When a psychiatric condition called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder occurs to an adult, it is called adult attention deficit disorder. There is no certain knowledge about how exactly it occurs in adults; yet, there are epidemiological studies that suggest that such a condition which implies inattentiveness, difficulty in performing work chores and tasks, procrastination or having problems getting organized appear to occur in about two to four percent of adults.
In addition, children who may have had such conditions would expect that it would persist even in adult years and happens so in about half of such children that has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.
Adults are Often Undiagnosed
Though most diagnoses of attention deficit disorder are confined to children, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not exclude adult attention deficit disorders and many adults do get diagnosed for such an illness. In spite of the fact that the disorder may not have appeared in a young age, present day thinking suggests that all adults having adult attention deficit disorder must have had it during their childhood years.
Symptoms tend to reduce as one ages and so fewer number of adults are believed to have adult attention deficit disorder as compared to children. According to studies conducted, it is believed that as many as about half of the children diagnosed with this disorder retain it even in their adult years.
Some professionals have found that adult attention deficit disorder have often developed coping skills as well as some manifestations of adaptive behavior that leads to the symptoms becoming less noticeable to both them as well as to others. Also, adults are more likely to realize that they have adult attention deficit disorder than do children but in spite of this, it is still necessary for a person to seek professional diagnosis for such a condition.
Adult attention deficit disorder causes the adult to be incapable of structuring their own lives and also experience difficulty in organizing simple everyday tasks and as a consequence, inattentiveness as well as restlessness can in many cases, become secondary problems. However, just as no two people have the same brain, so too, the symptoms of adult attention deficit disorder differ widely in individuals and can also vary during the lifetime as an individual achieves greater maturity and becomes more affected by life experiences as well as learned behavior.
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