Info About ADD-ADHD - By: Sally Badok

ADD and ADHD, these two terms are often used interchangeably to describe a medical condition in which kids find it impossible to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time and who just cannot sit still.

ADD is the acronym for attention deficit disorder while ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What sets both terms aside is the word "hyperactivity." So normally if the hyperactivity element is not present, then the label assigned to the kid is ADD. If there is hyperactivity, then he is ADHD. Whether its ADD or ADHD, the official word now is ADHD since 1994.

If you research old resources to find information on this disorder, which is one of the most researched childhood disorders in the West today, you may often come across terms such as mental deficiency, hyperkinesis and minimal brain damage. The term ADHD was coined in 1987 whereas the acronym ADD was coined in the late 1970s.

There are basically three types of ADHD - ADHD, ADD and ADHD combined type (mixture of symptoms of ADHD and ADD).

Children with ADHD are picked out very early on by teachers because they are seen as very naughty. ADHD children are hyperactive. He cannot sit still. He is often noisy and talks way too much. He is incapable of playing quietly.

While many view this liveliness as a normal childhood behaviour, or perhaps the by-product of poor parenting, many doctors believe the problem has a genetic basis and that it is due to some neurological malfunctioning. Most researchers believe there is a biological cause for ADD-ADHD in that it is caused by some abnormality in the brain. There exists an imbalance of some neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine. They brushed aside suggestions that ADHD is due to to excessive sugar intake, food allergies, poor parenting or watching too much TV.

Current studies estimate that between three and six percent of all children in the world are affected, with the condition affecting three tmes more boys than girls.

As these studies show that ADD-ADHD cuts across all cultures and races, lack of diagnoses in other parts of the world (other than the developed countries, notably the US) is because of two key reasons: first, mental health workers are non common in these countries, and second, there is a huge stigma associated with mental health problems in many cultures, so even if diagnosis are made, it would not be publicised.

Critics laments that ADD-ADHD figures are on the increase simply because diagnosis is normally vague. Others point out that it is not easy to isolate symptoms of ADHD because many people with ADHD often also suffer other health problems. in addition to that, the symptoms of an ADHD child is very similar to that of your regular naughty child. In fact, it looks similar to an attitude problem, and that is why it so often went undiagnosed.

A number of individuals chose not to believe that ADHD exists, believing instead that it is nothing more than a conspiracy. These few believe that there is nothing wrong with their kids and all that they need to do is to give them a good whack.

However, many health care professionals have cautioned that if ADD-ADHD is not looked into seriously, the outcome could be detrimental. It can lead to problems at school such as beating up teachers, fighting other kids and bullying classmates, and could eventually get involved in substance abuse and petty crimes.

However, whether its known as ADD or ADHD, history is full of examples that many ADHD individuals eventually turned up to be intelligent and creative. He can be a wonderful and outstanding person in future if the condition is treated early.

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