{"id":5190,"date":"2024-01-22T21:18:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T19:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mytherapist.gr\/?p=5190"},"modified":"2025-10-06T12:52:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:52:37","slug":"what-adhd-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mytherapist.gr\/en\/mental-health-articles\/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd\/what-adhd-is\/","title":{"rendered":"What is ADHD?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nowadays, we hear the acronym ADHD more frequently. Sometimes, just hearing it causes parents to worry about their children and their learning abilities. In fact, it is not uncommon for low school grades to lead parents and children to ADHD assessment and diagnostic centers.<\/span><\/p>

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But what does this acronym actually mean?<\/i><\/b><\/p>

Does ADHD lead to academic difficulties?<\/i><\/b><\/p>

And is ADHD only experienced by children?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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ADHD is not a disorder that concerns only children. If you need support, reach out today to one of our licensed therapists. <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How is ADHD defined?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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ADHD stands for Attention-Deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder and is one of the most common disorders among children. Globally, prevalence rates in children and adolescents are around 5%, with boys diagnosed at about twice the rate of girls. Although it is widely perceived as a disorder that mainly affects children, research over the last two decades has confirmed its presence in about 2% of adults worldwide. In adulthood, gender differences appear to be far less pronounced.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What is ADHD?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core symptoms of inattention, with or without hyperactivity and impulsivity. These symptoms can significantly affect daily life, both for the individual and for the people around them who witness these behaviors. Parents often worry when they notice lower academic performance, emotional difficulties, and strained relationships with peers. Although knowledge about the exact causes of ADHD remains limited, genetic and neurological factors play an important role. In fact, ADHD is 2 to 8 times more common in individuals who have first-degree relatives with ADHD.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Is ADHD linked to academic failure?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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ADHD shows a significant association with lower school performance, as it is related to brain structure and neural connectivity. Children with ADHD often struggle to concentrate, forget things more easily, become disorganized, and generally have lower grades. These symptoms are typically first noticed by teachers, who observe the child in the classroom. However, diagnosis is always made by specialized professionals, child psychologists and child psychiatrists, and it concerns children aged 4 and above.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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How is ADHD diagnosed?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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To diagnose ADHD, clinicians look for the presence of 18 classic symptoms, half related to inattention and the other half related to hyperactivity - impulsivity.<\/span><\/p>

To meet the criteria, children and adolescents must exhibit at least six out of the nine symptoms described in each of the two domains (inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity). However, adolescents aged 17 and older need at least five symptoms in one or both domains for the diagnosis. In addition, a key requirement is that symptoms persist for at least six months and are not due to difficulty understanding instructions or oppositional behavior on the child\u2019s part.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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ADHD symptoms in the domain of inattention - According to the Diagnostic Manual (DSM-5)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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  1. Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or during other activities (for example, overlooks or misses details; the work is inaccurate).<\/span><\/li>
  2. Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities (for example, struggles to stay focused during lectures, conversations, or lengthy reading).<\/span><\/li>
  3. Often seems not to listen when spoken to directly (for example, appears to have their mind elsewhere, even when there is no obvious distraction).<\/span><\/li>
  4. Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or workplace duties (for example, starts tasks but quickly loses focus and is easily sidetracked).<\/span><\/li>
  5. Often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities (for example, difficulty managing sequential tasks, difficulty keeping materials and belongings in order, messiness, disorganized work, poor time management, failure to meet deadlines).<\/span><\/li>
  6. Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (for example, schoolwork or homework; for older adolescents and adults, preparing reports, completing forms, reviewing lengthy documents).<\/span><\/li>
  7. Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (for example, school materials, pencils, books; for older adolescents and adults, tools, wallets, keys, tissues, glasses, mobile phones).<\/span><\/li>
  8. Often is easily distracted by external stimuli (for older adolescents and adults, this may include unrelated thoughts).<\/span><\/li>
  9. Often forgets daily activities (for example, in children, daily obligations; in adolescents and adults, returning calls, paying bills, keeping appointments).<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    ADHD symptoms related to the hyperactivity and impulsivity dimension<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ADHD\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    1. Often fidgets, taps hands or feet, or squirms in their seat.<\/span><\/li>
    2. Often leaves their seat in situations when remaining seated is expected (for example, leaves their place in the classroom, the office, or other workplace, or in other situations requiring staying in place).<\/span><\/li>
    3. Often runs about or climbs in situations where such behavior is inappropriate. In adolescents or adults, this may be limited to feeling restless.<\/span><\/li>
    4. Often unable to play or take part in leisure activities quietly.<\/span><\/li>
    5. Often \u201con the go,\u201d acting as if \u201cdriven by a motor\u201d (for example, cannot stay still for long periods in places such as restaurants or meetings, and others may experience them as restless or hard to keep up with).<\/span><\/li>
    6. Often talks excessively.<\/span><\/li>
    7. Often blurts out an answer before a question has been completed (for example, finishes other people\u2019s sentences, cannot wait their turn in conversation).<\/span><\/li>
    8. Often has difficulty waiting their turn (for example, while waiting in line).<\/span><\/li>
    9. Often interrupts or intrudes on others (for example, butts into conversations, games, or activities; may start using other people\u2019s things without asking or receiving permission; for adolescents and adults, may intrude on or take over what others are doing).<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      If you feel that you get distracted, struggle to concentrate, or find it hard to stay organized and consistent with your schedule, your space, and so on, reach out today to one of our licensed therapists.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      ADHD underdiagnosis in Adults<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      Unfortunately, ADHD is less commonly diagnosed in adults. This happens due to limited awareness and gaps in knowledge about the disorder. As a result of underdiagnosis, many adults are forced to deal with this issue on their own, along with the related difficulties and problems, without receiving appropriate care. Over time, many adults have to develop strategies to manage their daily lives. This is also one of the reasons why there are fewer criteria for diagnosing ADHD in adults. Finally, it is worth noting that recent studies suggest there may even be a distinct type of ADHD in the adult population.<\/span><\/p>

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      Bibliography<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      1. American Psychiatric Association. ( 2022). sleep-wake disorders. in Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).<\/span><\/li>
      2. Felt, B. T., Biermann, B., Christner, J. G., Kochhar, P., & Harrison, R. V. (2014). diagnosis and management of ADHD in children. american family physician, 90(7), 456-464.<\/span><\/li>
      3. Jangmo, A., St\u00e5lhandske, A., Chang, Z., Chen, Q., Almqvist, C., Feldman, I., Bulik, C. M., Lichtenstein, P., D'Onofrio, B., Kuja-Halkola, R., & Larsson, H. (2019). Attention-Deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder, School Performance, and Effect of Medication. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(4), 423-432.<\/span> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jaac.2018.11.014<\/span><\/a><\/li>
      4. Leahy L. G. (2018). diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in children vs adults: what nurses should know. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 32(6), 890-895.<\/span> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.apnu.2018.06.013<\/span><\/a><\/li>
      5. Wang, C., Johansson, A. L. V., Rodriguez-Wallberg, K. A., Almqvist, C., Hern\u00e1ndez-D\u00edaz, S., & Oberg, A. S. (2021). assisted reproductive techniques, ADHD, and school performance. pediatrics, 148(1), e2020033183. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1542\/peds.2020-033183<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ol>

        \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        More and more often, we hear the acronym ADHD. Sometimes, hearing it is accompanied by parents\u2019 worries about their children and their learning abilities.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":236822097,"featured_media":5191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[766568642,766568666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arthra-psychologias","category-diataraches-elleimmatikis-prosochis-kai-yperkinitikotitas-depy"],"acf":{"article-authored-by":3892},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t