Adult ADHD

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Introduction Adult AHDH is a valid disorder. The present clinicians define ADHD as a developmental disorder of childhood onset. Children who have ADHD normally have poor school performance (Deley, 2006). Adult who have ADHD have a high rate of psychiatric co-morbidity, particularly substance abuse (Mannuzza Klein & Bessler, 1998; Weiss, Hechtman, Milroy & Perlman, 1985). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th edition (DSM-IV, APA, 1994) illustrates certain clinical criteria for diagnosis of ADHD. It defines three subtypes of ADHD, an inattentive subtype, a hyperactive-impulsive subtype and a combined subtype (APA, 1994). These categories emphasize the deficits in the regulation of cognitive function. Studies of adult ADHD have clearly showed the syndrome of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity (Downey et al., 1997). It also demonstrated that 3-5% of children and about 1-3% of the adult population in the world had ADHD (Fayyad et al., 2007). A mate-analysis of follow-up studies also shows that up to 65% of children with ADHD symptoms and impairments may persist into adulthood (Biederman et al., 2006). However, although ADHD as a valid adult diagnosis, it does not support that ADHD arises de novo in adulthood (Faraone et al., 2000). This essay will show the validity of adult ADHD from prevalence rate, clinical view, family study and treatment response. Prevalence of adult ADHD The prevalence of adult ADHD is estimated differently by several studies. But all these studies seem to demonstrate adult ADHD is a valid disorder. The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative studies tend to show the prevalence of ADHD by using DSM-IV diagnosis; they invite 60463 mental disorders adults from 14 countries. They have defined that AD... ... middle of paper ... ... ADHD, it is not identical with child ADHD. The rate of substance use and gender difference are different between child ADHD and adult ADHD. But these two differences do not affect the validity of adult ADHD; it instead provides more evidence. Based on the fact that genes affect human’s susceptibility to ADHD, parents of ADHD children are more likely to have ADHD than parents of non-ADHD children. Genes also influence the persistence of ADHD from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, due to the stability of gene, ADHD children should also have ADHD in their adulthood. The treatment response is also similar between children, adolescent and adult patients. Both the ADHD children and adults show significant response to methylphenidate and DMI. However, there is not a consistent diagnosis. Thus, the future study needs to form a consistent and effective diagnosis for ADHD.

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