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The ADHD  and ADD what is it? Is it a myth or a true medical condtion? Is it a mental disorder? Read on and find out what ADD and ADHD is.

• What is ADHD?
• A common sense summary
• Is ADHD and ADD a myth?
• An alternative diagnosis to being ADD or ADHD
• A free ebook on ADHD here

WHAT IS ADHD?
Nearly all children are overactive and inattentive at times, but for ADHD children and their families their behaviour is extreme and completely disruptive. 

ADHD is thought to affect between 3 and 5% of the school age population. In general ADHD is estimated to be 3 or 4 times commoner in boys. For some there is remission at puberty but for others the condition, if untreated, continues to blight their adult life. Generally the ADHD child is unable to concentrate, constantly moves around, and has poor school performance compared with intelligence. Their behaviour at home and at school is disruptive. 

In Infants 

Extreme restlessness, crying, poor sleep patterns 
Difficult to feed 
Constant thirst 
Frequent tantrums, head banging and rocks the cot 

In older children 

Poor concentration and brief attention span 
Increased activity - always on the go 
Impulsive - doesn't stop to think 
Fearless and takes undue risks 
Poor co-ordination 
Weak short term memory 
Inflexible personality 
Lacks self esteem 
Sleep and appetite problems continue 
Normal or high 10 but underperform at school 

Not all infants and children with ADHD have all the features of the condition and there are different degrees of severity 
 
 

2 This is from the Central Penn Parent Magazine, November 1998, p. 20. HEALTH CLINIC

Dealing with ADHD by Mark Domoto
It's generally accepted that children with ADHD, attention deficit 
hyperactive disorder, lack the ability to focus attention on 
"meaningful" stimuli, inhibit impulsiveness, and, in some cases, control motor excess. These deficits have the potential to create dysfunction or inhibit optimal performance at home, at school and socially. 

Children with ADHD also lack internal neurological controls and may  require a great  deal of monitoring from parents and teachers to compensate for or help them adapt to insufficiencies. 

Diagnosing ADHD
    When an accurate diagnosis is determined early in a person's life,  it is easier to develop effective external monitoring strategies which can prevent secondary  complications. 

    If the child is not diagnosed early and accurately, there's a good  chance that parents and teachers will experience anxiety, frustration  and even anger with the child. The child himself may also feel anger and  frustration and  may develop poor self-esteem. 

    There is no formal test to diagnose ADHD, so the accumulation of  information, observations and evaluations from parents, teachers,  physicians, mental-health professionals and the child is vital.  The following steps should be taken in diagnosing the condition. 

Parent interview
    The parent interview provides information pertaining to the 
pregnancy, labour and delivery of the child. Descriptions of infant and  toddler temperament may reveal characteristics of poor neurological  organization and problematic social/behavioral functioning. Medical  history of the child and family may unmask or rule out an underlying  medical condition, which is associated with ADHD. Discussion with the  family also provides an understanding of dynamics within the home. 

Educators interview
    Information from school personnel may provide a "clean" perspective  of the way a child functions, whereas parents may be emotionally  influenced in making observations. 
    The school setting will also provide a gauge by which to judge the  child's behavior. The evaluator will want to know how the child deals  with the daily  routine and with work demands and how the child compares with his peers. 
    Once the child is evaluated, it may be determined that he actually  has a learning disability which has displayed characteristics similar to  ADHD. 

Evaluation by a physician
    Evaluation by a physician who is knowledgeable in children's 
developmental and behavioral issues is needed. Since ADHD is a 
neurological dysfunction, thorough assessment of the neurological system  is important. A clinical evaluation may identify 
dysfunctions or inadequacies that influence performance. A cluster of  findings on examination and information from both parent and school  personnel enables the physician to sort out the diagnosis of ADHD vs.  other conditions. 

Treatment
    Comprehensive treatment involves the same systems used in the  evaluation process. Part of a child's treatment may mean parenting and  teaching styles and performance evaluation should be adapted to assist  the child in compensating for weaknesses.

Assisting a child in understanding his strengths and weaknesses  through discussion of specific situations allows the child to organize  and evaluate his performance. This involves the child in problem solving and gives him a feeling of control and the potential of developing  self-confidence.   Selective use of medication therapy is another avenue of treatment.  Expectations, limitations and potential side effects of the specific medication should be presented. The understanding that medication use is 
not a cure-all is vital. 

Parents and teachers need to convey a unified message to the child  that they understand his difficulties and that support and assistance is  available. They also need to make clear that a commitment is expected  from the child. Communication, cooperation and compromise from the treatment team will 
help nurture this goal. 

 Mark Domoto, M.Ed., is a clinical developmental 
specialist with Penn State Geisinger Health System, 
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA. 
 

4. I can't do anything right!
I'm no good! 
I'm a retard! 
Nobody likes me! 
Everybody's picking on me!!! 
These are some of the feelings that children with a Learning Disability  (LD) shoulder as they 
grow up. They don't understand or else misunderstood any aspects of  their lives, and receive correction or criticism which they translate  into 'everyones picking on me'. It probably reflects their very real  view of the situation because they don't interpret the correction or criticism as being helpful. Often, they see their world as a series of mistakes, one after another, all totalling personal disaster. It's hard to grow up feeling good about themselves under these conditions. 

Children with a LD can have special skills and can feel good about their success in sports, their artistic talent, their popularity with a group, but deep down inside them there is still that gnawing feeling of "Whats really wrong with me?' This is why straight talk is so important. It is vital that .they hear over and over again from different sources that they am intelligent, that they need more time to learn than others but that they will make it in the world. 
They need as much information about themselves as theycan handle and  need it frequently. They may still feel dumb. But at least they know  they are not retarded and do not have any progressive brain disease or  whatever else they may secretly dread. In many ways, life seems very unfair to them.

They perceive the world in the only way they can and meet rebuff or ridicule as a result of what they say or do, based on that perception. These youngsters are often brought into child guidance clinics because someone thinks they are angry, wilful, motivated or spoiled who are purposely not performing well at school. These frightened children cannot, rather than will not, perform well at school. 

They are angry at the world's demands on them - demands they cannot meet. They are angry at themselves for not being able to do what they  want to do. They are angry at parents, teachers, brothers, sisters,  neighbours and classmates for seeing them in the act of not being able to do They are angry at being the way they are. 

The delayed maturation keeps these children from growing up acquiring  the skills, which are needed for independence. They become teenagers by  the number of years; they may have the physical size and puberty development of a teenager, but the neural development and behaviour are like those of a much younger child. Yet the world expects their behaviour to be appropriate for their size. 

WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT? 
In the end, what counts are human qualities.     A person's feeling of  comfort with themself and thus case with others are what matters. How  many adults do you know whose knowledge of spelling or maths makes any  difference to you? Does it matter how good your friend's handwriting is  or how many historical facts s/he can remember? The chances are that you  want to be with a person who is fun and caring. You want a friend who laughs with you, not at you, who can share your worries with as well as 
your pleasures. You want someone you can count on and who comes through 
on promises. 

To be a good friend, to be a fine mate, to become a good parent - these  are crucial roles in our society and roles which children with Learning  Disabilities can well fulfill  From the ADHD Association of New Zealand, Hyper Express,No 95  Dec 1997.

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