A.D.H.D.
By Colin Donovan
Definition
- a hard time staying focused and paying attention
- difficulty controlling their impulses
- problems with hyperactivity
According to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), there are three different types of ADHD:
- ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type
ADHD, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type
ADHD, Combined Type
Common Traits of ADHD
People with ADHD may exhibit any or all of these behaviors:
- Getting distracted easily and forgetting things often
- Switching quickly or frequently from one activity to another
- Having trouble following directions, particularly if given a series of instructions all at once
- Having trouble finishing tasks (homework, chores)
- Frequent daydreaming, or staring off into space
- Losing things (toys, books, and school supplies) often
- Fidgeting, squirming, having a hard time staying still; running around a lot
- Talking nonstop or interrupting people
- Touching and playing with everything they see
- Being very impatient
- Blurting out inappropriate comments, saying whatever comes to mind
- Difficulty controlling their emotions
Everybody on Earth has at least one characteristic of ADHD. Some people have enough problems due to their symptoms to get officially diagnosed and medicated for it. One thing a lot of people might think is weird is that many undiagnosed people with ADHD self-medicate with caffeine to help minimize their symptoms!
Three Famous People With ADHD
Will Smith
Albert Einstein
Michael Jordan
More Famous People With ADHD
Justin Timberlake, Michael Phelps, Jim Carrey, Shane Victorino, Britney Spears, Adam Levine, Walt Disney, John F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso, Bill Gates, Wright Brothers, Babe Ruth, Edgar Allen Poe, Abraham Lincoln, Mozart, Beethoven, Steven Tyler, Ozzy Osborne, Elvis, Stevie Wonder, Socrates, Prince Charles, Sylvester Stallone, Napoleon Bonaparte, Woodrow Wilson, Salvadore Dali, Vincent Van Gogh, Henry Ford, Robin Williams, Howie Mandel, Ty Pennington, Ed Hallowell, Viglil Green, Andre Brown, Bill Cosby, Columbus, Lewis and Clarke, Evil Knievil, Tom Cruise, John Lennon, Nostradamus, Issac Newton, Nicolai Tesla, Robert Frost, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, and SO many more.
The great success of all of these people proves that ADHD is a wall, but that all walls can be broken through.
Medication
ADHD is one of the most over-diagnosed disorders in the U.S.A. So there are a lot of meds available. They come in a bunch of different dosages and forms. For example, some come in tablet form and some come in skin patch form. The skin patch is a patch you can put on your buttocks, your arm, or your legs. A tablet or a pill is a form of medication taken by mouth.
Cure
General Population Affected
ADHD is most commonly a childhood disorder. It affects 4.1% of American adults 18 or older in a given year, compared to 9% of children ages 13 to 18. Boys are 4 times more likely to have it than girls.
Causes
There is no confirmed cause, but some people believe that environmental factors, like being near smokers, can help cause ADHD. Also, impacts to the head when you are still an infant can help cause ADHD. Genes are a big part of it. Thinner brain tissue can help cause it.
Body System Affected by This Disorder
The body system affected by this disorder is the neurological system. ADHD affects your ability to process information and make decisions according to it. ADHD blurs this and makes you think differently, like instead of doing the right thing, you might do what you want without considering the consequences.
How Body System Normally Works and When Affected
Your brain tells every part of your body what to do all the time. The brain controls how you think, how you learn, how you remember, and how you feel. This disorder contorts your decision making abilities. It affects your frontal lobe.
Diagnosis
ADHD is diagnosed usually between three and six years old. No single test can diagnose it. A gathering of information about the child is needed. See if behaviors are excessive or long term and affect everywhere in the child's life.
Prognosis
Work Cited
Durani, Yamini, MD. "TeensHealth." Brain and Nervous System. Nemours, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
G, NIMH G. "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)." NIMH RSS. NIMH, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
"What Body Systems Does Adhd Affect?" - Ask.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.