Answer

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Subtypes of ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) refers to the persistent pattern of hyperactive or lack of attention and a more severe and frequent impulsive behavior than is generally observed at a given stage of an individual’s development. The DSM-V published in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association as a major revision to the DSM IV outlines three main ‘presentations’ (subtypes in DSM IV) of ADHD based on core symptoms and age of onset. Epstein and Loren (2013) classify these presentations into inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive and combined inattentive & hyperactive-impulsive DHD. Teens and adults may be diagnosed with inattentive presentation if they have difficulties paying close attention to details, maintaining attention, following and understanding instructions, listening and organizing their activities.

On the other hand, hyperactive-impulsive ADHD will be presumably present if a person talks excessively, experiences difficulty undertaking activities quietly, demonstrates extreme restlessness, easily intrudes on others and shows difficulty taking turns as Tannock (2013) notes. A person showing symptoms of both inattentive presentation and hyperactive-impulsive will, however, be diagnosed of combined ADHD.           

Implications and Challenges on Coaching of Athletes with ADHD

Coaches may experience several difficulties and or challenges when training athletes with inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD presentations. Thus, the first negative implication on the work of coaches working with such athletes is ineffective communication. As aforementioned, individuals with ADHD presentations, have difficulties in listening, sustaining attention, taking turns and talking in moderation (Connaghan, 2014). This means that holding meaningful conversations with the athletes will be quite challenging for the coaches. Second, since athletes with ADHD are often restless and do not follow instructions easily, training them could be time-consuming as coaches may require more time to address all their (athletes’) training needs.

Opportunities for Coaches

Coaches can transform some of the challenges they experience when working with athletes with ADHD into opportunities. For instance, since individuals with ADHD are more likely to talk excessively, coaches can use it as an opportunity to understand various aspects of their trainee athletes such as social and economic challenges and, above all, their training needs(2017) study employed, there are very little room for generalizing the study’s findings.