Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that affects between 3% and 5% of school children and 2% and 4% of adults. Symptoms of the condition are also different between adults and children which make the diagnosis more difficult.
The diagnosis of ADHD appears to be more common and more socially acceptable in children than it does in adults. Society appears to hold the opinion that adults should be able to control their behaviors while children are given a bit more latitude. The symptoms that may be common in children will also change as they grow through adolescence making parenting a teen even more difficult than it is already.
The American Psychiatric Association recognizes the DSM-IV or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a comprehensive classification of officially recognized disorders. The DSM-IV lists criteria for the diagnosis of ADHD that fall in either the inattentive or hyperactive categories.
Based on their criteria there are three different types of ADHD. There is a Combined Type in which there are criteria from both the inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive factors; there is the Predominantly Inattentive Type when criteria from the inattentive type is met but the criteria from the hyperactive/impulse haven’t been consistently met for the past six months; and there is the Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type when criteria from the hyperactive/impulsive factors are met but non from the inattentive are met for the past six months.