviors. These behaviors are usually exhibited through impulsive decision making and difficulty listening to what other people have to say. These individuals also tend to have problems relating to other people because they frequently blurt things out before thinking or interrupt people while they are trying to talk.

Other symptoms of ADD include:

• Mood swings
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Chronic boredom
• Substance abuse or addiction
• Anger issues

Treating and Understanding ADD

An important thing to understand about ADD is that it is common for this disorder to manifest itself in people who have other medical conditions. For example, alcohol abuse is present in approximately 32 percent to 53 percent of adults with ADD, and other types of substance abuse occur in about 32 percent of adults with ADD.

Medications are often used to treat adults who are diagnosed with ADD. Stimulant drugs used to be prescribed most of the time, but stimulants wear off after relatively short periods of time, so the trend these days has been to prescribe non-stimulant medications, such as Stratterra. Non-stimulant drugs are also recommended by physicians because they pose no risk of leading to addiction.

In addition to medication, behavioral therapy is used extensively for adults who have ADD. In fact, there are different types of behavioral therapy that are routinely used to treat patients:

• Family education and therapy. This helps patients and their family members deal with the symptoms of the disorder.
• Individual therapy. This works best when particular emphasis is placed on increasing a person's self-esteem.
• Job coaching. This helps people learn how to create and maintain healthier working relationships and improve their performance on the job.
• Stress management. This, along with relaxation therapy, helps teach patients how to reduce the amount of stress and anxiety in their lives.
• Behavioral coaching. This teaches people strategies for organizing activities at work and at home.

Before any type of ADD treatment program can be devised, however, physicians have to complete a thorough assessment of a patient's symptoms, behaviors and family history. It is important for doctors to know if a person is abusing drugs or alcohol, if either parent exhibited symptoms of ADD or if a learning disability exists. Any of these problems could be present in someone who exhibits behaviors that are indicative of ADD, so appropriate diagnoses must be made in order to successfully treat ADD.