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ADHD in Children, Adults, and Seniors: A Deeper Look (Part 1 of 3)

You are probably familiar with the term ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder). But not everyone with ADHD is hyperactive. In fact, ADHD can be a misleading term. Depending on which parts of the brain are affected, ADHD is currently diagnosed in three different forms:

  1. The predominantly inattentive type, commonly referred to as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
  2. The predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type.
  3. The combined inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive type.

ADHD in a Nutshell

ADHD is a condition that can affect children, adults and seniors. It is theorized to be anchored in a hypersensitive nature to exterior stimuli and an inability to efficiently differentiate between irrelevant and essential stimuli, which is necessary to complete tasks and engage with others in a relevant and productive manner (Blum et al. 2008). The effects of this faulty filtering system can usually be narrowed down to four aspects of cognitive ability:

  1. Selective attention
  2. Sustained attention
  3. Impulse control
  4. Psychomotor activity.

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