ADHD%20and%20ADD

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ADHD and ADD

• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and
  Attention Deficit Disorder

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What is ADHD?

• Biologically based behavioral disorder that
  affects between three and six percent of
  elementary school-aged children in U.S.
• Defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
  (DSM VR) of the American Psychiatric Association
• ADD is attention deficit without the
  hyperactivity.

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Causes of ADHD

• Environmental factors
• Genetics
• Brain disturbances

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ADHD

• All age groups can be affected, from young
  children to adults.
• More boys than girls are diagnosed with ADHD.

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ADHD

• To be diagnosed with ADHD
• A child must exhibit excessive and/or
  inappropriate overactivity, inattentiveness or
  impulsiveness for a period of more than six
  months.
• A child may exhibit all of these traits, or just
  one or two, to be diagnosed with the condition.

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Behaviors of an ADHD Child in the Classroom

• ADHD children commonly fail to complete homework
  assignments
• Inattentive to classroom instruction
• Often write illegibly
• Frequently provoke others physically
• Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in
  seat (in adolescents this may be limited to
  subjective feelings of restlessness).

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Behaviors

• Has difficulty remaining seated when required to
  do so
• Is easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
• Has difficulty awaiting turn in games or group
  situations
• Often blurts out answers to questions before they
  have been completed

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Behaviors

• Has difficulty following through on instructions
  from others (not due to oppositional behavior or
  failure of comprehension) e.g. fails to finish
  chores
• Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or
  play activities
• Often shifts from one uncompleted activity to
  another

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Behaviors

• Has difficulty playing quietly
• Often talks excessively
• Often interrupts or intrudes on others, e.g.
  butts into other childrens games
• Often does not seem to listen to what is being
  said to him or her

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Behaviors

• Often loses things necessary for tasks or
  activities at school or at home (e.g. toys,
  pencils, books).
• Often engages in physically dangerous activities
  without considering possible consequences (not
  for the purpose of thrill-seeking) e.g. runs into
  street without looking.

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How is ADHD Diagnosed?

• Most accurate diagnosis is from a team of
  child-care professionals carefully evaluating a
  child over a period of time in a variety of
  settings.
• Process usually includes education, psychological
  and medical assessments.

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• Process may include the following professionals,
  as well as parents of the child
• Pediatrician
• School teacher(s)
• Child psychiatrist
• Pediatric neurologist
• School psychologist

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• Conners Questionnaire one instrument used to
  assist in diagnosis
• PET scan
• Biological markers within the brain

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Brain scan images produced by positron emision
tomography (PET) show differences between an
adult with Attention deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) (right) and an adult free of the
disease (left).
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How is ADHD Treated?

• Multimodal therapy considered the best treatment
  approach
• Psychological counseling
• Special education
• Medication
• Dexedrine
• Ritalyn
• Cylert