A Look At Adhd In Children

By William Sullivan


ADHD is an abbreviation used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This is a mental disorder classified under neurodevelopment. This problem causes patients to experience problems with paying attention, controlling behavior, and they engage in excessive activity. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most diagnosed mental disorder diagnosed in children, even though the cause is always never found in most of the cases. ADHD in children continues to be a problem, affecting millions of children globally.

In order for a child to be diagnosed with this condition, symptoms must prevail for a period of more than six months. The symptoms must also be a source of inability to function in at least to settings. Common settings in which patients have trouble functioning are social, work, school, and home. One must also have attained the criteria for diagnosis before reaching the age of twelve years.

ADHD comes with many observable symptoms. In most cases, symptoms occur together simultaneously. Common symptoms include forgetfulness, being easily distracted, switching activities often, and missing details. Patients cannot maintain focus on one task because they get bored easily. They find it very hard to follow instruction and to understand minor details. Children often seem confused, and they daydream and move slowly.

Out of all the cases, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder usually occur together with other conditions in about 65 percent of all the time. Among the conditions it is associated with are Tourette syndrome, learning disability, oppositional defiant disorder, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, and primary disorder of vigilance. Additional conditions include obsessive-compulsive disorder, restless legs syndrome, sleep disorder, and substance use disorder.

The condition is also associated with persistent bed wetting, developmental coordination disorder, and language delay. Language delay comprises of hardship listening within distracting environments, short-term hearing memory weakness, slow processing of spoken messages, and hardship following instructions. Telling when the degree of impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity has gone out of the normal range makes it hard to make a diagnosis.

According to studies, people who have attention deficient hyperactivity disorder also tend to have low intelligence quotient. These individuals consistently score low in IQ tests. There is controversy on these findings because it is not clear if the low scores in IQ tests are caused by distractibility or intellectual capacity of patients. There is a lot of ongoing research to determine the significance of the relationship between low scores in IQ tests and attention deficient hyperactivity disorder.

There are three main subtypes of ADHD, that is, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, predominantly inattentive, and the type that combines the first two. The main cause of this condition is often unknown in most cases. However, interactions between environmental and genetic factors are believed to be strong causes. Infection and brain trauma have also been associated with the condition.

Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder cannot be treated, but rather is managed. Management typically involves medications or counseling or a combination of the two. Medications may cause some improvement in the long-term, but they do not eliminate negative outcomes completely. Some examples of medications used include stimulants, antidepressants, atomoxetine, and alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonists.




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