behandlungsfeld adhs 1

ADHD/​ADD

ADHD or atten­ti­on deficit/​hyperactivity dis­or­der, also known col­lo­qui­al­ly as “fid­get spin­ner” syn­dro­me, descri­bes a group of beha­viou­ral dis­or­ders that are pri­ma­ri­ly cha­rac­te­ri­zed by inat­ten­ti­on, motor rest­less­ness and impul­si­vi­ty. ADHD is by no means a “fashionable dise­a­se” inven­ted by ambi­tious par­ents and annoy­ed tea­chers. In the well-known child­ren’s book “Struw­wel­pe­ter”, the Frank­furt neu­ro­lo­gist Dr. Hein­rich Hoff­mann cle­ar­ly descri­bed the signs of ADHD as ear­ly as 1845.

Sym­ptoms of ADHD and ADD

ADHD and ADD begin in child­hood, usual­ly with sym­ptoms such as

  • pro­no­un­ced motor rest­less­ness (hyperac­ti­vi­ty) (with ADHD)
  • impul­si­ve beha­vi­or
  • Rest­ric­tions in the area of atten­ti­on and lack of con­cen­tra­ti­on.

The fol­lo­wing sym­ptoms may occur:

  • Lack of con­cen­tra­ti­on and inat­ten­ti­on
  • Motor rest­less­ness
  • Hypo­ac­ti­vi­ty
  • Cha­os and dis­or­ga­niza­ti­on
  • Impul­si­ve­ness
  • Mood swings and emo­tio­nal insta­bi­li­ty
  • Dif­fi­cul­ties at school or at work
  • Dif­fi­cul­ties in social rela­ti­onships
  • Self-doubt
  • For­getful­ness
  • Moti­va­ti­on pro­blems

The sym­ptoms often per­sist into adult­hood, usual­ly under­go a chan­ge in seve­ri­ty and deve­lop addi­tio­nal sym­ptoms. The main sym­ptoms remain detec­ta­ble. Espe­ci­al­ly in adult­hood, AD(H)S is a risk fac­tor for a lar­ge num­ber of accom­pany­ing men­tal dis­or­ders, such as addic­tion, depres­si­on and anxie­ty.