Wednesday, October 27, 2010

How does ADHD persist with time?




Although symptoms of attention problems, hyperactivity, and impulsivity decline with age (Barkley, 2006), the disorder persists into adolescence in around 80 percent of the cases (Barkley, Fischer, Edelbrock, & Smallish, 1990). The problems that come with academic demands increases and adolescents with ADHD are found to have more disruptive and non-disruptive problems like anxiety, depression, oppositional disorder, and school failure. ADHD could also persist into adulthood, as previously mentioned; however, in some cases it disappears completely, in others it still show signs of inattentiveness and hyperactivity, while in others it results in some serious psychiatric and anti-social problems (Goldstein, 2002). They do best, however, in jobs that are upbeat and that involve risk-taking because this style coincides with most of their personality characteristics (Barkley, 2010, Adult Outcome section).

Barkley, R. A. (2006). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Barkley, R. (2010). Fact Sheet: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) topics. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from http://www.russellbarkley.org/adhd-facts.htm
Barkley, R. A., Fischer, M., Edelbrock, C. S., & Smallish, L. (1990). The adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria: I. An 8-year prospective follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 546–557.
Goldstein, S. (2002). Understanding, diagnosing, and treating ADHD through the lifespan. Florida: Specialty Press, Inc.
ADHD chart of comorbidity. Retrieved October 29, 2010, from:

1 comment:

  1. Tom Cruise has ADHD..maybe your blog explains his choices of dangerous roles and his hyperactivity on Oprah's show when he jumped on the chair :p

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