ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD, also Known as AD/HD is the acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is also known as hyper-kinetic disorder. It is a Psychiatric disorder or a neuro-behavioural disorder. It is characterized by problems of inattention, impulsiveness and/or hyperactivity. 

Based on these symptoms ADHD is classified in three subtypes: 

• predominantly inattentive 
• predominantly hyperactive-impulsive 
• combined type (having all three difficulties)

To make a diagnosis of ADHD the above-mentioned symptoms should emerge before the child reaches age of 7 yrs. 

The prevalence of ADHD in India has been reported to be about 5.2 - 9%.  ADHD is twice as common in boys as in girls. 

A school going child suffering from ADHD would show following symptoms:

• Easily distracted - will face difficulty in maintaining focus on task at hand and his attention would be drawn to different sights and sounds in the environment. 
• Doesn’t want to give or maintain eye contact. Although it’s not a criteria for ADHD, but affected child finds it difficult to maintain eye contact with others while interacting. He might look at variety of things in the room and wouldn't stare at one object for long. The eyes are constantly in motion, taking in everything in the surrounding. 
• Gets bored easily - would want to switch activities after concentrating on one for a short while. It’s difficult to capture his interest on any one activity for long unless it’s of interest to him. 
• Children often lack organization in their life and would lose personal things at school, wouldn't complete class work, face difficulty in copying work from blackboard, difficulty in completing assignments. 
• Fidget and squirm in their seats in classroom, as they are expected to be seated in one place for long. Often would get up from desk and ask teacher's permission to go out for having water or to go to toilet. 
• Have difficulty in concentrating on instructions and often their work gets messy as they didn't follow all the steps required in completion of the activity. 
• Talk a lot - about anything and everything. At times child would talk about something totally irrelevant to the topic being discussed. He would have something to say about in all subjects and it’s difficult for the teacher to restrain him from expressing his thoughts. 
• Wouldn’t want to wait for his/her turn in a line for any game or anything being distributed. Would fidget and be not able to stand quietly in the morning assembly. 
• Mostly act impulsively without thinking about the consequences. 
• Don't form relationships easily, as the child has difficulty in processing verbal and non-verbal language. These kids are more often rejected by their peers than non-ADHD kids. 

Causes of ADHD

• Most common is Heredity - 25% of children have been reported to have at least one relative with some form of ADHD.
• Abnormal brain functioning - Abnormal activities in the areas of brain, which regulates attention, have been observed. MRI findings in investigations are suggestive of some smaller brain parts in children with ADHD. These studies also documented reduced blood flow to the frontal brain that regulates the executive functions.
• pre-natal and peri- natal causes - exposure of pregnant female to harmful chemicals or smoking or use of alcohol or drugs has also been known to cause some or other problem to fetus. Also, delayed birth cry, exposure to harmful chemicals after birth may cause the child to suffer from the disorder. 

Treatment 

Studies say that combination of Therapy and Medication is most effective in managing a child with ADHD. 

Therapies may include:

• Psychotherapy - This allows older children and adults with ADHD to talk about issues that bother them, explore negative behavioral patterns and learn ways to deal with their symptoms.

• Behavior Therapy - This type of therapy helps teachers and parents learn strategies for dealing with children's behavior. Strategies may include token economy and timeouts

• Occupational Therapy - concentrated on improving sitting tolerance (i.e. increasing the duration of time child can sit at one place without getting anxious), reducing hyperactivity and impulsivity through the use of meaningful and functional activities. Occupational Therapist helps the child to overcome the sensory issues (frequently present in an ADHD child), behavior issues and provide social skills training. Academic intervention and modifications in both home and classroom are done by the therapist. Therapist also helps in prevention of development of maladaptive behaviors and enhancing attention span and concentration. 

Having ADHD is not the end of the world. A look at the famous people suffering from the disorder confirms this. They have achieved what a Non-ADHD person might, and more... 

Famous actors and entertainers: Will Smith, Jim Carey, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Henry Winkler, Patty Duke, and Bill Cosby.

Famous athletes: Michael Jordan, Bruce Jenner, Magic Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Terry Bradshaw, Babe Ruth, Greg Louganis, Vince Lombardi, and Pete Rose.

Famous artists: Pablo Picasso, Ansel Adams, Vincent Van Gogh, and Salvador Dali.

Famous authors: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Leo Tolstoy, Robert Frost, and Edgar Allen Poe.

Famous business tycoons: Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Malcolm Forbes, Andrew Carnegie, William Randolph Hearst, Henry Ford, FW Woolworth, and Walt Disney.

Famous Hollywood movie directors: Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock,

Famous inventors: Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, Wilbur Wright, and Alexander Graham Bell.

Famous musicians: John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Cher, Buddy Rich, Beethoven, Mozart, and Handel.

Famous politicians: US: President John F. Kennedy, President Thomas Jefferson, President Abraham Lincoln, President Dwight Eisenhower, President George Bush, and President George W. Bush. International: Anwar Sadat and Winston Churchill.

Famous scientists: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Nicolai Tesla, Louis Pasteur, Galileo, and Sir Isaac Newton

Other famous people: Eleanor Roosevelt, General George Patton, Norman Schwartzkopf, Christopher Columbus, Socrates, Napoleon, Nostradamus, and Evil Knievel.