It seemed that the harder he tried, the worse things got for Robert Jergen. As a child, he was always being scolded by his parents and teachers. As an adult, his bosses reprimanded him for missed deadlines and his attitude problem. He got fired from jobs, drank heavily, and lost his fiancé.

But Jergen wasn't a slouch, a drunk, or intentionally obnoxious. He had a condition called attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"I wanted to be a good kid, but I frequently did things without thinking or without even realizing that I did them," says Jergen. Problems with concentration continued to plague him as an adult. In college, Jergen would stay up all night trying to finish his schoolwork. "I could not focus my attention on the page long enough to read a paragraph. My thoughts raced round and round in my head. It's like my mind was a pinball machine with five or six balls smashing into each other."

ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in children, according to the American Psychiatric Association. It's often diagnosed once a child hits preschool and is disruptive in class — unable to sit still, talking incessantly, and having emotional outbursts. While some children see their symptoms fade as they get older, others carry them into adolescence and adulthood.

Although there is no cure for ADHD, medications and behavioral therapy can help treat the symptoms. The Food and Drug Administration has approved two drugs for adults with ADHD, and more have been approved for use in children. But the decision to take medication should be considered carefully and discussed with a health professional, says Paul Andreason, M.D., a drug reviewer in the FDA's Division of Neuropharmacological Drug Products. Some drugs used to treat ADHD can be dangerous for adults with certain medical conditions. They also have the potential for addiction and abuse. Adults taking medications should be closely monitored by a physician. Children, too, who take drugs for ADHD need regular medical checkups.

Three Types of ADHD

Everyone has trouble sitting still sometimes, or managing time, or completing a task. But the behavior of people with ADHD goes beyond occasional fidgeting, disorganization, and procrastination. For them, performing tasks can be so hard that it interferes with their ability to function at work, at home, at school, and socially.

A diagnostic manual compiled by the American Psychiatric Association identifies three types of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined.

A person with inattentive ADHD, previously known as attention-deficit disorder (ADD), has trouble focusing on activities, organizing and finishing tasks, and following instructions.

Children with hyperactive-impulsive ADHD are in constant motion, dashing around touching everything in sight, and jumping on and off furniture. They often blurt out inappropriate comments, don't wait their turn, show excessively intense emotions, or hit others when upset. Hyperactive and impulsive adults feel restless, are constantly "on the go," and try to do multiple tasks at once. They are often perceived as not thinking before they act or speak.

Individuals with the combined form of ADHD show symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.

Who Has It?

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that between 3 percent and 5 percent of children in the United States have ADHD. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD. Three times as many boys are diagnosed with ADHD, but "girls are getting diagnosed more and more," says Nora Galil, M.D., a psychiatrist in private practice in Washington, D.C. The symptoms may be easier to spot in boys, she says, who may be seen slipping from their chairs and tossing things across the room. "You can often identify it in a short period of time because they are so disruptive. Girls may be the ones who daydream and are not disruptive, so it's not picked up nearly as much."

The number of adults with ADHD is unknown, and medical experts continue to debate whether children can expect to outgrow the symptoms of ADHD by the time they reach adulthood.

Some studies have shown a significant decline in ADHD symptoms as a person ages. Others estimate that between 30 percent and 70 percent of children with ADHD will continue to have symptoms into adulthood.

"In adults, it's a much more elaborate disorder than in children," says Russell Barkley, Ph.D., a psychiatry professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. "It's more than paying attention and controlling impulses. The problem is developing self-regulation." This self-control affects an adult's ability not just to do tasks, but to determine when they need to be done, says Barkley. "You don't expect 4- or 5-year-olds to have a sense of time and organization, but adults need goal-directed behavior — they need help in planning for the future and remembering things that have to get done."

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Tags: ADD and ADHD: Attention Deficit Disorder

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