What are the signs of AD/HD?

Hyperactive-Impulsive Type:

• fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
• leaves seat in classroom inappropriately
• runs about or climbs excessively
• has difficulty playing quietly
• is "on the go" or "driven by a motor"
• talks excessively
• blurts out answers before questions are completed
• has difficulty awaiting turn
• interrupts or intrudes on others

Inattentive Type:

• fails to give close attention to details
• difficulty sustaining attention
• does not seem to listen
• does not follow through on isnstructions
• difficulty organizing tasks or activities
• avoids tasks requiring sustained mental effort
• loses things necessary for tasks
• easily distracted
• forgetful in daily activities

Developmental Trajectory:

• Maturation changes the manifested symptoms
• Inability to inhibit emerges first in development but decreases over time
• Inattention becomes a dominant symptom with age
• Marked fluctuations in symptoms in different situations (for example reactions to home environment vs. school environment)
• Related cognitive deficits: highly variable performance, excessive speech with reduced fluency, poor planning

How does a doctor make a clinical assessment?

To establish the disability, a doctor will:

• interview the patient and someone who knows them well
• review past records for domains of impairment
• observe the patient in natural settings, not the office
• use rating scales to assess degree of deviance
• determine if there is a co-existing disability
• rule out other possible explanations by IQ screening, Achievement Testing for Learning Disabilities
• test for drugs (teens and adults)