So what is ADHD? And how do you know if you or someone you love has this brain makeup? Mental health professionals use what is known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which is currently in the fifth edition. This book provides the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and other “mental disorders.”
When you go to the pediatrician or another medical provider’s office, likely they will be relying on a much narrower range of symptoms that are described in numerous “screening tools.” The DSM-5 (the most current edition) provides a much more comprehensive list of symptoms and descriptions of these. It also gives further guidance of other causes of the symptoms that should be considered before ADHD is definitively diagnosed.
In diagnostic terms, the symptoms of ADHD include problems in three broad areas:
- and impulsivity.
The reality of ADHD is that it affects:
- happiness. Argh!
- and more
The DSM-5 criteria for ADHD states:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological (brain) condition that affects children and adults who consistently experience challenges in impulsivity, hyperactivity, and the ability to pay attention.
To be diagnosed with ADHD
- Several symptoms must be present prior to age 12
- Symptoms occur across multiple settings
- The behaviors must be excessive, pervasive and negatively impact at least two areas of the person’s life (academic, social or occupational)
Here are the formal symptoms, excerpted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition. Realize that these symptoms are looked at across settings and in terms of how pervasive they are. Everyone has some of these symptoms sometimes; that doesn’t mean they have ADHD.
(Symptoms reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, copyright 2013, American Psychiatric Association.)
Learn more about how ADHD can look different in kids than adults.
The information in this article is excerpted from PlayDHD: Permission to Play… A Prescription for Adults with ADHD