ADHD
By: Alyssa Meredith
What is ADHD?
What are the symptoms of ADHD?
Symptoms of ADHD include:
Behavioral: Aggression, excitability, fidgeting, hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability, lack of restraint, and persistent repetition of words or actions.
Cognitive: Absent-mindedness, difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, problem paying attention, and having a short attention span.
Mood: Anger, anxiety, boredom, excitement, and mood swings.
Also common symptoms of ADHD are: Depression or a learning disability.
What are the causes of ADHD?
Diagnosis for ADHD:
For adults: To be diagnosed with ADHD, they must have ADHD symptoms that began in childhood and continued through adulthood. Health professionals use certain rating scales to determine if an adult meets the criteria of ADHD. The professional will also look at the history of childhood behavior and school experiences, and will interview spouses and partners, parents, close friends, and associates. The person will also undergo a physical exam and various psychological tests to determine if they have ADHD or not.
Treatments of ADHD:
Medication for children: The most common type of medication used for treating ADHD is a stimulant, which has a calming affect of children with ADHD.For many children, ADHD medications reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity and improve their ability to focus, work and learn. A "one size fits all" approach does not apply for all children with ADHD. What works for one child might not work for another. Any child taking medication must be monitored closely and carefully by caregivers and doctors. Medications come in different forms, such as a pill, capsule, liquid, or skin patch.
Medication for adults: Not all ADHD medication is approved for adults. Anti-depressants are sometimes used to treat adults with ADHD. Adult prescriptions for stimulants and other medication require special considerations.
Therapy for children: Psychotherapy for children may include organizing tasks or completing schoolwork, or working through emotionally difficult events. It teaches a child to monitor their own behavior. A goal for therapy for children is acting in a desired way, such as controlling anger and thinking before acting.
Therapy for adults: Therapy for adults teaches how to organize life with tools such as a large calendar or date book, lists, reminder notes, and by assigning a special place for keys, bills, and paperwork. Therapy can help change one's poor self image by examining the experiences that produced ADHD. The therapist encourages the adult with ADHD to adjust to the life changes that come with the treatment, such as thinking before acting or resisting the urge to take unnecessary risks.
Can ADHD be cured?
Who can get ADHD?
Gender: Although girls can have ADHD,boys are four times at risk than girls.
Family History: Having a biological parent or sibling that has ADHD seems to raise a child's changes of developing it.
Prenatal Risk: Some studies have shown that a possible increase of risk among children who's mothers smoked cigarettes or used alcohol during pregnancy could be a cause for ADHD.
Environmental toxins: Exposure to very high levels of lead before ages 6, might also raise a child's chance of getting ADHD.
Ongoing research about ADHD:
Interesting facts about ADHD:
- Many people with ADHD struggle with short term memory loss. They can remember where they grew up, but not the meeting their boss told them about three minutes earlier.
- Many people with ADHD have trouble sticking to a healthy routine. Research shows that people with this disorder have sleep problems, impulsive eating habits, or not getting enough exercise.
- There is not just one brand of ADHD. Everybody's traits, struggles, and ability to cope are different.
- people with ADHD don'y have trouble paying attention. They just have trouble paying attention to the "right" things. What they do well is control what to pay attention to. If something isn't inherently interesting to them, it takes a huge amount of effort to tune in.
- Not everyone who has high energy has ADHD. Many people with the condition struggle to get off of the couch. Aws adults, they may be unsure of what to do, or want to do so many things that they can't do anything at all.
Controversies of ADHD:
Many experts agree that ADHD is a neurological disorder that can be influenced by environmental factors. Despite research that has demonstrated differences in brain structure and function between individuals with ADHD and "normal" subjects, some experts continue to suggest that psychological factors are the primary cause of the disorder. Although some research suggests that psychological factors can be important determinants in the severity of the disorder, most research suggests that ADHD is biologically based.