Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex behavioral disorder considered to be the most common childhood mental disorder. ADHD affects roughly five to ten percent of children and two to five percent of adults.
Signs and Symptoms
There are many signs that can signal if someone is affected by ADHD. Symptoms include restlessness, lack of focus, distractibility, and impulsiveness; difficulty completing projects or tasks, frequently losing things, and careless mistakes due to lack of attention and focus; squirming, excessive talking, moving around in situations that don’t warrant it, and frequent interruptions. Many people with ADHD also daydream frequently.
ADHD affects all areas of someone’s life, everything from school to work to relationships. Someone with ADHD is not only living with a challenge to themselves but will often distract or disrupt those around them. This can be difficult in many situations, including a work environment and school.
Children with ADHD can sometimes find it difficult to get along with their peers. Impulsive behavior and a tendency to move quickly between activities can make it difficult for them to connect with others their age. Likewise, many children with ADHD also find it difficult to connect with adults and teachers and can be difficult for parents and teachers to manage. For adults living with ADHD, impulsiveness in decision-making is often the most difficult piece to contend with. Both children and adults report difficulty in regulating emotions, making decisions, and long-term planning.
Treatment
Treatment for ADHD is widely debated and different for each person. Due to its complexity, ADHD can be difficult to diagnose. For children especially, it is important to know what behavior is developmentally appropriate for their age versus what is a symptom of something more. However, if you are an adult with ADHD, have a child with ADHD, or know someone who is affected by ADHD, there are coping strategies and methods designed to help you live a full and balanced life.
The extent to which a person requires treatment depends on the amount that ADHD is affecting their quality of life. Often, when either a child or adult receives consistent therapeutic treatment, the need for treatment either decreases or stops completely over time. It is also common for children to “outgrow” their ADHD symptoms.
One effective form of treatment is learning how to manage symptoms so that they affect quality of life as little as possible. This includes learning how to manage the resulting social, academic, and work challenges that can arise. Other treatment options include behavioral treatment – increased structure, behavioral therapy, and attention training -, pharmacological treatment, or a combination of the two.
Three keys for supporting a child with ADHD are love, structure, and consistency. Setting up routines and structures at home helps your child feel safe because they know exactly what to expect. Because children with ADHD often face challenges in social settings and with academics, work with them and teach them the skills they need to navigate these situations. If you feel that your child is experiencing low self-esteem due to these challenges, be intentional about helping him or her identify their strengths and understand how to use them.
For younger children, behavioral therapy helps both them and their parents learn to navigate ADHD behaviors and teaches techniques for setting and meeting goals, time management, and positive habits. For older children and adults, cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is considered most effective. CBT can help you learn to manage emotions and disarm negative routines and patterns, as well as work with you to get to the underlying root cause of any negative self-talk and thought patterns.
Questions? Please contact our client care coordinator to book an appointment or find out more. Our offices are located in Roseville and Fair Oaks, California and we offer online therapy for families located in the state of California, as well.
Other Services offered at The Relationship Therapy Center in California:
In addition to ADHD treatment, Our Sacramento area counseling clinics located in Roseville and Fair Oaks, CA are pleased to offer a variety of mental health services. Our couples services include: Couples Counseling, Counseling after infidelity, sex therapy, co-parent counseling, family therapy, divorce counseling, intensive couples retreats, and premarital counseling. Our individual therapy services include anxiety treatment, therapy for children, teen therapy, depression treatment, codependency counseling and individual relationship counseling. Our therapists offer online counseling in California to treat a variety of mental health concerns. Please reach out to our Sacramento area therapy office to learn more about the many ways we can help you or your loved ones.