attention deficit psychotherapist

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)border

What is ADHD?

The international term Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) describes one of the most frequent (5-7% of the pupil population) childhood neurobiological disorders that can be prolonged — to a large extent — in adult life.

Although ADHD is one of the most studied and documented child psychiatric disorders in the world, it has given rise to the higher number of debates, and it is still being underdiagnosed in many countries, including Greece.

The typical symptoms of ADHD, that is distraction, impulsivity and hyperactivity, are considered so common in childhood that diagnosis is often overlooked, while in many cases, the problems caused by ADHD itself on behaviour, social adaptation or school performance are attributed to various possibly coexisting conditions.

As a result, ADHD often remains undiagnosed or wrongfully diagnosed, whereas, even when properly diagnosed, an integrated model of combined treatment approaches, which is required to address ADHD, is not always applied.

Symptoms

The main symptoms, as defined by DSM-V, are distraction, impulsivity and hyperactivity.

Based on the symptoms prevailing in schoolchildren, ADHD is divided into three types: (1) inattentive type; (2) hyperactive-impulsive type; and (3) combination type.

Do your children experience some of the following symptoms?

  • Having trouble concentrating;
  • being restless;
  • getting easily distracted by extraneous stimuli;
  • precipitating answers;
  • avoiding tasks involving consistent mental effort;
  • interrupting or annoying others;
  • being generally unorganised;
  • combination of symptoms.

Do you experience some of the following symptoms?

  • Inner feeling of anxiety, unable to relax;
  • excessive talking;
  • having dropped out of studies;
  • having poor relationships in your personal, social and professional life;
  • having low self-esteem;
  • showing high levels of stress and depression;
  • being prone to road and other types of accidents;
  • having difficulty in managing both money and time.

Causes

As in many conditions, the exact causes of ADHD are not completely clear.

Scientists are increasingly identifying evidence that ADHD stems from biological causes, and to date, we know that (a) it is to some extent inherited, as 76% of children with ADHD usually have a relative with this disorder, and (b) there are differences between the brain of children with ADHD and the brain of their peers without the condition in terms of structure, metabolism and function of specific brain areas.

Moreover, premature birth, smoking, alcohol use and excessive stress during pregnancy, traumatic brain injury or exposure to toxic substances can be associated to the development of ADHD.

Of course, it should be noted that, in any case, poor parental care does not constitute a cause of ADHD, however, many family features, such as unstable structure and dysfunction in the family or lack of parental control, may be linked to the exacerbation of the symptoms, and to the occurrence of complications in the emotional condition or behaviour of the person with ADHD.

My approach has been designed bearing in mind all the above-mentioned considerations. It is intended to be used as a toolkit serving to teach all the skills required for the smooth inclusion and function in family, educational, social and workplace relationships.

My extensive experience with persons belonging to the autism spectrum or showing symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, between the ages of 2,5 to 49 years old, guarantees a successful outcome.

In order to assess your condition or the condition of your children, and, of course, to draft a personalised intervention programme, please feel free to contact me directly.