ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a mental disorder that affects the power to concentrate. ADHD affects children and as well adult individuals.
To help you understand better how ADHD manifests, you need to know that who suffers from this disorder will fail to maintain a constant level of attention. They will lose their patience, will have problems in organizing multiple tasks or will not manage to fulfill a single task.
ADHD is a permanent issue, as it will accompany an individual throughout his life. It is why in children’s situation the medical world is looking for methods that will help them integrate into society, in spite of their mental situation.
You should know that parents also play a significant role in improving the behavior of these children and to help them prepare for adulthood.
A child who is suffering from ADHD needs to be surrounded by patient persons as they already have a tendency to react impulsively.
Read Effective Strategies for Parenting Children with ADD/ADHD
-
Relevant statistics:
For you to have an overall look at how much spread this problem is, just take a look at the figures below:
• Among the adult population of the USA, 4 to 6% are suffering from ADHD, it means approximately 8 to 9 million adults.
• Within children about one-half to two-thirds have developed ADHD, in the US.
• The average age when ADHD is diagnosed in children is 7.
• The first manifestations of ADHD symptoms appear between 3 and six years old.
• About 6.1% of children in the USA are being medically treated for ADHD.
• Males or boys, have a three times increased incidence of developing ADHD, compared to females or girls.
• In their lifetime, 12.9% of men will be diagnosed with ADHD, 4.9% are the figures that represent women diagnosed cases.
• Studies show that children who are living lower than the poverty line have the most increased risk of developing ADHD.
-
Facts and probable causes of ADHD:
It is important for you to know that parents, food or external factors, like TV or computers, have nothing to do with the development of ADHD.
A parent should never blame himself for not taking better care of the child because the symptoms are not created by the way the child is raised in the family.
It is true that the food containing a high level of refined sugars may increase the degree of activity in a child, but this is only temporary, until the sugars are being burned by the body cells.
Recent studies show that ADHD is in close connection with the neurotransmitter activity in the brain, caused by natural factors.
You should know that our brain uses glucose, as a fuel to transmit signals from the different areas of the brain, which have different tasks to unroll. ADHD appears in a situation when the level of glucose is lower than normal, in the brain’s area that needs to take care of inhibiting impulsive behavior and increase concentration and attention.
Also, it is highly believed that ADHD is also a genetic matter. If you know a family member that has been diagnosed with ADHD, the risk for another member to develop this disorder is 25% – 35%.
The general population, which has no genetic backgrounds including ADHD, has only a 4% – 6% risk of developing ADHD.
So, if you do not find any records of your family members or ancestors with ADHD, it means a lot fewer worries for you.
