OCD and ADHD

Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in relation to OCD

ADHD is a behavioural disorder that includes symptoms such as inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Most ADHD symptoms are noticed within early childhood, with the vast majority of children successfully diagnosed between 6-12 years old. Often the school environment can become increasingly testing for a child with ADHD, meaning that symptoms usually begin to show reasonably early on within a child’s academic career. More often than not, symptoms of ADHD improve with age, with many teens and young adults having minimal symptoms whereby they deem their ADHD to have a minimal impact on their lives. It is common for people with ADHD to have other problems, such as issues around getting to sleep, switching off, and becoming more prone to anxiety disorders. One of the difficulties with accurately diagnosing ADHD, especially in the early stages, is down to the fact that many of the symptoms are very typical of your average young child. For example, phases of restlessness, inattentiveness, and disrupted sleep cycles affect many children, but this does not necessarily mean that they have ADHD. However, it is advisable to raise a concern with your local SENC or GP if you feel that your child’s symptoms go beyond that of their peers; of that, such disruptions in behaviour lasts longer than it does for other children of a similar age. Although less common nowadays, there are cases where ADHD can go unrecognized for years, and in some cases, the entirety of someone’s life.
If you'd like to book a session, or talk to a therapist to understand more about OCD and ADHD
For additional information, including key differences between OCD and ADHD, how to obtain a diagnosis, further symptoms and how to recognise them, a recommended reading list and more please enter your email to download our free eguide here.

What causes the development of ADHD?

Although we do not know the exact causes of ADHD, it is said to be due to potentially several factors. Genes, brain anatomy and functioning are all believed to play a significant role in the development of ADHD in children. In some cases, ADHD has developed after the person experiences a significant head injury. Other believed causes relate to childbirth, such as prematurity or prenatal impacts of consumption of alcohol and nicotine. In sporadic cases, toxins within the environment have also been correlated positively with the development of such symptoms. Interestingly, an average of 21% of children and 8.1% of adults that have OCD also have ADHD.

How common is ADHD?

In recent years, the number of children getting treatment for ADHD has risen domestically and internationally. Currently, it is not clear whether more children are showing symptoms of ADHD or whether we are becoming better at identifying and diagnosing the condition.

How can our program help?

First and foremost, we help many parents clarify which of their child’s symptoms can be categorized into OCD compared to ADHD behaviours. As each of these conditions often exists alongside each other, we find that many of the therapeutic tools that we teach to manage OCD help both the child and parent to manage symptoms. Concerning specific behaviours of ADHD, we can also work closely with children to learn to manage and become more self-aware of such impulsive behaviours. Often not knowing the difference between OCD and ADHD behaviours can become hugely problematic. Many clients state after the program that simply understanding these differences alone made a key difference in helping to manage such behaviours. Through providing a combination of Psychoeducation, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT) and talking therapy , we have found that our program can help children and adults to manage both their OCD and ADHD symptoms successfully. We have worked with children as young as five years old, as well as adults of all ages with positive results.
If you'd like to book a session, or talk to a therapist to understand more about OCD and ADHD
For additional information, including key differences between OCD and ADHD, how to obtain a diagnosis, further symptoms and how to recognise them, a recommended reading list and more please enter your email to download our free eguide here.