ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD or ADHD)

ATTENTION DEFICIT  DISORDER (ADD or ADHD) 

Attention-Deficit Disorder or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a physical problem in the brain that makes it difficult for a person to pay consistent attention,keep to a task (especially one the person finds boring),and sit still.Between five and ten percent of children are thought to have ADD.But  estimates vary widely,and there is disagreement about whether ADD is over diagnosed or under diagnosed.

There is likewise a lot of debate about what causes ADD theories range from genes to childhood head trauma but most experts agree that its immediate cause is a problem with the prefrontal cortex,which is the part of the brain that controls attention,planning,organization, goal setting and impulse inhibition.

There is also disagreement some of it quite loud about the best way to treat ADD.There are effective  medications,like the well known Ritalin,but some people are concerned because Ritalin,which is a stimulant,can be abused if you take a lot more than the amount prescribed (though research has shown that kids with ADD who are appropriately treated with stimulants are much less likely to abuse drugs when they get older than kids with ADD who are not treated).Other ways to treat ADD include learning new organizational and coping skills and some experimental methods like neurofeedback.Also called EEG biofeedback,it involves using technology to help people gain control over involuntary mental processes.

ADD generally has three types of symptoms:inattentiveness,impulsiveness and hyperactivity (this last is more common in boys with ADD than girls).Inattentiveness means trouble paying attention.A kid with ADD might have trouble focusing on a school lesson,reading more than a paragraph at a time,or absorbing what a teacher is telling him or her.Kids with ADD tend to daydream a lot,and they might get a reputation as a “space cadet.”Impulsiveness is what it sounds like:a tendency to do or say things impulsively without thinking them through.A kid with ADD might often blurt something out in class and interrupt the teacher without even meaning to.Hyperactivity means  physical restlessness and fidgetiness;a kid with ADD might jiggle his pencil or tap his foot constantly or have great  difficulty sitting through class.(As mentioned before,girls with ADD tend to have this symptom less than the boys and may instead be quiet and dreamy.)

It used to be thought that kids outgrew ADD,but researchers now think many,if not all,continue to have it into adulthood.ADD can make things like schoolwork very challenging,but having ADD doesn’t mean one is stupid in fact,many people with ADD are very bright,creative,intuitive and outgoing.Teens with ADD often go on to excel at work in the arts,media,sales and other fields that excite them and give them scope to move around and be themselves.