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Understanding ADHD
the Basics | the Symptoms | Treatment
the Basics
What Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a condition that causes persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and or impulsivity. ADHD begins in childhood and can persist into adulthood.
ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders among children. It affects 3% to 5% of all children, perhaps as many as 2 million American children. Two to three times more boys than girls are affected. On the average, at least one child in every classroom in the U.S. needs help for the disorder.
ADHD affects about 5% of adults. Approximately 60% of children with ADHD continue to have symptoms of the condition as adults.
Symptoms of ADHD can differ from person to person but involve some combination of difficulty regulating activity level (hyperactivity), inhibiting behavior (impulsivity), and attending to tasks (inattention). When activity levels are normal or low, it is usually called attention deficit disorder (ADD). The symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness appear to diminish with age.
Children with ADHD have trouble functioning at home and in school and often have trouble with friends. If left untreated, ADHD has also been shown to have ill effects on academic and job performance as well as social and emotional development. As they grow older, children with untreated ADHD, in combination with conduct disorders, may experience drug abuse, antisocial behavior, and injuries of all sorts.
ADHD is about three times more common in boys than girls, but in girls their difficulty lies mostly with inattention. Since they are not being disruptive in the classroom, the diagnosis may be overlooked.
ADHD tends to run in families. When one person is diagnosed with ADHD there is a 25-35% chance that another family member will also have the condition, compared to 4-6% of the general population. Even more convincing of a possible genetic link is that when one twin of an identical twin pair has the disorder, the other is likely to have it, too.
No one knows for sure whether ADHD is more common today, but it is very clear that the number of children getting treatment for ADHD has risen over the past decade. Some of this increase in diagnosis and treatment is due in part to greater media interest, heightened consumer awareness, and the availability of effective treatments. Some experts feel that ADHD is overdiagnosed while others feel it is underdiagnosed. Whether the frequency of the disorder itself has risen remains unknown and needs to be studied.
the Basics | the Symptoms | Treatment
