|
ADHD stands for attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder. It was once known as ADD or attention
deficit disorder but was renamed in 1994 by the American Psychiatric
Association (APA).
ADHD is a mental and developmental
condition of inattention and distractibility that becomes evident
in some children in the early school years. ADHD is the name
of a group of behavioral disorder found in many children and
adults. Studies show that people with ADHD have differences in
the parts of their brains that eventually control their attention
and activity. It is a condition characterized by their behavioral
and learning disorders. The disorder is three times more common
among boys than girls. Symptoms are always present before the
age of 7 and can continue through adolescence, causing children
and adults significant social or academic impairment. Symptoms
of this disorder often become less severe in the late teenage
and early adulthood years.
Dr. Heinrich Hoffman, a physician
who wrote books on medicine and psychiatry, first described ADHD
in 1845. In 1902, Sir George F. Still published a series of lectures
in England in which he described a group of hyperactive children
with significant behavioral disorders -- caused by a dysfunction
in their genetic makeup and not by poor child-rearing practices
-- as having ADHD. Nowadays, these children are easily recognized
as thousands of studies and scientific investigations into ADHD
have been published. These studies provide sufficient information
on the nature, causes, symptoms and treatments of ADHD.
A child with ADHD faces
a complex situation. He or she should receive help, guidance,
and understanding from his or her environment, especially from
parents. Naturally, all children, particularly younger ones,
act anxious or excited at times. However, the difference with
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is that symptoms are
there over a longer period of time and occurs in different settings.
They disrupt a child's capacity to function socially, academically
and at home.
The cause of this disorder is a
deficiency of chemicals in the brain that are responsible for
systematizing thought. Without enough of these chemicals, the
organizing centers of the brain don't perform well. Studies show
that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is more common
in children who have close relatives with the disorder. Recent
studies also link smoking and other substance abuse during pregnancy
to the disorder. Medications such as Ritalin are used most often
to treat the disorder.
For more information about understanding
and managing the effects of ADHD please visit Recognizing and Treating
ADHD at http://www.ourfamilyshealth.com/recognizing-adhd
|
