Young adolescent female suffering from depression and difficulty with scholastic activities*

keywords: adolescent, depression, ADD, inattentive, concentration

Occupation:
Student

Question:
Ms X, a 15 year old girl, presented for assessment due to complaints of poor concentration and distractibility. There was concern that Ms X may be suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder. Given the subtle nature of Ms X complaints and her age, we perfor

Problem:
Ms X reports that she finds it hard to get started and hard to maintain concentration. She reports that she will become easily distracted and this can lead to frustration due to not being able to complete work.

Complications:
NA.

Outcome:
Ms X was found to display significant cognitive and psychophysiological deficits that indicate executive function weaknesses and attentional abnormalities leading to difficulty with the processing of relevant information and ignoring of irrelevant information.

Conclusion:
Given significant neuropsychological (cognitive) and psychophysiological deficits and consistency with ADD, this information was taken in conjunction with behavioural observations and DSM-IV criteria to diagnose ADD of the inattentive type.

Ms X was given the appropriate treatment and he academic performance and behaviour at home improved considerably.

*The case examples are based on clinical experience but are dissimilar from real cases. The examples provided are for illustrative purposes only and any resemblance to a real life case is of coincidence.