Life Persistence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

This paper is to review Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the developmental perspective, focusing on clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD throughout life stage. When diagnosed with ADHD, before entering elementary school early diagnosis and early intervention is encouraged to reduce various impairments that occur during development. Thirty to eighty percent of school-age ADHD symptoms remain throughout the adolescence or meet the ADHD diagnosis criteria. During adolescence, hyperactivity and impulsiveness from other existing symptoms become less severe but children have insufficiency to continue studying or task compared to their peers. Pharmacologic treatment had been shown to be the most effective treatment regimen for adolescents who continue to have ADHD symptoms. In adults, representative symptoms of ADHD, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, often gradually decrease while lack of concentration remains. As Conner's Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV (CAADID), a structured interview for the diagnosis of adulthood ADHD has been translated into Korean, it can be applied clinically. Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment in adults had been shown to be effective.