To truly understand Attention Deficient Disorder or ADD it’s important to know what the condition is not. ADD is not the result of bad parenting, immaturity, or a lack of personal discipline. While this condition is often diagnosed in childhood, it does not “clear up” as a person enters adulthood. Children and adults may have this condition. The symptoms of ADD are varied. Typically, a person is diagnosed with ADD if they experience a number of symptoms involving concentration and hyperactivity. Currently no permanent cure exists. There are medications and methods to increase focus that can aid those with ADD find success academically and professionally.
ADD is believed to affect roughly three to five percent of school age children. A neurobiological-based developmental disability, it is believed to be a disorder with a genetic component. Research indicates ADD is the result of a chemical imbalance or deficiency in certain neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are important to the way the brain regulates behavior.
Someone with ADD will have difficulty with concentration and behavior. Often this individual appears restless, and disorganized. In a classroom setting, a child with ADD has difficulty following instruction and completing tasks. Teachers and parents will notice distractibility problems. Common issues are lost books, forgotten assignments, points taken off homework that’s either unfinished or completed incorrectly.
Hyperactivity is easier to spot. The child will not want to remain seated, and needs to keep moving. Adults around the child might report constant tapping, squirming, excessive talking, speaking out of turn, interrupting, and not understanding social boundaries. Hyperactivity not only makes learning difficult for a child, it can also have an impact socially. The child might be viewed as a bully, or otherwise have difficulty making friends. These types of problems at school can cause a child with ADD to develop low self-esteem.
ADD isn’t always recognized in children. As an adult, the problems associated with the condition don’t go away. Poor organization skills, difficulty with punctuality, forgetting important tasks and appointments will spell disaster in a work setting. An adult with ADD will also still have problems with self-control. He or she may talk over other people, blurt out thoughts recklessly, act impulsively, or have trouble sitting still during meetings. Some adults with ADD develop what is referred to as hyperfocus, which is an intense form of concentration. While hyperfocus allows an ADD sufferer to work on a task for many hours, he or she will concentrate so deeply other assignments are forgotten. Socially and professionally adult ADD still causes havoc in the life of the person with the condition if it’s left untreated.
Treatment for ADD involves medication and behavior coaching. In most cases, stimulants like Ritalin or Dexedrine are prescribed. Both of these drugs have a long history of aiding focus and concentration by increasing the dopamine levels in the brain. Behavior therapy aids someone with ADD in recognizing the symptoms of the condition and overcoming them.
ADD can’t be cured, but it can be successfully treated. Understanding this condition, and receiving help with the symptoms gives a child or adult sufferer the opportunity for a productive and happier life.
http://borntoexplore.org/whatisadd.htm
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_adult_symptoms.htm
http://www.add-adhd.org/ADHD_attention-deficit.html
http://www.addwarehouse.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/article3.htm
http://helpguide.org/mental/adhd_medications.htm