Hyperactivity

This is one of the stock symptoms associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. From the standpoint of brain function we can look at this in a number of ways. It can be looked at as a deficiency in behavioral inhibition. It can be seen as the consequence of an inappropriate level of activation of the motor system. It can also be seen as a consequence of discontinuity in mental processing which may happen generally in the ADHD child. Such discontinuity disrupts the internal narrative that accompanies our life experience. On the input side, the child becomes highly distractible. On the output side, the child may be seen as hyperactive. Hyperactivity can be related to the child's level of physiological arousal, so that the child's nervous system cannot sustain vigilance.

It is not actually necessary for either the clinician or the parent to sort out the details here. Providing the brain with a greater competence to regulate its own affairs is all that is required, and that can usually be accomplished with brain training. Enhancing the brain's ability to control itself has broad benefits for the behavioral deficits in the child. When one witnesses this process as a parent, it becomes clear in retrospect that the child was probably not able to control his or her behavior before because of brain-based reasons.