Attention
Deficit Disorder, Common Misconceptions
& Advanced Alternatives
Attention Deficit Disorder is
a condition that affects between 3%-5% of children in the United
States. Children with attention deficit disorders are not always
able to complete their task because of their inability to focus.
Attention deficit disorder starts in childhood and continues into
adulthood.
The exact cause of attention deficit disorder has not been determined,
however, inherited genetic factors are likely responsible. No specific
gene has been linked to attention deficit disorder but scientists
have determined a relationship between symptoms and brain structure,
which influence temperament. There is speculation that certain environmental
factors such as lead, nutrition deficiency, and parenting may influence
symptoms for attention deficit disorder.
Common attention deficit disorder misconceptions include:
- Bad parenting causes attention deficit disorder
- Children outgrow attention deficit disorder
- Some consider attention deficit disorder
a life sentence
- Others look at people with attention deficit
disorder as lazy or dumb
- Some believe there is no such medical condition
as attention deficit disorder
A child with attention deficit
does not choose to misbehave, however, parenting technique can worsen
or improve the symptoms. The symptoms of attention deficit disorders
can continue on through adulthood, but many adults learn to cope
with them. People with attention deficit disorder typically have
plenty of energy, are exceptionally creative, and in some cases
are able to accomplish more than people who do not have the disorder.
It is certainly not a reflection of the person's intellectual ability
- the infamous Albert Einstein may have had attention deficit disorder.
Studies have shown a definite
relationship between attention deficit disorder and chemicals in
the brain (dopamine, norepinephrine) that help regulate attention
and activity. Attention deficit disorder is also related to abnormal
function of the prefrontal cortical lobe that causes problems with
attention and impulse control. Attention deficit disorder is a dysfunction
of the Central Nervous System (CNS), most specifically the Reticular
Activating System, which results in difficulties of maintaining
attention and concentration, learning and memory, as well as involving
an inability to process and sort out incoming information or stimuli
from both an individual's inner (subjective) and outer (objective)
worlds. It may manifest itself in uncontrollable aggressive hyperactivity
in some affected individuals.
|
