Symptoms of ADD

Synonyms

Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Psycho-Organic Syndrome (POS), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

introduction

Children with ADD find it difficult to concentrate - the distractibility is immense. It is noticeable that work that has already started is often not completed, which leads to problems, especially in the school area. Because even if the intelligence is in the normal, sometimes even above-average range, the child cannot compensate for the deficits caused by a lack of concentration, or only with great difficulty.

Children with ADD are often noticed by daydreams and inattentiveness. Often the ability to concentrate when working is poor, so that even with normal or above-average intelligence, learning gaps arise that are difficult to close. It is not uncommon for children with ADD to have a reading and writing weakness or arithmetic weakness, or the partial performance disorders dyslexia and dyscalculia.
So that the children can be helped, therapies must be targeted. Blaming and insulting the children does not change anything. Patience and, above all, (self) control are required of all adults involved in the upbringing. Consistent educational action, setting up and adhering to agreed rules is the top priority - no matter how difficult it is.

Read more: Therapy and help for children and adolescents with behavioral problems

Symptoms

Not every child who appears mentally absent is immediately classified as an ADD child. One must warn against rash stigmatization. A wide range of diagnostics is recommended, which you can find on our corresponding page: ADD diagnosis can read.
Due to the individuality of the respective symptoms, the catalog of symptoms listed below cannot claim to be complete. In addition, if your child experiences one or more symptoms does not necessarily mean they have one ADS suffers. The diagnosis is complex and should be made precisely and by experienced diagnosticians.

ADD children work permanently overstimulated and even if it doesn't appear to be so: You suffer from constant stress. The ability to “filter” between important and unimportant information doesn't really seem to exist. ADD children react to this overstimulation unconsciously and almost automatically with a “switch-off”, an escape into absence.

There are a few symptoms that can appear in both ADD and ADHD children. These are for example:

• Short attention phases, poor concentration and the associated quick distraction, forgetfulness and changeable, sometimes very moody behavior.
• low stamina
• Problems in the fine motor area (cramped and incorrect pen grip)
• Spatial instability (confusion of sides (right - left; possibly connection with dyscalculia) and associated with it the confusion of letters, similar sounding sounds etc .; possibly connection with dyslexia)
• Developmental delays in the motor area (learning to crawl late, walking, ...)
• Difficulties in contact or inconsistent friendships (lack of distance, isolation, frequent conflicts, ...)
• Problems doing everyday actions in a controlled sequence, forgetfulness, absent-mindedness
• Problems finishing what has been started
• lack of self-esteem
• Due to a constant lack of attention and concentration, the problems can spread to other areas of the school, from which e.g. can develop a reading and writing weakness or a weakness in numeracy.

Over those symptoms, which can be both ADHD and ADD-typical, occur in those affected with one ADS often other symptoms / behavioral problems appear. These are:

• Daydreams
• mental absence even when speaking directly
• “Not listening” in the sense of being absent
• The ability to do work in a timely manner is difficult.
• forgetfulness
• Details are only perceived imprecisely.
• Lots of careless mistakes
• Avoiding strenuous (high-concentration) tasks
• very calm, often gives the impression that “everything doesn't matter”
• easy influenceability
• Dependence on other people

The symptom of the "dreamer" in ADD

"Dreamers" are those who suffer from ADD, who appear particularly absent and lost in thought due to their attention disorder.
Especially with children, this behavior can appear as if they were living in their own dream world. The pronounced imagination that is often associated with ADD supports this impression.
The problem with dreaminess is that the person uses this state to escape the overstimulation of everyday life and to isolate themselves.
As a result, children miss out on learning material at school, while adults find it difficult to complete tasks. Although this behavior primarily disturbs very few, in contrast to the hyperactivity and impulsiveness of ADHD, it restricts those affected enormously in their everyday activities and leads to problems in school and development in children.
Concentration and attention training can help.

Symptoms in the baby

Finding ADD in a baby or infant is nearly impossible.
The parents of children with an attention disorder can often see certain abnormalities in retrospect compared to their peers, for example in ADHD this would be constant screaming, restlessness and the like. This is much more difficult with ADS. Some parents report that their child already appeared absent as an infant, was only able to maintain eye contact for a short time or was distracted from eating. However, these signs are more than just uncertain and can be traced back to much more common symptoms in infancy, such as a subclinical cold.
In addition, the diagnosis at this age is not only uncertain, but also in most cases not useful, as there is no standardized therapy for these babies. In the worst case, these children experience stigmatization at a very early age, through which they then experience more disadvantages than through a possible ADD.

Symptoms in the toddler

In early childhood, children show more signs of attention disorder, which parents can report on in retrospect.
Mental absence and distraction while eating, playing and talking could be observed, but are usually not noticed if one does not pay close attention to it.
ADD children are often quieter and more shy than their peers, which is why they are usually perceived by parents and caregivers as pleasant and therefore do not constitute a cause for alarm, because despite the attention disorder in most cases there are no developmental delays or the like.
As the other behavioral disorders in this age group are increasing, a little "dreamer" gets lost in the crowd of "troublemakers". As long as the children do not experience any psychological stress, such as If they are marginalized by others, they usually do not suffer from their ADD at this age. Nevertheless, funding could already be useful in order to increase awareness and avoid problems later in school, but the diagnosis is usually only made at school age or even later.

Overlapping symptoms of ADD with Asperger's Syndrome

Asperger's Syndrome (an autism-like disorder) and ADD have completely different causes and develop differently. However, since both syndromes share a certain social incompetence and psychological distress, symptoms in these categories can be very similar, e.g. social withdrawal / shyness or low self-esteem or even depression.
Both also show difficulty concentrating, but they are easier to distinguish.

Read a lot more information at: Asperger syndrome

Overlapping symptoms of ADD and depression

Depression and ADD have a common symptom, poor concentration, which is clearly different in both disorders.
More problematic is the fact that ADD can become a major psychological burden from which an above-average number of patients develop into depression over the years. It is therefore the challenge for both patient and doctor to decide when depression is present and to treat it accordingly.

Diagnostic measures

When reading through the symptoms or observing the children directly, it becomes apparent that some of the behaviors referred to as “ADD - typical” symptoms can also occur in children without ADD. This is possible and makes diagnosis more difficult.
In contrast to a child without ADD, the symptoms in a child with ADD persist through the child's development, so they do not “grow out”. You should therefore ask yourself critically whether the typical symptoms of your child appeared before the age of six and whether they have shown up again and again in several areas of life over a longer period of time.

Due to the fact that these symptoms are not limited to one area of ​​life, it is understandable why the diagnosis cannot be limited to one area of ​​life. In addition to the above-mentioned main symptoms, additional symptoms very often become noticeable, which must be determined and recorded by various diagnostic measures. Only the interpretation of the symptoms and abnormalities from different areas of life in combination with possible diagnostic measures enable a comprehensive picture.

These include:

• Interviewing the parents
• The assessment of the situation by the kindergarten / school
• The preparation of a psychological report
• The medical examination

Read more on the topic: Diagnosis of ADD

Interviewing the parents

Parents are usually the most important caregivers in a child's development. As a result, the parents play an equally central role with regard to the interpretation of the symptoms and ultimately also with regard to the diagnosis.
The family environment of a child usually represents a safe space in which the child feels safe and therefore in a certain way “unobserved”. As a result, it often shows traditional behaviors that have developed over the years and thus also grounded in.
Due to the fact that parents are in contact with their children on a daily basis, serious and therefore extremely disruptive behaviors are clearly evident, but are not always recognized. In addition, it is extremely difficult to admit to yourself that there are problems that actually have to be addressed in order to be able to be adequately solved. For this reason, initiatives are often only taken when the family situation (the home environment) is increasingly stressed.

The questioning of the parents usually includes a questionnaire that tries to examine the characteristics of the child. The playing behavior, the ability to concentrate, the stamina, the ability to work in a team, etc. are of enormous importance and are repeatedly questioned through specific questions.
Of course, it is up to each parent to determine the extent to which the surveys cover the assessment of the entire situation. Ultimately, you can only give your child an advantage (in terms of time) if you are honest with yourself and try to answer questions with the best of conscience.

Read more about the topic here: ADD and family

Assessment of the situation by the kindergarten / school

Due to the fact that the behavior typical of ADD is never limited to one child's area of ​​life, the assessment of the situation by the kindergarten or school is of particular importance, since it enables insights into areas that the children are in special situations. Since the problems are particularly evident in the area of ​​the ability to concentrate and pay attention, it can be assumed that typical and accompanying symptoms are particularly noticeable here.
In addition to the statements about ADD - typical behavior patterns, further statements can be made here with regard to frustration tolerance, but also with regard to over- or under-demanding of a child and with regard to particular accompanying problems. As already mentioned, it is not uncommon that the actual symptoms and problems are also reflected in other school areas. For example, the “classic problem areas” in reading and spelling (reading and spelling weakness, dyslexia), as well as arithmetic (arithmetic weakness, dyscalculia) should be mentioned.

In addition to the specific observations of a teacher, standardized assessment sheets are also used here. They are usually designed in detail and question the situation in a targeted manner.

The preparation of a psychological report

In addition to the reason for the investigation, a psychological report also includes a list of all the underlying test procedures and their results. It also explains how to interpret and interpret the results. Finally, targeted statements are usually made with regard to therapeutic and further measures.

The way in which a psychological report is drawn up can vary and is particularly dependent on the age of the child. Testing of preschool children is usually based on developmental diagnostics. As a result, standardized test procedures are not used and one refers to conversations with caregivers and tries to interpret the child's behavior and movement characteristics of the child. In particular, through child observation, initial statements can be made with regard to the ability to pay attention and concentrate.
From the age of six, standardized test procedures are usually only used that consider the individual child's performance in relation to the age norm, i.e. in relation to the average age-appropriate development of a child.

Before test methods can be described as standardized test methods, they must meet certain quality criteria. They must be objective and deliver the same results even when the test is carried out repeatedly (results must not depend on chance). Ultimately, they also have to measure what was intended. It is up to the tester to choose which test procedures are used in each individual case. Even with school children, the test procedure is not just carried out in order to be able to make statements about the behavior of a child. These test procedures are supplemented by observations made by the psychologist / pediatrician etc.

Read more about the topic here: ADD psychotherapy

Medical diagnostics

The medical diagnosis is divided into a physical examination (= basic diagnosis) and a differential diagnostic examination. This differential diagnosis enables an investigation of various accompanying symptoms with regard to their cause.

The physical examination of the child serves first of all to assess the general health of the child and tries to identify any development deficits (developmental deficits). This can be done in different ways; as a rule, the physical examination also includes physical examinations in the form of hearing, vision and / or allergy tests in addition to the blood test.
An EEG (electroencephalogram) to determine and examine the brain waves, as well as the EKG (electrocardiogram) to examine the heart rhythm and heart rate serve to rule out possible accompanying diseases (differential diagnosis).

Read more on the subject at: Diagnosing ADD.

ADD in puberty

Attention Deficit Disorder is diagnosed during puberty extremely difficult and often presents a great challenge to psychiatrists and psychologists. The main reason for this difficulty is because some symptoms of an ADS quite normal for the period of puberty can be and do not represent any disease value. To be mentioned here are above all those Mood swings and the possible Restlessnesswhich can often occur in adolescence without diseases.

The decisive factor as to whether it is ADD or normal pubertal development is, among other things, when the symptoms were first registered by the environment. So is a in the ADD beginning puberty relatively rare. The first symptoms of ADD are much more common in early childhood. Children between the ages of 5 and 10 can show the first signs of ADD. Reinforce If these are still present during puberty, then it is probably ADD.
Are the symptoms only just beginning new between the ages of 12 and 16 years, is rather an ads unlikelybut not to be excluded. The psychiatrist and psychologist also has a number of diagnostic tools that can be used to diagnose ADD in adolescence. These are questionnaires that the patient or the parents have to answer. The questionnaires ask, for example, concentration disorders, mood swings, restlessness, social “incompetence”, irritability. With every positively answered question, the suspicion of ADD increases.

In today's child and adolescent psychiatry, one occurs relatively often start of drug treatmentonce the adolescents are diagnosed with ADD. Most of the time there are drugs like Ritalin for use. What is important and often presented by critics as being much more helpful is that behavioral psychological treatment by the child psychologist or psychologist. Here the patient should first of all be observed by the therapist to see whether it is actually a pathological course or a non pathological peculiarity of a development. This is followed by regular psychotherapeutic sessions to work on the patient's behavior in everyday life.

With mild forms one of the ADD that occurs during puberty is one drug treatment not necessary. One is enough here longer psychotherapyto at least alleviate, if not completely cure, the symptoms of ADD. Sometimes it may also be necessary to carry out the psychotherapeutic treatment over several years in order to achieve stability of the improvement. In the case of severe disease, accompanying medication is essential to relieve the patient of everyday suffering.

ADD in adults

The condition known as attention deficit disorder, which is usually known from child psychiatry, also occurs in adults. For one, it can be from one untreatable ADD in childhood result, but also a new clinical picture in adulthood represent. In contrast to ADHD, the hyperactivity component is missing in ADS.

It is believed that 30-60% of the symptoms that develop in childhood extend into adulthood. In Germany it should be approx. 750,000 adults who suffer from ADD. In percentage terms, women are somewhat more affected than men.

ADD is often easier to diagnose in childhood than in adults. But there are a few Screening questionsthat to Diagnosing ADD in adulthood can contribute.

• Are you often restless?
• Do you often overreact to simple things?
• Do you have mood swings?
• Do you have difficulty concentrating?
• Are you starting new projects and abandoning them soon?
• Would you describe yourself as messy or do others call you that?
• Would you describe different areas of life as problematic?

There are screening forms that the psychiatrist or psychologist can use to diagnose ADD.
If an adult has been diagnosed with ADD, treatment must be considered. Nowadays one would rather cautiously treat medication and only consider this if there is a high level of suffering. Be much more common behavioral measures initiated that either one psychologist can perform or the in special ADS clinics can be carried out.
The treatment takes place in sessions and extends over several months. requirement is also the Illness insight of the patientwhich is often the first hurdle. Quite often, ADD patients cannot be convinced that they are ill and need treatment in order to relieve their everyday stress because they do not recognize any stress. You relate the problem to your own individual character traits and may well be right about that.

The Chances of success if treatment of ADD has started in adulthood are more likely streaky. The treatment often turns out to be tedious and will often canceled by the patient.