Please I'm interested in how much people really know about ADHD in children. Any comments and information you would like to share, would greatly be appreciated!
2006-12-05 07:19:41 · 11 answers · asked by R R 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Grade-Schooler
well...i know that adhd stands for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. it is a neurological disorder that always starts in childhood. symptons include, but are not limited to: hyperactivity, forgetfullness, distractablility, and being unable to ignore sudden implulses. this disorder affects 5% of the united states population, which includes children and adults. it is considered by physicians as a chronic syndrome and there is no cure for ADHD. there is much controversy as to whether adhd is a disability, and i for one think it is. there are many way of treating adhd from pill medication to coaching. diet os also linked to helping adhd patients. there is no significant cause for adhd, although physicians believe it to be one of the three: diet, Hereditary, or/and external factors (ie. smoke, lead poisoning, alcohol, etc). also premature birth and complications during pregnancy may also play a part. also doctors believe that head injuries might also affect children and leave them with a number of different "disablities". does that help answer your question??? :)
2006-12-05 07:52:46 · answer #1 · answered by bcos 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ADD/ADHD is a rampant diagnoses in the US...but interestingly enough it's no where as frequent in other countries. That alone should prove that we're diagnosing more children that truly have it. Another point to make is that all behavioral issues identified in childhood can probably still be corrected/controlled by behavior modification or other therapies. I've met many children who were diagnosed ADD/ADHD either to cover up a larger problem (it's not as embarrassing as a learning disorder to some people) or as just a cop out for an active child. When a teacher mentions to a parent that their child may be ADD/ADHD the parent tends to believe them and then only remember the times their child did not pay attention. They tend to immediately forget the times when their child sat and played video games for 3 hours straight or the time they watched a whole 2 hour movie. A true case of ADD/ADHD wouldn't be able to accomplish either feat. I have had a few friends who actually had ADD/ADHD and without their medications they were different people, they lost their train of thought mid sentence, couldn't sit still for even 15 minutes, etc. In those cases they've tried most other methods and the only option left due to severity of the case is medication.However just haphazardly prescribing these pills to every active child is insane...and a thoroughly American habit. I know that personally if we had such ADD/ADHD standards when I was in school I would have been medicated immediately. I was advanced and bored with the work so I acted out in class. As soon as my teachers gave me harder, more challenging work I stopped acting out. We're becoming a nation of quick fix pill poppers and we're shoving that lifestyle onto our children as well.
2006-12-06 01:13:55 · answer #2 · answered by evilangelfaery919 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Im an elementary ed major so i learned about the ways they assess this in children..
-There are 2 types, inattentive and hyper-active/impulsive
- There has to be a certain number of symptoms present (theres alot of them)
- Symptoms have to be present before age 7
-Has to show symptoms in 2 or more settings..Example- School and home
-Symptoms have to be present for 6 or more months
-majority of children with adhd are boys
-medication should be the last resort
This is some of what i remember learning.
2006-12-05 17:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by Michelle 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think everyone has it. It just depends on to what degree. Medicine is not always needed (nor recommend from me). Food can control it as well. It is often mis-diagnosed for depression. There are a lot of side effects from medications. Make sure you know what your putting your child through before you do it. Some side effects, depression, violent thinking, suicidal thoughts. Lots of times a child is not getting the attention that they need. Not able to put what they are feeling into words. Check with the school counselor to see if your child could start seeing them once a week. If your child isn't in school yet try counseling though your health care insurance. Hope this helps!
2006-12-05 15:47:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Food intolerence can have like behaviour patterns to ADD/ADHD so check this avenue out first. www.fedup.com.au
I would never give drugs no matter what. Just type in Ritalin into your search engine and see the cases of heart attacks etc in young children on these types of drugs. I have also heard that what a child learns while on these drugs... when they go off the drugs they can't retain all of the information.
2006-12-05 22:00:13 · answer #5 · answered by deedee 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it is relly hard to deil with adhd as a child u figet alot and cannot stay fockesed on things alot is ur son in specle ed classes becose alot of kids r when thay have adhd and its not being treded with meds becose the techers cant handle them it is hard 4 a kid with adhd to stay focaesed on little things too even as simple is there favert thing i wold segest u look into meds thats jist me i have adhd and if i dont have my meds its hard 4 me to do things the good thing about my meds is it dont make me fell hi or drassey not like addarole or concerta it is called focklin xr if ur instred in looking itto it ask him werther or not he wonts meds let him decide and b like an growen up thay like that when thay have a say in what happens
2006-12-05 16:50:36 · answer #6 · answered by baby gril 1212 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They said my then 7 year old son had ADHD. We tried many different things to help him. It was only when we found out he had dyslexia and had sleep apnea that he was able to get help. He gets modified school work and had his tonsils and adnoids out. He's just like any other boy now.
2006-12-05 15:42:26 · answer #7 · answered by Holly C 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
All I can tell you is when they tried to tell me that my daughter had it... I had her checked and all she had was a learning disability that she could overcome, and the school wanted her on some drugs.. which would have been the worst thing I could have done. Too many kids are misdiagnosed with this. Be careful.
2006-12-05 15:23:20 · answer #8 · answered by mayihelpyou 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well i personally don't believe in Medications, so when they said my son had it , i decided to deal with it diffrently,
i treat him like a normal kid
and expect the same,
but you need to have tons of patience, you will be repeating your self constantly.
2006-12-05 15:23:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
http://www.strattera.com/1_3_childhood_adhd/1_3_childhood.jsp my lil bro has it he takes Straterra It helps him a lot he is 12 Happy Holidays!
2006-12-05 15:44:29 · answer #10 · answered by *Pooka* 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋