People with Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have significant problems with attention, focus, and hyperactivity causing impairment in many different areas of functioning. Five to seven percent of schoolgoing children fit the criteria of ADHD and nearly half of those continue to have problems as adults. These children and adults often have serious problems at school, work and intimate relationships. They suffer more with mental heath issues such as depression, addiction and are more likely to be fired from job, getting divorced and have legal problems. Many will have significant behavioural problems with increased involvement of councillors, psychologists and mental health services.
Some of the main symptoms of ADHD in adults include:
These symptoms are thought to arise due to specific problems within the Frontal lobes of brain which can be trained with Neurofeedback as evidenced by extensive research.
Diagnosis is complicated in children because some degree of overactivity is normally expected in childhood. They cannot be labelled as ADHD on this basis alone. A careful and comprehensive assessment done by paediatrician or child psychologist can help clarify the diagnosis of ADHD.
Many adults at some point in their lives might experience problems with concentration, focus or may feel somewhat impulsive. However individuals who actually have ADHD typically have these long standing problems often since their childhood.
Other mental heath syndrome can have symptoms such as Depression, Anxiety or Bipolar disorder have similarities with ADHD symptoms which can be teased apart with detailed psychiatric assessment. Having said that nearly 8 in 10 adults with ADHD do suffer from at-least one additional mental health condition in their lifetime.
People with superior intelligence may be able to hide or compensate their ADHD and have with fewer academic problems. At other times parents are reluctant to treat children with medications. Either way in many cases ADHD is not formally diagnosed until people are in their 30s or midlife.
If any of the symptoms listed above are causing disruption in life, it makes sense to talk to medical professionals about whether you might have ADHD. Assessment involves referral to a specialist such as paediatrician or psychiatrist for an assessment. This involves clinical interview, collateral information from childhood, school records and neuro-psychological testing.
At ZenWaves Clinic we offer computerized cognitive testing and continuous performance test (CPT) as part of comprehensive assessment. This given an objective evidence of severity of symptoms and are used to monitor progress.
We also offer qEEG which has also been approved by US FDA (2013) for confirmation of diagnosis of ADHD and can potentially distinguish subtypes which often respond to different treatment options.
Traditionally Stimulants are used to treat childhood ADHD. Treatment in adults is similar, although, some of the medications are not approved for use in adults. Also adults might require medications or counselling for associated mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, impulse control and time management issues.
Neurofeedback is as effective as medications and may be preferred in situations where the medications are simply not an option due to side effects or issues around dependence. Neurofeedback offers distinct advantage in that the brain learning is permanent which is not seen with medications as the symptoms often relapse after medications are stopped. Research has shown that the effect of Neurofeedback hold for years to decades after the training is over.
Contact our staff or healthcare professionals for more information on ADHD and different treatment options.
