What Is ADD ADHD?

The Neurology of Attention Deficit Disorder

Diagnosing ADD ADHD

Treatment Options

ATTEND Powerful Alternative to Stimulant Medications

Successful Treatment Planning Strategies

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Essays on the Family

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Welcome to the ADD ADHD Information Library.

We have great information on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder organized into 10 easy lessons. Take the time to go through all ten of the lessons. Once you do, you will know a great deal about ADD ADHD - and how to overcome it.

Let's begin right now with LESSON ONE: WHAT IS ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER?

What Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder -
ADD or ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, often called ADD or ADHD, is a diagnostic label that we give to children and adults who have significant problems in four main areas of their lives:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurologically based disorder.

This position has become controversial as many would like to dismiss the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder altogether saying that there is no evidence of neurological differences, or that there are no medical tests to diagnose ADD ADHD, or that the diagnostic criteria is too broad.

ADHD is not the result of "bad parenting" or obnoxious, willful defiance on the part of the child.

Yes, a child may be willfully defiant whether he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or not. Defiance, rebelliousness, and selfishness are usually "moral" issues, not neurological issues. We make no excuses for "immoral," "selfish," or "destructive" behaviors, whether from individuals with ADD ADHD or not.

It may also be true that the parents may need further training. We are constantly amazed at how many young parents today grew up in homes where their parents were gone all day. We now see "grown up latch key kids" trying to parent as best as they can, but without having had the benefit of growing up with good parental role models. This is a problem as well. But it is not Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder that we will be exploring here at the ADD ADHD Information Library.

Defining Terms: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder comes in various forms. Today they all fall under the category of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and then the main category is subdivided into ADHD Inattentive Type, or ADHD Impulsive-Hyperactive Type, or ADHD Combined Type. In the recent past the terms attention deficit disorder "with" or "without" hyperactivity were also commonly used. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder comes in various forms, and truly, no two ADD or ADHD kids are exactly alike.

General Description of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADD ADHD - might affect one, two, or several areas of the brain, resulting in several different "styles" or "profiles" of children (and adults) with ADD ADHD.

• First, problems with Attention.
• Second, problems with a lack of Impulse Control.
• Third, problems with Over-activity or motor restlessness,
• Fourth, a problem which is not yet an "official" problem found in the diagnostic manuals, but ought to be: being easily Bored.

A few other important characteristics of this disorder are:

1) That it is SEEN IN MOST SITUATIONS, not just at school, or just in the home. When the problem is seen only at home, we then would wonder if perhaps the child is depressed, or if the child is just being non-compliant with the parents;

2) That the problems are apparent BEFORE the AGE OF SEVEN (7).

Since Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is thought to be a neurologically based disorder, we would expect that outside of acquiring its symptoms from a head injury, the individual with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder would have been born with the disorder. Even though the disorder might not become much of a problem until the second or third grade when the school work becomes more demanding, one would expect that at least some of the symptoms were noted before the age of seven.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - "ADD" or "ADHD" - affects about five percent (5%) of the children in the United States, and about three percent (3%) of all adults in the USA.

How Big of a Problem is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

About 35% of all children referred to mental health clinics are referred for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. It is one of the most prevalent of all childhood psychiatric disorders.

As we mentioned, it affects about 5% of children, about 3% of adults. You may see published estimates stating that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may effect as many as 10% to 25% of children in America, but these numbers are not really supported by research data, and are probably inflated for the purpose of trying to sell something.

The 5% number is a solid number supported by research. Even at 5% each classroom in America will have one or two (2) ADHD kids in the class. So it is a very real, and very significant problem across America.

Even though the percentage of people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is likely the same as in the past, here are three likely reasons why it seems that "there is more ADD" than ever before:

You are more aware of problems like this as a parent than you were as a child. You have grown up now; The news and entertainment media have talked about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder a lot more than in the past, raising your awareness level; Children who were Drug Exposed in utero, or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome children have many of the same problems as children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and are often misdiagnosed by physicians as being ADD ADHD.

A recent study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse reported the following: 5.5% of women REPORTED using illicit drugs while they were pregnant; 18.8% REPORTED using alcohol, and 20.4% REPORTED using tobacco while pregnant.

In our rural California county it is estimated that 10% of all children born in the county were exposed to drugs or alcohol in utero by their mothers.

There are no known "safe levels" of drug, alcohol, or tobacco use while pregnant. The use of drugs or alcohol are especially dangerous to the developing baby and can often cause neurological problems. When these children enter school, they often display problems with attention, impulse control, temper, learning, and behavior. They are often misdiagnosed as having a genetically based Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

What they really suffer from are structural brain injuries thanks to their mother's past behaviors.

Anti-social behaviors are common. About 60% of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids are also oppositional or defiant. Some are even getting in trouble with the law.

Impulsive-Hyperactive ADHD kids are the most likely to get into trouble than are the inattentive kids.

The inattentive kids tend to be non-compliant due to not being motivated enough to remember the things he was asked to do.

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General Introduction: What Causes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

The most recent models that attempt to describe what is happening in the brains of people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder suggest that several areas of the brain may be affected by the disorder. They include the frontal lobes, the inhibitory mechanisms of the cortex, the limbic system, and the reticular activating system. Each of these areas of the brain is associated with various functions.

There are several areas of the brain potentially impacted, and there are several possible "types" of ADHD. Daniel Amen, a medical doctor using SPECT scans as identified six different types of ADHD, each with its own set of problems, and each different from the other "types."

In our office we used six different "types" of ADHD, identifying each "type" with a character from the Winnie the Pooh stories (Pooh is inattentive, Tigger is hyperactive, Eeyore is depressive, and so on).

The frontal lobes help us to pay attention to tasks, focus concentration, make good decisions, plan ahead, learn and remember what we have learned, and behave appropriately for the situation.

The inhibitory mechanisms of the cortex keep us from being hyperactive, from saying things out of turn, and from getting mad at inappropriate times, for examples. They help us to "inhibit" our behaviors.

It has been said that 70% of the brain is there to inhibit the other 30%.

Your child will

• be more focused
• have more self-control
• learn faster
• remember better
• do better at home and
• at school

When the inhibitory mechanisms of the brain aren't working as hard as they ought to, then we can see results of what are sometimes called "dis-inhibition disorders" such as impulsive behaviors, quick temper, poor decision making, hyperactivity, and so on.

The limbic system is the base of our emotions and our highly vigilant look-out tower. If over-activated, a person might have wide mood swings, or quick temper outbursts. He might also be "over-aroused," quick to startle, touching everything around him, hyper-vigilant.

A normally functioning limbic system would provide for normal emotional changes, normal levels of energy, normal sleep routines, and normal levels of coping with stress. A dysfunctional limbic system results in problems with those areas.

The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder might affect one, two, or all three of these areas, resulting in several different "styles" or "profiles" of children (and adults) with ADD ADHD.

Here provide more detail on the Neurology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADD ADHD.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in School

Often the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder child has special educational needs, though not always. Most Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids can be successful in the regular classroom with some help.

We tend to see Lower academic achievement for I.Q. If they ought to be A students, they're getting C's instead. If they ought to be B students, they're getting D's instead.

Also it's important to know that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and I.Q. are two different things.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not related to I.Q. Some parents are convinced that if their child has ADD ADHD it means that they are retarded. On the other hand, other parents say, "I've heard that ADD kids are really very, very bright. I think my child must have ADD," as if they wanted to wear a button that said, "My child is smarter than your child because he has ADD."

Well, that's ridiculous.

Some Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids are below average I.Q., and some are even retarded.

Some ADD ADHD kids are above average I.Q., and some are even quite brilliant.

But the awful truth for a parent to hear is that MOST kids are AVERAGE I.Q.

That's why they call it "average."

And most Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids have average I.Q. as well. They just have a real tough time in the classroom setting.

In fact, if you think about it, the classroom setting is probably the worst possible setting for these kids. There are a lot of distractions, they are told to sit still, don't move, don't talk, to pay attention to boring worksheets, and keep on task until the work is finished. None of these things come easily to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids.

Many Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids "hit a wall" in school as the school year progresses. Every week they just get a little farther and farther behind, until they're so far behind that it's impossible to catch up.

The disorder is most often recognized and referred for treatment in third grade. This is when kids most often hit the "academic wall." In third grade they are expected to do more and more work on their own, and they are given more homework to do as well.

We also see many referrals in seventh grade, or when the child leaves Elementary School for Junior High School, with several classes and several teachers. Many Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids who found ways to compensate in Elementary School are totally lost in Junior High School.

Here is a link to ADD in School.com, an outstanding Web Site with over 500 Classroom Interventions to help your ADD ADHD Student succeed.

Will Your Child Ever Out-grow His Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

Studies indicate that about 50 to 60 percent of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids will outgrow most of the symptoms by the time he or she is in their 20's. The old school thinking was that once a child reaches puberty they no longer need any help for ADD ADHD, but this is simply not true. However, there is one final growth spurt of the brain, particularly in the frontal lobes, at about 19 or 20 years old. It is not much, but for those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder it just might make a big difference.

The Hyperactivity may diminish may become more of a restlessness or fidgetiness and be more appropriate. The impulsivity may remain, though, and it is often the biggest complaint of adults with the disorder. It causes a variety of problems from often interrupting others in conversations to quitting jobs for little reason and without other employment already lined up.

Difficulties with attention may also persist. It is often described as a constant "brain-fog" which makes tasks such as balancing check books and doing taxes very difficult. A visit to Starbucks, however, often helps to improve focus enough for adults to get their work done.

Gladly, most adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can find jobs where their strengths can shine, and they can be successful.

Questions that we will answer in following section on the Neurology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder include:

What causes these various systems of the brain to get out of balance?
Why would they become under aroused or over aroused as the case may be?
Is there one central system that controls or regulates these other systems?

  Let's continue on to  the Neurology of ADD ADHD