ADHD, Executive Functioning Skills, and your Child’s Brain

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder often begins in childhood and the symptoms can cause significant distress in everyday life. For children, it can be even harder to manage. To begin to understand how to help your child, we first must understand what ADHD is and what it causes.

ADHD is a pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that disrupts development and functioning. ADHD affects the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages organization, planning, paying attention, and making decisions. 

There are three subtypes of ADHD that each person fits into:

1) inattentive

2) hyperactive-impulsivity

3) combined 

Inattentive type is marked by careless mistakes, difficulty sustaining attention, daydreaming or spacing out in conversation, not completing tasks, difficulty organizing tasks and activities, avoiding or reluctant to engage in tasks that require mental effort, losing objects, becoming easily distracted, and forgetfulness. 

Hyperactive and impulsivity type is marked by being unable to stay sitting, being fidgety, moving around when inappropriate, often feeling “on the go”, talking excessively, difficulty waiting one’s turn, and interrupting others. 

Combined is marked by both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsivity presentation.