Attention, distraction, hyperactivity: the symptoms of ADHD
Most clinical professionals view ADHD as consisting of three problems:
1. difficulties with sustained attention and increased distractibility, 2. impulse control or inhibition, and 3. self-regulating activity level. Additionally, many also see executive function issues (more on this later!) as part of the ADHD picture, including -self-awareness and self-monitoring, -working memory, -contemplating the future consequences of their proposed actions (including planning, time management, remembering and following rules and instructions), -self-regulating emotion and motivation, -problem-solving to overcome obstacles to their goals, -excessive variability in their responses to situations. |
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These problems and issues originate in the brain. While this website won't explore this information specifically, various resources have been collected together to allow you to go forth and explore if this is your area of interest.
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We will address the EF issues on a different page. For now, let's expand on attention, inhibition, and activity levels in ADHD.
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Attention and Distractibility: Two sides of a coin
Research suggests that ADHD involves a significant difficulty with sustained attention, also called attention span or persistence of effort. They have trouble sticking with things for as long as others. Though they do have shorter attention spans, keeping their attention on something for a long span of time is the most difficult part of paying attention for children with ADHD.
My child doesn't listen. He doesn't finish assigned tasks. He loses things. She can't concentrate and is easily distracted. He can't complete his work without direct supervision. She shifts from one uncompleted activity to another. |
All of these descriptors refer to problems paying attention and concentrating. Students with ADHD have significant difficulty with SUSTAINED attention. Particularly difficult are activities that are boring, repetitious, or tedious. Unfortunately, as children grow up, we expect them to be get better at completing tasks that are boring, repetitious, or tedious (think homework, long household chores). They learn to "make themselves" do it.
Barkley notes that children with ADHD lag behind other children in their ability to tolerate (and do) necessary but uninteresting tasks without assistance by as much as 30% or more. So a ten year old may have the ability to sustain attention as a seven year old unless someone steps in to provide supervision and guidance. |
So, because sustaining attention to tasks that are perceived as boring, tedious or repetitious is difficult for students with ADHD, they are distractible. Their brain is searching for more interesting, more stimulating activities upon which to focus...for a shorter span than is typical. Then another. Then another.
Interestingly, studies have not shown that students with ADHD have difficulty filtering information (distinguishing between important and irrelevant information). They are able to pay attention to the important information, just not as long as other children. Their attention moves on to more "interesting" or novel stimuli.
Previously, it was believed that students with ADHD needed environments devoid of stimulation. This, it was believed, would reduce distraction. However, since distraction happens because kids can't persist in the effort to sustain attention, this strategy did not work and made kids even more distractible as they searched for something to attend to. In fact, research suggests that adding strategic stimulation (like color) to work materials can help sustain attention.
Yes, students with ADHD are more distractible than students without ADHD but there are two problems that make them seem more distracted:
1. They get bored with or lose interest in their work more quickly than students without ADHD. This leads them to go in search of more fun, interesting things. This cause of this "boredom" is being studied by brain researchers but there are two general hypotheses. Some think the boredom is caused by lower brain arousal (so they need more stimulation to keep their brain functioning). Others believe that rewards lose their value faster for students with ADHD so they are less sensitive to reinforcement. At any rate, this "boredom" is brain-based.
2. Children with ADHD seem to be drawn to the most rewarding, fun or reinforcing aspects of the situation, particularly to those things that involve physical movement. So their distractibility is really a search for "more" interesting things to attend to (for a shorter amount of time than other kids).
Interestingly, studies have not shown that students with ADHD have difficulty filtering information (distinguishing between important and irrelevant information). They are able to pay attention to the important information, just not as long as other children. Their attention moves on to more "interesting" or novel stimuli.
Previously, it was believed that students with ADHD needed environments devoid of stimulation. This, it was believed, would reduce distraction. However, since distraction happens because kids can't persist in the effort to sustain attention, this strategy did not work and made kids even more distractible as they searched for something to attend to. In fact, research suggests that adding strategic stimulation (like color) to work materials can help sustain attention.
Yes, students with ADHD are more distractible than students without ADHD but there are two problems that make them seem more distracted:
1. They get bored with or lose interest in their work more quickly than students without ADHD. This leads them to go in search of more fun, interesting things. This cause of this "boredom" is being studied by brain researchers but there are two general hypotheses. Some think the boredom is caused by lower brain arousal (so they need more stimulation to keep their brain functioning). Others believe that rewards lose their value faster for students with ADHD so they are less sensitive to reinforcement. At any rate, this "boredom" is brain-based.
2. Children with ADHD seem to be drawn to the most rewarding, fun or reinforcing aspects of the situation, particularly to those things that involve physical movement. So their distractibility is really a search for "more" interesting things to attend to (for a shorter amount of time than other kids).
Children with ADHD often have trouble with impulse control. This inability to inhibit affects behavior, thoughts, actions, words and emotions. They cannot inhibit (stop) their immediate acting on ideas and thoughts. The ability to "self-regulate" is compromised; they can't modify their behavior with future consequences in mind. Something catches their attention - they scamper over to it quickly. Then another item catches their attention and they are on to the next thing. They say the first thing they think of. They pick up what interests them on the store shelf.
Inhibition difficulty also shows up in a student's inability to stop and think before acting; to wait his turn while playing games, conversing with others, or having to wait in line. Even though their actions may no longer effective in a situation (for example, telling jokes until the teacher notices), they struggle to interrupt their responding quickly and change to more effective responding. In younger children, this difficulty with inhibition often shows up motorically. This is often then labeled 'hyperactivity.'
Inhibition difficulty also shows up in a student's inability to stop and think before acting; to wait his turn while playing games, conversing with others, or having to wait in line. Even though their actions may no longer effective in a situation (for example, telling jokes until the teacher notices), they struggle to interrupt their responding quickly and change to more effective responding. In younger children, this difficulty with inhibition often shows up motorically. This is often then labeled 'hyperactivity.'
Students with ADHD display excessive movement not required to complete a task, such as wriggling their feet and legs, tapping things, rocking while seated, or shifting their posture or position while performing relatively boring tasks. Younger children with the disorder may show excessive running, climbing, and other gross motor activity.
While this tends to decline with age, even teenagers with ADHD are more restless and fidgety than their peers. In adults with the disorder, this restlessness may be more a restlessness of the mind than physically observable. Often adults report a need to always be busy or doing something and being unable to sit still.
While this tends to decline with age, even teenagers with ADHD are more restless and fidgety than their peers. In adults with the disorder, this restlessness may be more a restlessness of the mind than physically observable. Often adults report a need to always be busy or doing something and being unable to sit still.