ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder is similar to ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a number of ways. Children and adults with ADHD are hyperactive, children and adults with ADD are not hyperactive. That is why ADHD is discovered quite quickly and ADD remains forgotten.
Characteristics of ADD
The most important characteristic of ADD is that there is no hyperactivity, but there is a lack of concentration. You can recognize ADD by the following symptoms or characteristics:
- Quickly or easily distracted.
- Chaotic.
- Forgetful.
- Postponing various tasks or assignments.
- Chronic lateness.
- Being chronically bored.
- Fear.
- Depression.
- Low self-esteem.
- Mood swings.
- Problems finding a job.
- Restlessness.
- Excessive substance use or addiction.
- Relationship problems.
Concentration
ADD symptoms vary. These can return at any time of the day or only in a certain situation. Concentrating remains difficult for people with ADD. Some people with ADD can concentrate well because they are very interested or stimulated at a certain moment, while others can never concentrate well. Concentration problems differ per individual. One person wants to be stimulated in certain things and the other avoids this as much as possible. It can happen that someone with ADD becomes ill-mannered or antisocial. Others may go out of their way to please people and not want to be too much. One is introverted and the other expresses itself very easily.
Cause ADD
What exactly causes ADD or ADHD? The exact cause is not yet known. Science suspects that ADD/ADHD is in many cases genetically transmitted. Heredity is often mentioned as a cause. Unfortunately, research has yielded little.
ADD in adults
Research shows that ADD is equally common in adult men and adult women. Diagnosing ADD in adults is difficult. People often think that symptoms such as the above are simply part of it. They are not seen as symptoms, but something they have struggled with their entire lives. It is not yet known how often ADD occurs in adults. ADD is diagnosed more quickly in children than in adults, because they often experience problems at school. Research indicates that children who have ADD during or before primary school experience half to a third of problems during adolescence. About half to a third of these adolescents still experience problems with ADD as adults.
Diagnosing ADD in adults
Diagnosing ADD in adults increases the chance of a better course of complaints. An adult person with ADD experiences a lot of difficulty in daily life due to concentration problems, etc. Diagnosing ADD helps to create a calmer life. Work and learning performance and skills will improve. Adults with ADD often have a negative self-image because they never really scored well at school. A frequently heard statement from teachers is “It’s there, but it just won’t come out.” There is also a negative attitude in their environment or working atmosphere. Lack of motivation, immaturity, lazy, vague or self-centered. People with ADD do not see their problems as the result of a genetic abnormality, but have the idea that they are to blame.
Diagnosis of ADD in adults
A multifactorial evaluation is important for a correct diagnosis of ADD in adults. A referral letter to a clinician or an expert in the field of attention disorders can be obtained from your GP. Evaluation should use information from, among others:
- Medical history and family history.
- Physical examination.
- Interviews or surveys completed by other people who have an insight into the behavior of the person in question, such as parents.
- Observation
- Psychological tests that measure skills and social and emotional adjustments.
Tips for adults with ADD
- Provide structure. Keep a diary, write notes to yourself, add routines to remind yourself of something.
- Healthy addiction. Find exercise or another healthy activity to burn off energy.
- A rewarding environment. Come up with tasks and so on to keep frustration at a minimum. Take small steps and set priorities to prevent unrest in your head.
- Timeouts. Take time for yourself to calm down and regain the overview in your head when things are a mess. Walk away from the situation if necessary.
- Humour. It helps if people around you remind you to stay busy with your task. Let them do this with humor and respect and it will become a lot more bearable for you.