Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may affect children and adults alike. Those who suffer from this medical condition have trouble paying attention to one thing or focusing on one thing for longer periods of time, whether at school, home or work. They may also be hyperactive and over-impulsive for their age. Thus, this type of behavior can pose serious troubles in learning, behavior and relationships of a person. Parents often misunderstand children with ADHD as the ‘difficult’ ones or ones with behavior problems. ADHD affects about 4 to 12% of school-age children and is more frequent in boys than in girls. Besides being inattentive, other symptoms of ADHD are:

• Appearing unwilling to listen,
• Being disorganized,
• Difficulty in following instructions,
• Difficulty in planning ahead and then executing the tasks,
• Easy distraction,
• Inability to pay close attention to details,
• Keep forgetting things to do, and
• Keep losing things or misplacing them.
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Brains of children who suffer from ADHD actually do not produce enough chemicals in key areas that are responsible for organizing thoughts and hence, there is malfunction in this area of the brain. Such children may also have other close relatives with the same disorder and it may run through the families Moms who smoke or indulge in substance abuse during pregnancy may give birth to children with ADHD. Hyperactive and/or impulsive children with ADHD usually:

• Fidget a lot and cannot sit still at one place,
• Have a habit of interrupting people,
• Just cannot wait for their turn,
• Make loud noises while playing,
• Run or climb weirdly and always seem to be on the go,
• Talk too much, and
• Try to answer so quickly that they almost blurt them out.

Though, there are many myths about what may cause ADHD and what may not, here are the things that don't cause ADHD:

• While family or school problems may make ADHD worse, bad parenting does not cause it,
• Too much or too little sugar or Aspartame,
• Food additives or colorings,
• Allergies such as food allergies,
• Vitamin Deficiency, and
• Fluorescent lights or watching too much TV, playing video games or sitting too much in front of computer.