A Brief Source for Attention Deficit Disorder Information

In this brief guide, you’ll learn the basics of Attention Deficit Disorder Information; how it’s defined, who it affects, and how it’s treated. Remember, the best source of information is your child’s pediatrician or your own physician.

General Information about Attention Deficit Disorder

This is not a new disorder as in 1902; medical science first began to document cases of children exhibiting signs of inattention, impulsive behavior, and hyperactivity. Today, the American Psychiatric Association has named this disorder “Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,” or AD/HD. Information about Attention Deficit Disorder is widely known; no longer is it considered as intentional disruptive and defiant childhood behavior, nor is it considered to be the result of bad parenting, dysfunctional home environments, too much sugar, processed food or excessive TV watching. Medical researchers now have firmly established Attention Deficit Disorder as a neuro-biological disorder of the brain, yet its exact cause remains undetermined.

Attention Deficit Disorder information includes the typical signs and symptoms of the disorder as exhibited by children; lack of attention, difficulty following instructions, inability to start or complete tasks, easy distractibility, forgetfulness, inability to organize, excessive talking/interrupting, difficulty waiting in line or in taking turns, physical restlessness, serious academic underachievement, difficulty making friends, and seeming always to be in “over-drive.”

The most current information about Attention Deficit Disorder has been quite a surprise amidst the medical community; this disorder affects adults and well as children. It is not, as once thought, a childhood disorder, but is in fact a “lifetime” disorder. The myth that children will “grow out of it” has been shattered by extensive research indicating that the disorder carries on into adulthood and causes impairment in social, relational, and occupational areas of life.

Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder Information

In both adults and children, treatment of this disorder involves medication and psychotherapy. Traditionally, the first-line medications were stimulant drugs that helped the affected person focus and concentrate; these drugs include Ritalin, Cylert, and Dexedrine. The medications provide symptom relief for most patients, but they do have some troublesome side effects such as nervousness, stomach ache and insomnia.

Since these are FDA controlled amphetamine-based medications, adults and adolescents could develop an addiction to them, and could easily abuse them by taking more than prescribed. A new medication, Strattera, is rapidly becoming the first-line medication treatment. Strattera is not a stimulant drug, is not an FDA controlled substance, and has no abuse or addiction potential.

Modern information about Attention Deficit Disorder indicates that medication alone is not sufficient treatment, especially with adults who have the disorder. Once the medication has provided significant symptom relief, both adults and children benefit from psychotherapy that teaches them basic social skills which they failed to develop because of the disorder’s effects. Because of their disruptive behavior, adults and children with AD/HD are frequently disliked by others. A therapist must “re-parent” them by teaching and modeling appropriate social manners when interacting with others.

For further information about Attention Deficit Disorder, contact the National Resource Center on AD/HD at http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what .