In this day and age, drugs are being prescribed without hesitation. Many of these drugs are being prescribed for children with various disorders. One of these disorders is called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a syndrome caused by a biochemical imbalance. It has hundreds of symptoms that appear selectively in a certain children. Some of these symptoms are distractibility, confusion, faulty abstract thinking, inflexibility, poor verbal skills, aimlessness, perceptual difficulties, constant movement, varied rates of development, food cravings, allergies, and sleeping and coordination problems.
The children have difficulty blocking out noises so they can concentrate. Many qualities to look for in ADHD children are self-centeredness, impatience, recklessness, extreme emotionalism, and weak consciences. Children with ADHD have trouble in school with reading, handwriting and paying attention to what is important. They constantly fidget and squirm and cant express their thoughts into words. Detecting ADHD is complicated because there are no blood tests or genetic tests to confirm this syndrome. An estimated five to ten percent of children are diagnosed with ADHD. About two to three percent of elementary school children are taking some kind of medicine to treat ADHD. One of the most common medications used for treating ADHD is Ritalin.
Some of the physical symptoms that are involved include hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsitivity. When discussing inattention, the idea that individuals have difficulty sustaining interest in finishing a task, strangely, a person with ADHD may have no problems with attention while doing an activity they enjoy, but wont be able to finish a complicated or new task. People with this disorder are often noted for their inconsistencies, have bad handwriting, miss details, and are often forgetful. But because the individual over-focuses on something of great interest, or something that is highly stimulating, many times an untrained observer may assume that this ability to concentrate negates the possibility of ADHD being a concern, especially when they see children able to pay attention while working one-on-one with someone, doing something they enjoy, or can sit and play a video game or watch television for hours on end. In addition to problems with attention, people with ADHD can be fidgety, and appear to be moving around constantly. Which leads me to myth that all people with ADHD are hyperactive, this is not always the case.
Because society has traditionally thought of a person with ADHD as being hyper, many children who have this disorder with no signs of being hyperactive are not being identified or treated. For those individuals who are not hyperactive, they are often thought of as a day-dreamers or an absent-minded professors. The non-hyperactive children with ADHD most often seem to be girls, but it is 5 to 7 more common in boys.
(Booth, 2000)Another symptom that is very common in people with ADHD is impulsitivity, which means that the individual seems to be unable to think before they act. They may interrupt others who are talking, blurt out inappropriate comments, or have a hard time waiting their turn. Regardless of the consequence, people with ADHD can out as if they are out of control. Although researchers are still studying exactly what causes ADHD, they know what doesnt cause it, and that is sugar.
Sugar and food additives dont cause ADHD, and in research study in 1982 the National Institutes of Health concluded that restricting sugar and food additive consumption only helped about 5% of the children with this disorder. Minor brain injuries from early infection, or birth complications also have been ruled out, head injuries can only explain a few cases of ADHD, not all of them. Television watching, poor home and school environments also dont cause ADHD, they may contribute to behavior that resembles the symptoms. Instead new theories point to low levels of activity in some parts of the brain as an indicator of ADHD. In one study, investigators found that control attention, meaning that areas were less active and caused inattention. Cocaine and heavy alcohol use during pregnancy may also distort developing nerve cell.
Using alcohol during pregnancy may cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which leads to low birth weight, and certain physical and intellectual impairments. Many FAS children also show the same symptoms as children with ADHD. I feel that you can rule out genes, because they probably account for some ADHD causes. Children with this disorder usually have at least one relative with ADHD, with one-third of fathers with ADHD having children with disorder also.
More important, identical twins are often both affected.(National ADD, 97)Treatment is available for people who have ADHD, which includes therapy and drug treatment. But in order to make sure these symptoms are from an actual case of ADHD, and not from an emotional or physical disorder, a medical professional would need to look at the history of the symptoms, ruling out any learning disabilities, or physical problems or environmental
