There are three types of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. All children (and adults) occasionally have trouble paying attention or waiting their turn.

But ADHD causes such frequent and severe problems that grades fall in school, adults don’t perform well on the job, and people of all ages struggle with social interaction and making friends.

The symptoms of inattentive ADHD include:

• Missing important details
• Getting distracted
• Making reckless mistakes
• Not following directions
• Forgetting to start or finish tasks
• Struggling to get organized
• Zoning out or daydreaming

The symptoms of hyperactive-impulsive ADHD include:

• Struggling to sit still
• Staying constantly on the go
• Frequently interrupting or talking over others
• Speaking without thinking
• Making sudden decisions
• Lacking self-control
• Needing immediate rewards to stay motivated

If you have combined ADHD, you have some inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity symptoms.

Your mental health professional talks with you about your symptoms and uses standardized behavior rating scales to identify details of your challenges. They also learn when and where symptoms occur and how they affect daily life.

ADHD improves with two primary treatments:

Medications
Stimulant medications improve attention and reduce hyperactivity by increasing brain chemicals. However, if stimulants don’t help or you don’t want to take them, our providers can prescribe nonstimulant medications that improve ADHD symptoms.

Therapy
Therapy does a remarkable job of helping children and adults manage their individual emotional and behavioral problems. For example, you may need to learn ways to organize homework, paperwork, or life in general. Therapy can also help manage anger, improve social skills, and avoid reckless behaviors.

With support and treatment at Peak Mental Healthcare, you or your child can succeed in life, even with ADHD. To schedule an appointment, call the office or use online booking today.

Many people still say ADD out of habit or because it's a more familiar term than ADHD. Some use it to mean ADHD without hyperactivity. However, the term ADD is outdated and was replaced by ADHD, which stands for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The latest ADHD strategy shifts focus toward the primary symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity-impulsiveness, discarding the previous type-based categorization. 

It's a common myth that children might grow out of ADHD. Symptoms can change as they grow but rarely resolve on their own, and getting treatment early on can make a big difference. With early intervention, parents and mental health practitioners can help kids learn how best to manage ADHD symptoms, whether that’s through medication or other therapies.