This subtype of ADHD is certainly the most ‘well known’ - well, we should say - is the one that people believe they know. This is the stereotype that we’ve already discussed - the image of the little boy running riot in the supermarket.

A person with this subtype would often be quite simple for the trained eye to spot, and common traits that may be exhibited would be;

• Struggling to sit still, fidgeting in their seat, leaving their sit, frequently tapping their hands / feet, or fiddling with ‘things’.

• Seem to have a constant supply of high energy - running, climbing when (usually exhibited during childhood, which can reduce throughout maturity and become more visibly and obviously restless) in settings where it’s inappropriate.

• Could be described as though they are “run by a motor”, constantly on the hunt for new stimulation.

• Experiencing random bursts of energy.

• They may have the ability to talk ‘until the cows come home’. When discussing a topic of interest, they may become much more excited and animated than most and quite difficult to interrupt.

• They may seem like they want to be the centre of attention, constantly making noise (talking for no reason, humming, singing or using a variety of objects as a drum kit!), forever cracking jokes or doing something daft or crazy to provoke reaction.

• Struggling to wait for an appropriate opportunity to provide their input during a conversation. They may frequently interrupt others or talk over them.

• May seem to lack a filter - speaking before thinking / being brutally honest / using inappropriate language.

• Can intrude on others, such as intruding personal space, joining a conversation that they were not invited to, interrupt (and sometimes try to take over) something that another person is doing.

• Their emotions may seem disproportionate compared to the situation; they may seem to get very angry, upset or frustrated for little or no reason, and / or seem to be ‘bouncing off the walls’ with excitement, over something that seems quite normal or even mundane to others.

• Seemingly reckless and / or fearless - will do something without considering the consequences first, or will take the risk even if the consequences have been considered, eg, creating their very own questionable skate park in their garden out of some loose bricks and a questionable sheet of plywood, driving at 70mph down an unknown country lane, or gambling your entire life’s savings on your hand, during a friendly game of Poker.

• Adrenaline junkies - constantly on the lookout for new and increased stimulation, it’s not uncommon for them to have an insatiable desire for extreme (often dangerous) activities.

Although this subtype can often be seen to externalise their symptoms / behaviours which can help to identify ADHD, it is very important to know that these can also be internalised - especially in females - and some individuals may outwardly seem to fit the characteristics of the ‘inattentive subtype’, which you’ll see defined below.

This subtype is much more common in females and is arguably the most worrying as the symptoms they tend to display are much more discreet, which means it’s much trickier to identify.

On top of the symptoms being much more subtle; the symptoms exhibited are very similar to multiple other mental health conditions such as, anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder (BPD), bipolar disorder (BD), etc, which often leads to a misdiagnosis. And even if the condition/s that has been identified, do exist, they are likely a by-product of ADHD. This means that not only are the odds stacked against their symptoms being identified, but even if the symptoms are identified, they are unlikely - in many cases - to have the root cause itself (their ADHD) identified and treated.

Common traits for this subtype are:

• Lack of motivation - can be viewed as lazy or they may seem (rudely) disinterested

• Are easily bored and struggle to maintain concentration. It may be misunderstood as them not understanding or caring about the stakes at play in certain situations, no matter how much that point is stressed.

• Disorganised and may seem a bit of a “scatter brain” - often losing things, surrounded by clutter and chaos, OR, can be extremely (perhaps obsessively) organised and tidy, which would be caused through fear of losing control, as they are acutely aware of constantly balancing on the precipice that can easily crumble away, tipping them into a chaos, or through fear of exposing themselves as a “failure”.

• Prone to making careless at times and seem to pay little attention to detail, or even leave a task completely unfinished

• Poor time management - we often use the term “time blind”. No matter how much time they have, they just seem to have a knack of always being late. They often grossly underestimate the time it will take to perform a task, even if it’s a daily routine (if they say they’ll be ready to leave in ten minutes, you can usually expect this to translate to half an hour). They can also be so unaware of how quickly time is passing, that they may genuinely think it’s around 11am, until they receive a call from their child’s school, wondering where they are at 3:45pm!

• Forgetful - continually missing appointments, get to the checkout and realise they don’t have their purse or wallet (thank goodness for payment apps - our phones are rarely forgotten!), will (far more frequently than usual) walk into a room to get something and forget what it was, or see something else that reminds them about that other ‘thing’ they forgot to do and end up changing tasks entirely without realising.

• Easily distracted or the complete opposite, and be impossible to distract. Although they can have one without the other, usually they will flit between the two extremes and won’t experience anything in the middle. They are either in “the zone” as if no outside world exists, or have such little interest, that anything even slightly more stimulating than the current task will immediately captivate their attention.

• Can often seem to not be listening when being directly spoken to - their mind seems to wander very easily.

• May often refuse, avoid or be reluctant to engage in mentally draining, lengthy or boring tasks, such as homework, general admin tasks, clearing out / organising spaces, responding to messages (that they know will prompt a response and another message that they need to respond to).

• They may come across as introverted, tend to “sit in the background”, avoid bringing any unnecessary attention to themselves and seem to be quite uninterested in social interaction (especially if they are in the company of people they’re not overly familiar with). With this trait, it’s not uncommon for them to demonstrate the polar opposite of this at times, which tends to depend on the environment and the people they’re with.

This is the most common subtype of ADHD and as its name suggests; people with Combined ADHD possess a varied combination of the traits / symptoms from the other two subtypes.

It is very important to be aware that many of the symptoms can be internalised or externalised and they may not be very obvious to spot at all even if they do have symptoms that fall into the hyperactive-impulsive category, which is especially likely to happen in females.