THE TEN NEUROLOGICAL BEHAVIORS THAT ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF ADD/ADHD PEOPLE
Attention Deficit Disorder is a neurological brain chemistry make-up involving neuroendocrine hormones and the synaptic system which connects one brain cell to another. The following is a list of neurologically (not psychologically) determined behaviors that are characteristic of ADD/ADHD people.
Children are born with their particular ADD/ADHD brain chemistry which evolves and changes with maturation but never fully disappears.
ADD/ADHD can be recognized in children. It is sometimes more obvious during the stress of the teenage years. Various aspects of ADD/ADHD brain chemistry always persists into adulthood.
The diagnosis of ADD/ADHD must be made clinically, not by presently available tests. It is dependent on the presence of at least several of the following TEN neurological abnormalities:
1. (*)Academic underachieving and/or inattentiveness due to difficulty processing and understanding information.
2. (*)Hyperactive or excessively fidgety behavior of varying intensity.
3. (*)Impulsivity: a. Verbal (i.e., blurting or interrupting others) and b. Action (i.e., acts before thinking or shifts from one activity to another excessively).
4. Enuresis (bedwetting).
5. Dyslexia: a. Spatial (i.e., writing with reversals or reversing number sequences) and b. Verbal (i.e., let me invite me to your birthday party (inverted meaning)).
6. Falling asleep slowly (even if tired).
7. Coming awake slowly (unless excited).
8. Frequent irritability and easy frustration.
9. Negativity with or without “awful feelings”: a. Holding on to anger and b. Holding on to negative thoughts.
10. Episodic explosiveness or “rage” or “tantrums” typically over “little things” or minor issues.
(*) based on diagnostic criteria in the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV manual
