Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about attention, deficit, hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.

If you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zero tofinals.com slash ADHD or in the CAM section of the

Zero to Finals Pediatrics book. So let's get straight into it. There's a normal spectrum

amongst children and adults in their level of activity throughout the day and night,

and their ability to concentrate on a single task for an extended period.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD is at the extreme end of hyperactivity and inability to concentrate, which is referred to as attention deficit.

It affects the person's ability to carry out everyday tasks,

develop normal skills and perform well in school.

Features should be consistent across various settings.

When a child displays these features only at school

but is calm and well behaved at home or vice versa,

this suggests an environmental problem

rather than an underlying diagnosis.

Let's talk about the features.

All the features of ADHD can be part of a normal spectrum of childhood behavior.

When many of these features are present and it's adversely affecting the child, ADHD can be considered.

And these features are a very short attention span, quickly moving from one activity to another,

quickly losing interest in a task and not being able to persist with challenging tasks,

constantly moving or fidgeting,

impulsive behavior, and disruptive or rule-breaking behavior.

Finally, let's talk about management.

A detailed assessment should be carried out by a specialist in childhood behavioral problems

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