- Often loses items. Children with ADHD do not always pay attention to details. They are easily distracted and will put an item down, think about something else that is going on and forget where they put the item down. Losing items consistently is a major complaint of people with ADHD.
- Forgetful. Children with ADHD are often forgetful in daily activities. This might be a result of becoming distracted or because they move on from an activity quickly. Being forgetful is frustrating for both the person with ADHD and the people around them. It is important to remember that just because something is important, that someone will remember it. Often we are told, “If it is important enough, you will remember it.” This just is not the case for those with ADHD.
Characteristics of Inattention in Adults
- Often loses items. Adults with ADHD often complain of losing keys, important phone numbers, their cell phones or wallets on a regular basis.
- Often forgetful. Whether something is important or trivial does not make a difference. Forgetfulness is a daily struggle for adults with ADHD. They may forget to take out the trash or forget to pick the children up from school. This is sometimes a result of being distracted or hyperfocus.
- Not completing tasks. Whether it is a project you have become bored with and are no longer interested in, or a daily task that you started, became distracted and hours later remembered that you never finished, there are tasks everyday that are half done.
- Difficulty following conversations. Being easily distracted doesn’t go away when someone is talking to you. You might start out the conversation hearing everything only to be distracted by something else and all of the sudden you have no idea what someone is talking about. You might miss important deadlines or events because you only heard half of a conversation.
- Lack of motivation. No matter how good your intentions are, you always seem to get sidetracked and can’t seem to get to the project at hand. It may be that the project sounds boring or is just something that you don’t really have any interest in.
