Adult ADHD: What Is It?

Fifty to sixty-six percent of children who have ADHD will continue to have the disorder as adults. Adults with ADHD face unique problems in the home, workplace and their personal lives. ADHD is often found alongside substance abuse, depression and some learning disorders. The mental health community continues to grow in its understanding of and ability to treat adults with ADHD.

Taylor Smith, CMA, is a multifaceted Certified Medical Assistant who has adult ADHD. Her thorough training and treatment experience allow her to speak effectively about the difficulties and management of adult ADHD. In this free mental health video series, Taylor will describe the symptoms of adult ADHD and its impact on all areas of life. She will also outline the strategies and means by which adults with ADHD may learn to live with this disorder.

"So, we're going to take some to talk about a subject that is not only near and dear to my own heart, but also near and dear to my own head. And, we're going to talk about adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or adult ADHD. Throughout these series of segments, I'll be referring to both adult ADD and adult ADHD, as just ADHD, just to make things a little more simple. ADHD is a disorder comprised of neurologically based psychiatric/psychological symptoms involving inability to focus, lack of attention, destructibility, impulsively, hyperactivity, can't sit still, can't focus, I don't want to do things that I'm not interested in, because I can't focus on them. A number of issues that can be very disruptive to adult life and be detrimental in work place settings, in social romantic/personal settings, and detrimental to a person's sense of self. These, these do stem from childhood ADD, but we'll be focusing mostly on adult ADHD."