Attention Deficit Disorder – What Is It Anyway
One of the most wrongly diagnosed and wrongly understood neurological conditions in the world is Attention Deficit Disorder more commonly known by its acronym of ADD.
The reality is that the majority of people lack a proper understanding of the disorder, and also would not be able to identify it if they met a person with ADD. This article intends to give you information about ADD and the meaning of the disorder. Hopefully, this article will widen your knowledge and ability to understand the disorder more clearly.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD/ADD, is a problem where the individual who is affected by it fails to be attentive for a long period of time. Motor restlessness and impulsive behavior are other indications of the disorder. Reports suggest that approximately 4.4% of all adults possess some degree of ADD.
ADD is understood as a disorder of the neurobiological type caused in the brain by a glitch in the dopamine neurotransmitter systems. Genes play a huge part in most cases. There is a 30% chance for a child to have ADD if a parent or near kith and kin has the disorder. In cases of twin children, if one of the pair has ADD, the other’s chances of being struck by the disease increase by 50%. At one time the belief was held that ADD could be caused by poor nutrition, but it has been dismissed now as a myth. Similarly, allergies, drugs, or bad parenting could be cut off from the list. Deep head trauma, fetal alcohol syndrome, intoxication through lead, and thyroid irregularities, are some of the other medical conditions showing symptoms like ADD. Hence it is advised that the other possibilities are ruled out completely before the person could be said to have ADD for sure.
Having ADD means that an individual having it is not getting sufficient neurochemicals. In simpler terms, it signifies that proper stimulation of the brain is missing, as a result of which the brain attempts to find methods by which the release of the chemicals can be increased. People with ADD try to stimulate their brains with things like physical activities, movements, and always doing things that stimulate or are stimulating. This is not a conscious decision on the part of people with ADD. They really cannot help themselves and it becomes a reflex action and they act in a hyperactive manner.
The difficulty caused by this is that individuals who suffer from ADD when faced with a circumstance that does not stimulate them, like school work, try to put their attention on something that is stimulating to them. Of course, the school work is completely hampered by this, and the child cannot perform well in his or her studies. I can narrate a story here told to me by a friend. This incident happened when knowledge about the disease was poor. There was a child who would suddenly get up on his desk when the class was still commencing and would begin to tell jokes. In the beginning, people thought that he was trying to be funny and consciously disturb others but over time, it came to be known that the child had ADD, and his actions were beyond his control.
Personal relationships and the ability to be permanently employed also become a cause for concern for people with ADD. Legal issues would crop up when ADD causes people to take dangerous chances with themselves and end up doing careless things to stimulate themselves.
As parents, many of us have spent sleepless nights wondering whether our kid is suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder and with due cause. Most of us know the fundamental effects of the disease and obviously shrink at the thought of having to deal with it. Apart from the fear that the disease can be difficult to deal with, there is always this subconscious guilt in most parents for being responsible for their kid’s problems. Most of us blame ourselves for not being strict enough or disciplinarian enough to have straightened out the disorder. While all these apprehensions are quite normal, they aren’t always what we might call rational or well-founded.
It seems there are about 3 broad stages in the normal development of a child. The very first one amongst these is observable in infants. During this time, babies get occupied with a certain object or act and focus on it completely, thereby ignoring almost everything else. If the child’s development stalls at this specific point, it might later show signs of autism.
In the second stage, observed in slightly older kids, the child is interested in a variety of things all at once and is therefore incapable of concentrating on any one of them for more than a few minutes. If the child stops at this stage of development, they might later go on to suffer from what we conventionally know as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
The ultimate stage equips the child’s potential to mature to a point where they can comfortably and voluntarily point their attention in a certain direction for a long period of time and can alter their choice of direction or their actions connected to it as and when they want or need. This stage therefore is a crucial transition stage that molds the child for success in the classroom and the real world.
What most of us do not know is that ADD does not just make an individual incapable of concentrating on anything for a certain period of time; it also makes him/her incapable of deciding where they want to direct their attention and for how long. For instance, if an ADD sufferer is crossing the road, in spite of being tutored a few thousand times as to how to do so safely, he/she is most likely to go about it suddenly without any care in the world as to what the status of the traffic is. All they know, vaguely that too, is that they need to cross the road, but after having remembered that they get quickly distracted by some other idea or thing and quickly to another, such that by the time they reach the opposite side (which in itself is quite a difficult task given their reckless behavior) they have probably dealt with a dozen bits of thoughts already!
On the opposite end, ADD also makes individuals focus on some specific object or act so completely that they get wholly consumed in it and are absolutely cut off from everything else. They might therefore watch the same film again and again or read a specific page repeatedly with absolute nonchalance. Later this behavior might get molded into habits of over-eating or substance-abuse or compulsive behavior.
Another variety of ADD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, which keeps all its sufferers always on their toes, moving from one place to another doing something or the other, unable to relax, and incapable of settling down. Kids suffering from this can literally drive their parents insane and keep them up at night, trying to calm their children and put them to sleep.
While experience has led most Psychologists to conclude that ADD is not a problem the child will naturally grow out of (that is it’s not what can be termed self-healing) they have also quite vehemently ruled out any chance of the parent’s becoming responsible for causing it. So if your child is suffering from ADD, quit blaming yourself, instead recognize the problem for what it is, and contact a specialist as soon as possible.
An Explanation of Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has many manifestations and there are more than five kinds of ADHD. It is a medical condition that is carried in the genes, resulting in certain disorders in the nervous system.
The DSM-IV Diagnostic Manual reports that any single form or “type” of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder could be categorized under the diagnostic chapter of ADHD. This central list is then broken into ADHD Impulsive-Hyperactive Type, ADHD Inattentive Type, or ADHD Combined Type.
Some time ago, the words attention deficit disorder “without” or “with” hyperactivity were also generally used. Not only does Attention Deficit Hyperactivity take various forms, but it also has many combinations where different children show different symptoms.
It is common for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to impact multiple regions of the brain, resulting in distinct profiles or styles among children and sometimes adults with ADHD or ADD. These diverse styles manifest in four spheres:
1 – Attention Challenges:
Individuals may struggle with maintaining focus and attention.
2 – Impulse Control Issues:
Difficulties in controlling impulses can be observed in their actions.
3 – Motor Restlessness or Hyperactivity:
Some individuals may experience restlessness or hyperactivity in motor functions.
4 – Rapid Boredom:
While not officially recognized in diagnostic manuals, a noteworthy condition involves quickly becoming bored, influencing behavior and attention spans.
To mention a few more crucial aspects of this condition:
1. This disorder is observable in the majority of circumstances, both in school and also home. If the child shows the symptoms only in his or her home, then possibilities like depression of the child, or deliberately being unruly with the parents, cannot be entirely ruled out.
2. Another thing is that the disorder could be noticed before the child crosses seven years of age. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is caused due to neurological problems, it could be either from an injury to the head or could have been carried in the genes. The problem takes a firm grip and creates real adjustment issues with the increase in school activities and tasks. By the age of seven, the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder could be noticed with a little scrutiny.
The Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis is difficult in cases of ADD because signs vary from child to child. The symptoms of the disorder may or may not be obvious.
First of all, you must be clear that just because your child is hyperactive, does not mean they are suffering from ADD. It is true that more than normal activities are a sign of ADD but not always so.
At the same time, impulsive behavior, less than normal attention, or more than normal distraction is a sign of ADD.
Actually, distraction and lack of attention go together. An ADD-suffering child will not be able to stick to his work will not pay much attention to details and may not complete his work. Although most children are like this those who suffer from ADD show more extremes of this behavior can go on for more than 6 months. Thus his daily work is affected.
Children who suffer from ADD are impulsive too. They may suddenly run away from their desks to see what is happening in the other part of the room. They may even give out answers in class even if they are not asked. His behavior may be impulsive to such extremes. It is a common trait in all ADD-affected children.
These kids attach themselves to everything that is happening. They may become hypersensitive and may not be able to concentrate on anything in particular. Hence their grades are lower than usual even if they don’t really have difficulties in learning anything because they don’t complete their tasks. Their attention span is so short that they are incapable of completing the work allotted to them.
There is a difference in behavior between the two sexes also. Boys are more active and girls are less attentive in the class. It is difficult to manage both of them and both may be unruly in behavior or aggressive and may be even abusive. Thus it becomes very difficult to control them.
But all kids differ from each other. You will never find two similar kids. Only because your child is more aggressive than others don’t jump to the conclusion that he has ADD. Only a physician or a specialist can diagnose ADD.
Does Your Child Really Have Attention Deficit Disorder?
Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD is most frequently identified in boys of primary school age. Indications consist of lack of concentration, being restless, reckless mannerisms, or lack of focus.
But what brings about these indications?
And should every one of the occurrences of ADD be treated?
In a few occurrences, the indications of ADD may in fact be indicative of a more severe psychological predicament, such as depression, bipolar disorder, brain defects, and even nervousness. On the other hand, at times the occurrence of the particular inattentive behavior may simply be due to allergic reactions, sensitivities to the environment, nutritional deficits, or too much caffeine.
Many times, young boys are wrongly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder merely for conducting themselves the way anybody would be expecting. Young boys will by and large make reckless resolutions, have a lot of superfluous energy, cannot sit still, and have short concentration periods in school. Combined with the fact that the majority of school-age children use up more than forty hours a week watching TV and playing computer games, it is not a surprise that a lot of children have the energy to use up.
ADD mannerism is frequently indicative of creativeness, giftedness, high aptitude, and a child being a visual theorist.
In short, an analysis of Attention Deficit Disorder ought to be thought of as a start, and not an end. Too frequently, when a doctor sees that a child is agitated and has a short concentration period, she writes a medication for Dexedrine or Ritalin and that is that. But these drugs have possibly unsafe side effects and are not essentially going to cure the predicament at all.
A further comprehensive examination of the occurrence generally falls upon the child’s parents. The facts stated here are aimed to steer the parents in the right direction, giving propositions of where to begin looking for the reason for the child’s Attention Deficit Disorder-related manners.
