Attention Deficit Hyper Active Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyper Active Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder that affects 5 to 8% of school-age children. Dealing with ADHD is a lifelong journey for parents and children. The problem generally starts before seven years of age. ADHD is considered as a developmental disorder. ADHD symptoms include inability to pay attention to details , make careless errors in school work and other activities, difficulty in following instruction, problems with organizing oneself, irritation in doing work, gets distracted very easily, lose things like notebooks, toys quiet often, avoidance or dislike of a task that involves mental effort, forgetfulness. They are usually hyperactive active and cannot sit in a place or a do a task for a long time. They are daydreamers and can be prone to injuries as they keep dashing around playing with anything and everything in sight.
ADHD Can Be Mistaken for Other Problems. Parents and teachers can miss the fact that children with symptoms of inattention have the disorder because they are often quiet and less likely to act out. They may sit quietly, seeming to work, but they are often not paying attention to what they are doing. They may get along well with other children, compared with those with the other subtypes, who tend to have social problems. However, children with the inattentive kind of ADHD are not the only ones whose disorders can be missed. For example, adults may think that children with the hyperactive and impulsive subtypes just have emotional or disciplinary problems.
The causes for ADHD has not been defined yet though scientist woe it largely to genes. Various studies show that ADHD runs in the families. Apart from these environmental issues like alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking during pregnancy also plays a vital role in causing ADHD in children. It is not easy to diagnose ADHD as the symptoms apply to all most all children of this age category. A specialist will have a close watch on the activities of the child and talk to the baby sitters, school teachers and all others connected with the child to get a complete picture of the child’s behavior under various situations. This will enable the specialist to decide whether the child has ADHD or not.
Currently the available treatment options are medication by using a stimulant, counseling. Occupational therapy, behavioral therapies are few to name. Children diagnosed with ADHD have more chances of having a coexisting condition like learning disability, conduct disorder (like stealing, cheating) anxiety and depression.
Most children with ADHD continue to have symptoms in adolescence too. Infact many are not diagnosed until adolescence. Although hyperactivity tends to decrease as a child ages, teens who continue to be hyperactive may feel restless and try to do too many things at once. They may choose tasks or activities that have a quick payoff, rather than those that take more effort, but provide bigger, delayed rewards. Teens with primarily attention deficits struggle with school and other activities in which they are expected to be more self-reliant.
Omega-3 supplement Preliminary research suggests that Omega-3 supplementation might be effective in the treatment of ADHD; however, some of the studies give conflicting results. For all the parents out there do not pass-off your child’s behavior as just ‘difficult’. Learn to detect and eliminate the symptoms and stop the disease before it strikes! You should learn everything that you need to know about Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and strategies to cope with the sufferers.
