Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic condition that involves severe impulsiveness and attention difficulty. The core symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These fundamental symptoms are associated with difficulties in organizing activities, prioritizing tasks, time management, and problem focusing (Thappar, 2016). In her contribution to the Journal of Child Neurology, Dr. Lydia Furman, MD, describes ADHD as the most common neurobehavioral condition of childhood, which oftentimes persists into adulthood. She goes on to describe ADHD as not necessarily a disease, but rather an accumulation of symptoms that represent a final common behavioral pathway for a gamut of psychological, emotional, and/or learning problems (Furman, 2005). With the notion that these symptoms may persist into adulthood, one could question how a person will be affected by these symptoms as they grow. Although ADHD is a disorder that primarily affects an individual patient, research suggests that the symptoms discussed could affect interpersonal relationships when someone in the relationship endures these symptoms. …show more content…
The presence of ADHD can alter the way one interact with people and ultimately affect one’s relationships with those people. The very nature of the core ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity) can result in changing/affecting relationships. For example, inattention in an ADHD person could lead to them not listening to their non-ADHD significant other/family member. Hyperactivity could lead the ADHD person to doing “too much”, and impulsivity could lead an ADHD person to making irrational/rash decisions that may directly affect the relationship with their non-ADHD counterpart (Orlov,