ADHD Over-Arousal Type

ADHD – Alex

Case Study: ADHD

Symptoms: Difficulty with self-regulation, difficulty staying on task, and anxiety.

Alex was like most of the children diagnosed with ADHD before they came to Gray Matters. He appeared to have difficulty sitting still in class, with his teachers saying he was easily distracted and needed constant redirection. While doing well with subjects and tasks that interested him, he struggled with other classes and took much longer than expected to complete his work. He also needed constant reassurances from his teachers to reduce his anxiety.

Alex’s brain showed clear over-arousal. His struggles with attention were due to a difficulty calming his brain, rather than activating it. Although dysregulated, he fit the description of ADHD, but for a quite different reason. Most importantly, this analysis showed he was not a candidate for ADHD medication.