How can a kid have ADD...?

Question

...if they can play a video game for hours on straight?

Answer 1

Good question. Why is it that we have never heard of A.D.D. until recently. Back in the 70's I had never heard anything about Attention Deficit Disorder. If kids didn't pay attention, their parents would give them a good whack across the backside thus ending the problem that is A.D.D. Honestly, does any country out there other than the U.S. have these ridiculous excuses for bad behavior?

Answer 2

ADD is just a psychiatric "lable" given to kids that allows them to sell more drugs. In this case they now have whole new market....... kids.
You are right to question the validity of this"disorder" in a child.
All kids have short attention spans. Video games are "hypnotic"
however, like TV, so that is why they sit in front of a screen for hours straight. Both are detrimental.
Physical activity is the best therapy but that takes adult time and attention to organise and supervise so the quick fix of labling and drugging has become popular.
Buy the way Ritalin is classified by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration USA) as a Schedule 11 narcotic _ the same classification as cocaine.
It is sold on the streets as "Kiddie Cocaine" and is an emerging drug on the substance abuse scene.

Answer 3

I think I can answer this, I was diagnosed ADHD myself, and I still show signs of it at 30.

In ADD and ADHD, the mind is like channel surfing, costantly changing channels, sitting still in a normal setting is unnerving if not impossible, because the thought patters in the brain keeps changing, the body wants to move in accordance to it. Normal brain functions will even cause you to move reflectively when you change a thought, its just more frequent when the brain is constantly changing thought.

As far as the video games go, the picture is constantly changing, there is always a "next step" to move on to so the brain switches, but its on the same subject AND the constant moving of the hands helps the urge to move.

Watch a fast action video game, I think its ADHD manifested in video.

Answer 4

First of all, whynotaskdon, it's Ritalin.

Personally I think we use ADD a little too often to characterize kids who are just undisciplined. Video games require, and in fact develop, focus. Maybe if the schools did a better job at teaching kids and maintaining discipline, we wouldn't need to label kids with ADD and put them on amphetamines.

Answer 5

Video games provide constant mental stimulation.

They are actually pretty close to the way ADD brains work. You bounce from task to task in a non-linear fashion. You are constantly doing something and getting feedback from what you have just done. It's actually good exercise in meeting goals for us ADD sufferers.

Hope this helps
~ADD Gamer

Answer 6

Are they video games that are constantly changing what's on the screen? That may be why they like them.

Answer 7

when you have ADD, you can "hyperfocus" as well, i.e. remain fixated on certain things for long periods of time. as well, video games are fast-paced and immersive, which is like candy to an ADD brain.

Answer 8

It's called a disorder. The attention is deficient only if the child is not interested in the subject.

Answer 9

Lol, ADD does not mean you can never focus. One theory about ADD is that it evolved from hunter mentality versus farmers.

Answer 10

Yep--they just don't give a dam.

SO the teachers put them on RIDDLING or whatever just to quiet them!
THE EASY WAY OUT!



Those Video games sure do calm the nerves too! YUK!