Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Jasmina

Although ADHD was described by physicians many years ago, its frequency only recently has been recognized. Exact figures are not available, but it seems likely that between 3 to 10 percent of school-age children and 4 to 5 percent of adults have ADHD. ADHD is frequently accompanied by learning disorders in reading, spelling, or arithmetic, and it may be accompanied by other behavior disorders. ADHD is more common in boys than in girls. Child psychiatrists used to believe that the symptoms of ADHD diminished and disappeared as children grew older, but recent studies have found that ADHD frequently persists into adolescence and adult life.

ADHD is the most recent term given by psychiatrists to a childhood disorder that has had a variety of names in the past. This disorder was first termed "hyperactivity," then "Attention-Deficit Disorder" (ADD), and then, to differentiate between children who had ADD but did not exhibit hyperactivity, either (plain) ADD or ADD-H. The new "official" term, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), has been chosen by psychiatric experts, and its symptoms have been published by the American Psychiatric Association in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The definitions in this manual are widely acknowledged and are used among doctors, in research, and administratively for purposes of insurance. The earlier term, ADD, survives in the name of a major parent and patient support group, C.H.A.D.D.

Along with an increasing awareness of the problem of ADHD, a better understanding of its causes and treatment has developed. The purpose of this book is to explain to parents the present thinking about the nature of this problem and how to manage it. The book should, of course, be an aid--not a substitute--for diagnosis and treatment by a qualified physician. It is designed to answer many of the most frequently asked questions and to describe some of the simple procedures that many parents have found helpful in dealing with their ADHD children. It is also designed to help answer questions about the problems of ADHD and to describe treatments that have proven effective. Although the behavioral problems that make up ADHD and the academic problems associated with learning disorders often occur together in the same person, it is useful to view each disorder separately. First, not all those with ADHD have the problems in reading, spelling, or arithmetic that are seen in learning-disordered people, and not all those with learning disorders have behavioral problems. Second, the treatment of ADHD behavioral problems and the treatment of learning disorder problems are different.

Jasmina Powell is a writer of the Year at Custom Essay Meister.com, LLC.. The firm provides custom essays and custom term papers.

Article Directory: Article Dashboard

Copyright © 2007 HealthFight.net