| ADHD stands for attention deficit | | | | by poor child-rearing practices -- as having |
| hyperactivity disorder. It was once known as | | | | ADHD. Nowadays, these children are easily |
| ADD or attention deficit disorder but was | | | | recognized as thousands of studies and |
| renamed in 1994 by the American Psychiatric | | | | scientific investigations into ADHD have been |
| Association (APA). | | | | published. These studies provide sufficient |
| | | | information on the nature, causes, symptoms |
| ADHD is a mental and developmental condition | | | | and treatments of ADHD. |
| of inattention and distractibility that | | | | |
| becomes evident in some children in the early | | | | A child with ADHD faces a complex situation. |
| school years. ADHD is the name of a group of | | | | He or she should receive help, guidance, and |
| behavioral disorder found in many children | | | | understanding from his or her environment, |
| and adults. Studies show that people with | | | | especially from parents. Naturally, all |
| ADHD have differences in the parts of their | | | | children, particularly younger ones, act |
| brains that eventually control their | | | | anxious or excited at times. However, the |
| attention and activity. It is a condition | | | | difference with attention-deficit |
| characterized by their behavioral and | | | | hyperactivity disorder is that symptoms are |
| learning disorders. The disorder is three | | | | there over a longer period of time and occurs |
| times more common among boys than girls. | | | | in different settings. They disrupt a child's |
| Symptoms are always present before the age of | | | | capacity to function socially, academically |
| 7 and can continue through adolescence, | | | | and at home. |
| causing children and adults significant | | | | |
| social or academic impairment. Symptoms of | | | | The cause of this disorder is a deficiency of |
| this disorder often become less severe in the | | | | chemicals in the brain that are responsible |
| late teenage and early adulthood years. | | | | for systematizing thought. Without enough of |
| | | | these chemicals, the organizing centers of |
| Dr. Heinrich Hoffman, a physician who wrote | | | | the brain don't perform well. Studies show |
| books on medicine and psychiatry, first | | | | that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder |
| described ADHD in 1845. In 1902, Sir George | | | | is more common in children who have close |
| F. Still published a series of lectures in | | | | relatives with the disorder. Recent studies |
| England in which he described a group of | | | | also link smoking and other substance abuse |
| hyperactive children with significant | | | | during pregnancy to the disorder. Medications |
| behavioral disorders -- caused by a | | | | such as Ritalin are used most often to treat |
| dysfunction in their genetic makeup and not | | | | the disorder. |