Understanding ADHD

March 9, 2008

ADHD / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Explained

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD for short, is a complex brain syndrome which has been brought to the Worlds attention by the media over the past few years.

Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This article will help you fully understand ADHD as a disorder and its implications for you, your child and your family.

Although, ADHD as a disorder, has been researched and studied for over a century and huge advances in understanding have been made in the medical arena, ADHD is still viewed as ‘uncontrollable and out-of-control’ children, by the majority of the people in the public arena.

It is this lack of understanding and a sterotypical image of an unmanagable child bouncing off the walls, creating havoc where ever they go, portrayed by the media over the years, that has given ADHD a bad name.

It IS a complex disorder, which requires a multi-layered Professional Healthcare approach, designed to help regulate uncontrollable individual behaviours.

But with this multi-layered help, ADHD is a manageable and directable disorder, and many people with ADHD live very full and successful lives.

ADHD / Attention Deficit Disorder Explained

ADHD is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to pay attention and focus, this sounds simple enough but the disorder shows up in people in different ways.

Some of the main symptoms displayed by ADHD sufferers are:

1. Not being able to concentrate for any length of time on one thing, moving from thing to thing in a radom fashion
2. Not being able to complete tasks, due to poor concentration
3. Not being able to focus, making simple mistakes by rushing through things
4. Being generally disorganised, an ADHD sufferer will put something down then forget where they have left it
5. Often an ADHD sufferer will constantly interrupt conversations or lessons
6. A sufferer with ADHD will be constantly on the move physically, not being able to sit for even the shortest periods of time and if they HAVE to try and sit still, they will fidget and eventually the urge to move overcomes them and they will often get up and wander aimlessly

From this list I bet you have thought ‘Gosh I do that ALL the time’ and although, not every person with ADHD has every symptom and some symptoms are more severe in some people than others. This does make ADHD the complex disorder it is and VERY difficult to diagnose correctly without the correct professional input.

Why a Multi Layered Healthcare Approach Works Best

Although medication can helpful in assisting the ADHD sufferer focus longer, by evening out emotions as well by replacing the neurotransmitter imbalance.

But it is also just as vital to get individual counseling for both the sufferer and the family because of the multi-layered, complicated emotional and physical aspects of ADHD.

It must ALWAYS be remembered:

1. The ONLY way to achieve a comprehensive diagnosis of ADHD and its subsequent groups is to consult a Medical Specialist familiar with the condition. No amount of blood tests, xrays or brain scans can diagnose this disorder. The diagnosis relies purely on observable behavioral assessment.
2. Your child is an individual and he/she will display a wide range of behaviors which are unique to them. ADHD by its nature has no neat ‘box’ to file it in. So no two children with this disorder will display the exact same symptoms.
3. ADHD is NOT caused by ‘BAD’ parents or teachers, it is a condition caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain’s neurotransmitters which regulate behaviors.

The characteristics of ADHD symptoms have not changed for over 40 years, it is our understanding of the difficult nature of the condition that has changed. Which has led to huge successful manageable treatments for sufferers of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Posted in ADHD