Find a therapist to help with ADHD

The ADHD symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity show up in often unrecognized ways.

Emotional dysregulation, rejection sensitivity, and the importance of interests are key ADHD experiences.

In honor of ADHD Awareness Month, this post focuses on the less common presentations of ADHD symptoms and commonly overlooked presentations of ADHD. First, I would like to address the uncommon presentations of ADHD. As many of you know, the symptoms for diagnosing ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These symptoms have often been conceptualized in stereotypically male terms, but in recent years, we have become more aware of their varied presentations.

Inattention might not simply be being very daydreamy or spacey; it can also be a desire to talk about and focus on our interests, and difficulty paying attention when we're not doing things that interest us. In fact, the name Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a misnomer, since we actually don't have a deficit of attention. Still, in fact, we have difficulty regulating our attention when we are not interested.

When we think of looking for impulsivity, we often think again of the stereotypical young white male who has trouble regulating their behavior in the classroom. However, impulsivity might show up in other ways, such as difficulty regulating speech, interrupting, or difficulty stopping a preferred behavior—such as scrolling social media, playing video games, or another activity that is compelling but may not be healthy or intentionally chosen for the setting.

We often think of hyperactivity as physical hyperactivity. However, this can show up in a........

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