what is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder??

ADD/ADHD is a diagnosable, treatable, biologically based disorder which we understand now much better than we did even 10 or 15 years ago. The primary symptoms include some combination of inattentiveness or distractibility, impulsivity, and in some people physical restlessness or hyperactive behavior.

What are some other symptoms or behaviors associated with ADD?

Having a LOT of difficulty sustaining attention.
Making careless mistakes, not paying attention to detail.
The child or adult with ADD often "doesn't seem to listen", seems tuned out.
Children fail to follow instructions, don't get schoolwork or chores done.
Lots and lots of difficulty with organization, keeping track of things.
Losing things often -- particularly things like supplies, homework, papers, etc.
Getting easily distracted by outside stimuli, like people talking or things going on outside the window
Forgetting to do things -- very frequently, which means things don't get done
Physical restlessness for some people, fidgeting, can't sit still, etc.
For many children, a lot of difficulty remaining seated, waiting in line, etc.
Being physically "on the go" for some people, overactive in their behavior
For children, having difficulty playing quietly or co-operating within a group
Reacting impulsively, without thinking first -- with ADHD it is often a matter of "act before you think," instead of "think before you act"!!
And also a few other things which we won't go into now.............


** Certainly we all get restless or distracted at times, get disorganized, act impulsively, etc. The difference is that for most people these behaviors are relatively infrequent and relatively mild. For people who have ADHD these behaviors are pretty severe and consistent, so much so that it causes a significant degree of impairment in the person's ability to function. This can cause very real and serious problems at school, at home, on the job, in relationships, etc. If the behaviors or symptoms are not severe enough then by definition it's *not* ADHD. The severity of symptoms and degree of impairment are very real however, which is why ADHD is considered a disability under federal law.

i got this from the following website:
http://www.add.org/content/interview/peter.htm

Intresting, I did not know that those symptoms could cause a disorder !!!!
then, what are the reasons that cause this disorder?! I mean is a birth thing or you get it from the enviroment around u?!!!

this very important to know and discover in ur child earlier ..
because in this disorder, the child is intellegent ( einishtien used to have this disorder), but he gets low acadaemic achievemnt in school..cos of the in-attention...

i did not do psychatry rotation yet, but i saw one child with the same disorder.. and believe me it is a common disorder i think about 21% of the population..

i have a nice story about ADD,
3 yrs ago we did a course in behavioural science and in one of the student presentation , one of my colleague was talking about this disorder gving all of its symptoms.. and u know nearly all student in that lecture hall were looking at me cos whatever she was saying are all apllicable on me .. since that time my colleagues called me the ADD guy...

and this made me to prsent this disorder in details when i was doing my forth yr...
and i went to the psychiatric doctor and told her , do i have this ADD ( cos it was funny for me), u know what she did, she laughed at me cos if i have the ADD i won't be in medicine , cos this disorder causes low acadaemic achievment and u can't pass high school ...

so it is as common as 21% of the children popultaion? interesting. if its that common, we must be having treatments or therapy for it?

and again, ABs q, what causes it? is it an inherited trait, or enviromentally influenced?

There are gender differences in ADHD, with males being 2 or 3 times more likely to be diagnosed than females. That doesn't mean that ADHD is rare in girls, but boys definitely get diagnosed more often -- they tend to be more active and aggressive, disruptive. Also it definitely tends to run in families, so if a family member has ADHD you would be more likely to have it also.

and its also genetic.. It's important for everyone to keep this biological perspective in mind, in terms of understanding and treating ADHD. Too often people with ADHD are blamed for their symptoms and accused of not caring, being lazy, or having some character defect, etc. These accusations are unfair and also can hurt self-esteem tremendously.

Ritalin is a powerful mind-altering drug, similar in effect to amphetimines or cocaine, and many children are not being appropriately diagnosed by physicians before being labelled and drugged!!

There are SOME children who have a legitimate problem that should be treated with medication. But in US Ritalin can be badly abused as a way to control children because the parents and teachers are too lazy to teach them discipline and proper behavior. And just as often, the natural energy, high spirits, and "childish" behavior of young children is seen as a "disorder" - and again drugged.

The mis-diagnosis and inappropriate prescription of ADHD drugs can be seen by the fact that in some communities 2% of children are diagnosed and treated, while in others, 20% of children are diagnosed - it depends on the attitude of teachers and willingness of physicians to prescribe.

According to a national ADHD organization, about 4-6% of children in US are diagnosed, but about 50% of these diagnoses are incorrect.

Absolutely not! This is an important point, so let me say it again: absolutely not!!!!
ADD cannot be caused by bad parenting or poor teachers?

It is grossly unfair and misleading to blame parents or teachers for the ADHD symptoms and behaviors. Good parenting and good teaching can make a big difference in how well the ADHD behaviors are managed however, and how well a child with ADHD learns to cope with the symptoms. Sometimes medication is also necessary.

Hi Naughty, if that was for me , I must have stated something badly.

TRUE ADHD is a physical (organic) problem with the brain, and should be properly diagnosed and treated. It is neither the fault of parents, teachers, or the children.

My comments were more to do with lazy teachers and parents who fail to teach their children proper behavior and/or don't want to deal with the natural energy and activity of children, then rush to MISDIAGNOSE children with ADHD and medicate them to make them "behave".

thanx for ur effort miss naughty... keep it up

Moonchild, that is an important question to ask.
is it clearly defined who has this disorder and who doesnt?!

regarding the question asked about how to clearly define who has this disorder or nt???

many psychaitric disorder were difficult to diagnose and doctors did not have any organised sytem for diagnosis of mental illness.
thus they reached to what is called diagnositic and statistical manual of mental disorder DSM ..
the first edirion was established in 1959 and the latest one is the forth edition DSM-IV .. and it based on USA nomenclature(naming)..
this give criteria for diagnosis of any disoredr.. and to say that this person has a disorder he should fulfill certain criteria...

WHO , also has its own creteria and called international classification of diseases ICD ... and teh latest one is the ninth edition with Clinical modification ICD-9-CM ...

and for ADD there is DSM-IV creteria for it.. miss naughty if u would like to post those criteria u r most welcome...so people can be able to diagnose this condition..

Originally posted by FaHaD
. and believe me it is a common disorder i think about 21% of the population..



just wanna say i am sorry, i have a mistake there, maybe i mixed this disorder with something else... my mind need refreshment in psychiatry...
i have been corrected by someone and my by my old notes ,, thanx for themm.

there were no any screening program done yet in oman to find out the prevelence in oman..

i tried to find an answer to ur question moony but this what i could find i hoope it answers ur question...

ADHD should be diagnosed only by a qualified health professional who is experienced in working with ADD/ADHD. This person may be a psychologist, psychiatrist, pediatrician, neurologist, clinical social worker, etc. -- however it is very important that the individual be knowledgeable about ADHD and preferably have some experience working with people with ADHD. A comprehensive evaluation should involve a thorough medical and developmental history, behavior rating forms which can give a better indication of type and severity of symptoms, and when necessary screening for learning problems or emotional problems which can complicate the ADHD related problems. It is common for people with ADHD to present with what are called co-morbid conditions , for example depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, or learning problems, and these should be at least screened for.

Sorry, what were we talking about again.....has anyone seen my Ritalin?:D

Originally posted by mimosa
Sorry, has anyone seen my Ritalin?:D

what did u meant mimosa???
but if u mean that u didnt understand the meaning of ritalin.. its a medecation given for the paradoxic effects of calming the child's behavior...
got it now :) ??? if u need any help im there :p

by the way moony :gap: i read about psychiatric nursing care plan and it was written that the eitiology of this illness include brain dameg,birth complication,vitamin deficencies,and inappropriate parenting :confused:..etc soo im sorry :sorry: for what i have said and juduge b4 i read all the books and understand what it says in general not in specific..

Yep, sorry Naughty.....I have an odd sense of humour sometimes. :lost:

loool.. thats ok mimosa
its good to have sense of humour :D

hiii moony,,i found this for u and of course for all of u guys...

According to the American Psychiatric Association, a diagnosis of ADHD must meet the following guidelines:

The patient must often have:

either six of these inattention symptoms:

-does not pay close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
-has difficulty sustaining attention in activities
-does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
-does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish duties
-has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
-avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks requiring sustained mental effort
-loses things necessary for tasks or activities
-is easily distracted
-is forgetful in daily activities

or six of these hyperactivity or impulsiveness symptoms:

-fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
-eaves seat in classroom or other times when remaining seated is expected
-inappropriately runs about or climbs excessively or, in older patients, feels restless
-has difficulty playing or taking part in leisure activities quietly
-is "on the go" or acts as if "driven by a motor"
-talks excessively
-blurts out answers before questions have been completed
-has difficulty awaiting turn
-interrupts or intrudes on others, such as butting into conversations or games.

*Symptoms must continue six months and be more frequent and severe than normal.
*Evidence must show significant damage to social, academic or work functioning.
*Some damage must occur in at least two settings, such as home and school.
*Some damaging symptoms must have occurred before age 7, even with a later diagnosis.

-The symptoms must not be due to another disorder..

Regarding the cause of ADHD, currently, genetic loading appears to be the primary and perhaps the only cause of ADHD, molecular studies on DNA have identified several genes which were associated with this disorder ADHD because of their effect on dopamine receptors, dopamine transport, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase .. one of the doctors is doing a research about this on omani populations and I am not sure whether he finished on it or not …

Environment:
Pregnancy and delivery problems, heavy marijuana use beginning in early adolescence, marital or family dysfunction, and low social class all have been associated with a diagnosis of ADHD; however, many people with ADHD have no such associations. And regarding the role of family environment on the pathogenesis of ADHD is unclear but it certainly may exacerbate its symptoms..

And there are many other causes where studied like calcium , magnesium, copper deficiency.. etc.. life are just theories sometime…u have to remember that..

There also a neurobiological theory about its causes… several investigation done to these children and they found that they have lesions in some part of the brain like the prefrontal and parietal regions…these ares shoed to have low activity ( glucose metabolism), and low blood perfusion..
And there are many....

soo.. hope i made it much easier and u could understand it more:)
if u got any questions im ready to clear ur doubt :p acting like a Dr.:kewl:

:kewl: wooow what a great job miss naughty...
thanx , shukran for ur effort...:rolleyes: :D

ohh so u have an idea about the research on omaqni genes.. well this research is going on in the same research lab. that i am doing my research..
yallah at least we know about the affected genes in our population...

Originally posted by FaHaD
ohh so u have an idea about the research on omaqni genes.. well this research is going on in the same research lab. that i am doing my research..
yallah at least we know about the affected genes in our population...

well FaHaD... i have got my own sources of information??!!!!

sources Ba3ad, i do believe now that ladies are da best in getting informations..

but really it is good to know that...

Originally posted by Miss Naughty
Environment: Pregnancy and delivery problems, heavy marijuana use beginning in early adolescence, marital or family dysfunction, and low social class all have been associated with a diagnosis of ADHD; however, many people with ADHD have no such associations. And regarding the role of family environment on the pathogenesis of ADHD is unclear but it certainly may exacerbate its symptoms..


I think the over-diagnosis of ADHD is partly due to the above.

Parents from any social class can be poor disciplinarians and pamper their children. When emotional/behavioral problems arise, the medical evaluators see the behaviors and erroneously conclude ADAH - they then prescribe the latest drug to quickly alleviate the problems.

I had neighbors who let their oldest boy eat all sorts of junk food, make special menu requests - i.e. no vegetables, and let him have his way whenever there was an arguement. As they began to spend more time with their youngest child, the boy would start doing stupid things - call emergency fire and police over somone hurting their toe, couldn't find his toys, etc.

Later I saw this boy just zoned out on something. When I asked his parents, they said he'd been diagnosed with some attention deficit disorder and was on medication.

Maybe he had an organic problem, but I never saw him properly parented either.

sorry sorry for being late to reply wanderer…
i was busy the last days that i couldnt post much...
u know last of the semseter and all work have to be done..
i know u dont need to know all that :p
soo what u have said was all right but ,it is still not clear whether socioeconomic factors are predisposing factor or not but some cases do result from it,, coz as u can see I told moonchild that ADHD cannot be caused by bad parenting or poor teachers but in other books I found what she have said was right..
and I think the case u had given is more likely due to jealousy which results from the attention of parents to the youngest child… therefore, there is an emotional deprivation..

The discussion around here was very comprehensive and realy educating!...thanx for the great effort to all in general and Miss naughty specifically!...!I liked it!

thanx alot thug of ur support and that really let me work more for the sabla..
and i feel its my pleasure to post all these posts especially to see ppl r learning and they show their interest :)