Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is when a child has a problem with inattentiveness, being too hyper, impulsiveness, or a combination of all three. For children to be diagnosed as ADHD, their behavior must be out of the normal range for their age and development.
Causes and Risk Factors
ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children. This disease affects about 3-5% school aged children and is more commonly diagnosed in boys than in girls.
The cause of ADHD is unknown, but it may run in families. However, ADHD seems to start early in a child’s life while his/her brain is developing. Even more interesting is the fact that the brains of children with ADHD differ from those without it.
Common problems that are confused or appear with ADHD are depression, lack of sleep, learning disabilities, tic disorders, and behavioral problems. If you suspect your child has ADHD, you should have him/her carefully examined by a doctor to determine the reasons for the behavior presented.
Symptoms
The symptoms of ADHD fall into one of three categories:
- Lack of attention (which includes making careless mistakes on schoolwork, not listening when spoken to directly, being easily distracted, etc.)
- Hyperactivity (which includes talking excessively, being fidgety, having difficulty remaining seated when it is appropriate, etc.)
- Impulsive behavior (which includes butting into the conversations of others, having difficulty awaiting their turn, blurting out answers before the question is complete, etc.)
Signs and Tests
Difficult children are often incorrectly labeled with ADHD while many others who do have ADHD remain undiagnosed. Either way, related learning disabilities or mood problems are often missed. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has come up with several guidelines to diagnosing ADHD.
The diagnosis is based on very specific symptoms which have to be present in more than one setting.
- Children should have at least 6 attention symptoms or 6 combined hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms.
- The symptoms must be present for at least 6 months, seen in at least two settings, and not caused by any other issue.
- The symptoms must be severe enough to cause significant difficulties in several settings, such as at home and in school.
Treatment
The approach to treating ADHD is viewed as a partnership between the health care provider, parents, and the child. For therapy to succeed, it is important to do the following:
- Set specific target goals to guide therapy sessions.
- Start medication and behavior therapy as this combination works best.
- Follow-up regularly with the doctor to check on goals, results, and any side effects of medications. During these check-ups, information should be gathered from parents, teachers, and the child to review the progress.
If treatment does not appear to work, the health care provider should make sure the child has ADHD and check for other possible medical conditions that can cause similar symptoms. They should also make sure the treatment plan is being followed accordingly
Famous African-Americans with ADHD
- Will Smith
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Bill Cosby
- Magic Johnson
- Jason Kidd
- Michael Jordan
- Stevie Wonder
- Rick Fox
- Danny Glover
For more information about ADHD, please visit http://www.add.org or http://www.chadd.org
ADHD is a mis understanding. It stems from women doing the work of two people for example, Greek Amazons, Dahomey Amazons and many other amazons around the world.
They did the work of two people so they will have two lots of energy,
They will have two lots of sensitivity to their environment,
Two lots of inquisitiveness,
Two lots of caring,
Two lots of imagination,
Two lots of deep thinking,etc..
In need of deep stimulus
They did the role of men i.e. hunting, warrior life, etc. They will have conclusion thinking which is designed to reduce time for a busy women doing the work of two people. Hunting, you needed to be sensitive and quick. Impulsivity was a survical mechanism.
As a result of doing the work of two people, they may not have had time to socialise and thus did not accrue the amino acid sequence associated with social thinking such as delaying speaking after thinking etc.