Causes

                          The causes of ADHD-I are mostly genetic, but there are some environmental effects also involved. Please see ADHD-C.

Reasons

                          In this area not a great deal of research has been done. However, to date ADHD-I has been linked to problems in the frontal and parietal areas of the brain.

It is thought the frontal lobes of the brain are concerned with Executive Functioning. It appears that those with ADHD-C and those with ADHD-I have some problem with their frontal lobes. In the case of ADHD-C there is also evidence that the basil ganglia (at the base of and in the middle of the brain) are also involved. Some researchers are also looking at the involvement of the temporal lobes (side of the brain – near the ear) and parts of the cerebellum (at the back and lower end of the brain).

The Effects

                       An ADHD-I child’s symptoms will not be quite so obvious as early as those of an ADHD-C child. Thus it is usually about the age of seven before a diagnosis can be made. About 5% of those with ADHD-I are males, with the rest obviously being female. It is not known if a person with ADHD-I will outgrow the disorder, so far it is thought that they will not and therefore retain their symptoms of ADHD-I throughout their life.

As the word inattentive implies, those with ADHD-I have problems with their attention. They have problems with their life at school, social life, work life, and their relationships with the result that their general living is impacted upon and quite often badly. Like ADHD-C it is a disorder that a person does not want to have.

A person with ADHD-I is more likely than the average person to have some co-morbid condition, such as Anxiety or Depression or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. They are no more likely to have Oppositional Defiant Disorder of Conduct Disorder than the average person. It is not known if they suffer from Tourette’s anymore than the average person. As stated previously there is a great lack of research into ADHD-I.

There is a hope for the future as some researchers are now becoming aware that previous research neglected those with ADHD-I and consider it is separate disorder from that of ADHD-C and therefore there may be more ADHD-I research in the future. This is obviously needed due to the fact there is no medication, which is specific for, or assists those with ADHD-I more than the current stimulate medication, which only clinically assists 30%. Future genetic research may lead the way to a medication, which is clinically effective for most of those who are ADHD-I, however this is some time into the future.

An ADHD-I child or adult has problems getting their mind on and keeping their mind on the task at hand. And should they manage to do this, they then have problems with the task at hand. And should they manage to do this, they then have problems with absorbing all the information correctly.

The ADHD-I child or adult will go about the house in, what appears to be their own world. If they are given a series of instructions, say three or four, they will have problems. Firstly they may not have actually tuned in and even understood each instruction, and then they will need to remember the instructions. This is difficult for the ADHD-I person, as they are also hampered by poor short-term and long-term memories. There is also the added burden of trying to sort out the priorities of each of the things they need to do.

Thus a child with ADHD-I will sit in class possibly staring at the teacher. The teacher thinks that the child is paying attention in actual fact the child is not, but rather their thoughts are engaged in what ever is on the child’s mind at the time. The child sits hoping that they will not be noticed.

While the adult, if say a female, will be totally disorganized at home. She will start one task, get sidetracked, start another, get sidetracked again and so it goes on. With nothing ever being organized or any task being completed.

ADHD-I people often lose things; forget where they have placed them. When going out and if they need to take two items with them, they will pick up one, if they remember, and can leave the other behind even if the two items are next and close to each other.

Both ADHD-I children and adults can have problems with their social relationships. They do not appear to read and therefore react to the body language of the person they are conversing with. Due to their attention problem and their slow processing speed, they can at times lose track of what the other person is saying. And do not always interpret what is being said correctly. This can led to them becoming lost in the middle of a conversation, and when they give what they think is the appropriate response: it may not be.

ADHD-I children and adults are not able to take in information fully or necessarily correctly. This is not helped by their poor short term memories. Nor are they able to retrieve the correct information from their long term memories. This can lead them to make poor decisons, and they can end up obsessed with unrealistic ideas or plans.

While as children they will be regarded by their peers as possibly a little odd, they are liked. This is not the case of course with an ADHD-C child, the reverse in fact. However as adults with adult company, the ADHD-I adult can have social problems as they are not quite "with" the current conversation. They do not record all that is said and that they do record may not be correctly recorded or remembered. They find it difficult to hold their attention on the speaker, and can stare at the speaker with their mind off elsewhere

 

Treatment

                  As stated on previous occasions, It is unfortunate that most of the ADHD research to date has been with those who are ADHD-C. As mentioned above only about 30% of those with ADHD-I symptoms improve to clinical recognized levels with medication. However some adults find a balance of their symptoms with low doses of stimulates and SSRI’S. Some children’s symptoms are relieved with a low of stimulate medication.

As medication is not always successful with ADHD-I children or adults, they are then left with the option of some sort of therapy or education, which will assist them in understanding how ADHD-I has impacted upon them, and how to overcome firstly their problems with sustaining their attention on the matter in hand, then they need to learn social skills and finally how to process information more effectively.

Now none of this is as easy as stated previously. It is not at all. An ADHD-I child at school will again most likely need some remedial teaching and on a one to one basis. The one to one basis is necessary, as the teacher needs to be close at hand to assist the child to keep their mind on their learning task. The teacher will also need to repeat the lessons, as this will help the child to learn.

ADHD-I children or adults are no less intelligent than the average person. They can in fact be very intelligent. It is known that there as some with high levels of intelligence can overcome the symptoms of ADHD-I and succeed very well academically. However, this comes at a cost, for they are exhausted at the end of the day by the effort of sustaining their attention. Superior intelligence does not automatically give social skills, so those people too could benefit from attending social skills courses.

And of course those with ADHD-I do indeed have their positives. Anything that they learn well they can become experts at and can give advice or input, which are very worthwhile. They are very loyal, caring towards others, have concern for others, are non-judgmental, will go into things in great depth and become very knowledgeable, they can go well in the performing arts or drama.

As with ADHD-C, it is important that those with children and adults with ADHD-I find out all they can about ADHD-I and if necessary seek treatment. In most cases treatment of some kind is needed. Why? Because if the condition became obvious then all is not well and obviously something needs to be done. Possibly medication and or therapy. Therapy maybe necessary if not for the ADHD-I but for any co-morbid condition, which may be there.