It is an attribute common in people with ADHD. Symptoms of hypersensitivity include being highly sensitive to physical (via sound, sight, touch, or smell) and or emotional stimuli and the tendency to be easily overwhelmed by too much information.
Emotional sensitivity in ADHD may present as passionate thoughts, emotions, and feelings more intense than anyone else. Their highs are higher, and their lows are lower than the average person. People with ADHD experience stronger emotions, whether positive or negative.
Clinicians working with people with ADHD view hypersensitivity, both physical and/or emotional, as a common comorbid condition. “[People with ADHD] often are hypersensitive in one of the sensory domains: sound, touch, or smell,” says Ned Hallowell, M.D., author of Driven to Distraction (#CommissionsEarned).
Kids with ADHD can also have tantrums or meltdowns. These meltdowns can be extreme and often involve crying, yelling, and fits of anger. When a child has a meltdown, parents may feel overwhelmed and not know what to do. Don't panic.
Children with ADHD have more difficulties in tactile processing. The level of tactile defensiveness in females with ADHD is higher than that of males with ADHD. Tactile defensiveness is not part of a familial risk for ADHD because it is specific to children with ADHD and not to their sibling without ADHD.
Often girls with ADHD have a physiological sensitivity that results in their not wanting to be touched or feeling really sensitive to physical affection, such as hugs.
Excessive talking is a common symptom for kids with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), who often have trouble inhibiting and controlling their responses. 1 They may blurt out whatever first comes to mind, whether appropriate or not, without thinking through how their words may be received.
At what age are symptoms of ADHD the worst? The symptoms of hyperactivity are typically most severe at age 7 to 8, gradually declining thereafter. Peak severity of impulsive behaviour is usually at age 7 or 8. There is no specific age of peak severity for inattentive behaviour.
Kids with ADHD don’t have different emotions from most of their peers. They feel hurt, anger, sadness, discouragement, laziness and worry just like everyone else does. What is different for many kids with ADHD is that these feelings seem to be more frequent and intense. They also seem to last longer.
More than 50 percent of kids with ADHD also exhibit defiance and emotional outbursts. Why is that? Kids who have ADHD tend to become defiant in circumscribed situations—when they are expected to do homework, go to bed, stop playing a game, sit down and eat dinner.
As we've discussed, unfortunately, many people with ADHD tend to have a lack of empathy. This can be addressed, though, through identifying and communicating about each other's feelings.
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do.
Sometimes, anxiety can occur independently of ADHD. Other times, it can be as a result of living with ADHD. A person who has ADHD and misses a work deadline or forgets to study for an important exam can become stressed and worried. Even the fear of forgetting to do such important tasks may cause them anxiety.
Many people with ADHD experience a physical hypersensitivity to a variety of things, including touch. Being hypersensitive may mean that stimulation of their genitals might be uncomfortable or even painful in someone with ADHD. This sensitivity may also extend to other senses as well.
The real age of a child with ADHD is not tied to their birthday or intelligence, but to their emotional maturity and executive functioning skills. Learn how to shift your expectations and strategies based on your child's 'real age. ' When kids have ADHD, they tend to be scattered across different developmental areas.
ADHD student strengths often include a high level of creativity and innovation. ADHD students often have an outstanding ability to think outside the box and come up with unique solutions to problems. They are also often highly empathetic and intuitive, with a deep understanding of others' emotions and needs.
Obsessing and ruminating are often part of living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). No matter how hard you try to ignore them, those negative thoughts just keep coming back, replaying themselves in an infinite loop.
And soda has other ingredients that worsen ADHD symptoms, such as high-fructose corn syrup and caffeine. "Excessive sugar and caffeine intake both cause symptoms of hyperactivity and easy distractibility," says Dr. Barnhill.
Many children (perhaps as many as half) will outgrow their symptoms but others do not, so ADHD can affect a person into adulthood. 2. There are different types of ADHD: predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation; predominantly inattentive presentation; combined presentation.
ADHD in people over 50 years old
There have not been many studies involving people with ADHD who are older than 50 years. However, some research suggests that ADHD symptoms are significantly less prevalent in people aged 70–80 years than in those aged 50–60 years.
Another speech issue connected with ADHD is speaking too quickly. This will sound almost as if the child's speech is slurred. This can be due to the cognitive impulsivity related to ADHD.
ADHD kids can be so much more irritable. They are hyper sensitive to all 5 senses which increases anger, frustration, and can cause less stable moods throughout the day! Sometimes it might feel that they don't try at all. Sometimes it might seem they are doing everything they can, but they still get angry.
Parenting an ADHD child is exhausting. Your day is filled with looking for things your child 'lost', dealing with careless mistakes, selective listening, fidgeting, and epic amounts of redirecting distractibility. And that list is only a small selection of all that you really have to deal with.