It is estimated that about 3% to 5% of the United States population is afflicted with a behavioral disorder known as attention deficit disorder (ADD). Because most of ADD patients are kids aged four years old and above, people associate the disorder to young age.
However, it has been established that attention deficit disorder not only inflicts children. There are recorded cases of adults exhibiting symptoms of the neurological condition. Experts explain that such a case happens when attention deficit disorder is carried on by a child until he grows up.
Up until now, there is still no definite and specific cure for attention deficit disorder, but many researchers and pharmaceuticals are aggressively struggling to develop or discover possible treatments. However, there are several medications and therapies that aim to help lessen the effects and symptoms or at least help the child cope up with the problem.
Attention deficit disorder chooses no one. It can be diagnosed at any child, regardless of overall health or social standing of parents. Studies have also found that the behavioral disorder is not hereditary, meaning, your child can acquire it even if no one from your ancestors had been diagnosed with such.
It is important that you do your part and do it well to help your child if he is diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Other parents have been misled to think that attention deficit disorder is somehow like being retarded. If you think so, it is time you re-assess your perception.
Children, and adults, too, with attention deficit disorder can still live a normal life in the future. Often, the disorder is outgrown by the child before he reaches the age of puberty. For those who do not, at least, as they mature, they tend to cope up with the situation and they slowly emerge from the condition without them, and people around them, being aware.
Children with attention deficit disorder need special attention and understanding. Experts and therapists might be able to provide significant help, but you must first take the initiative to help your child, if he or she is diagnosed with it. It would be better if you would immediately seek professional help if symptoms of the disorder starts exhibiting.
Common signs of attention deficit disorder
Because this disorder can easily be diagnosed, you could observe your child to see if he is suffering from the condition. Take note that attention deficit disorder is not a serious and contagious disease. Instead, it is condition that manifests several symptoms, which can be divided into two groups: the inattention and the hyperactivity ADD symptoms.
Inattention symptoms of the disorder are as follows:
o The child is finding it hard to pay particular focus to details, both big and small. This is because the child is always lacking a sense of focus and tends to attend to many different tasks at a time.
o The child is most of the time very careless, especially in school works and in other different activities. The carelessness is very evident and is typically never to be neglected as compared to other common carelessness.
o Often, the child is not able to listen intently whenever someone is talking to him. That is not his fault. No matter how he tries it out, there is always something that prevents him from staying focused to listening.
o When the child habitually fails to follow specific procedures and instruction when doing a task, he might be suffering from attention deficit disorder. Often, the child is not able to finish or complete any task, though he can start them all at once.
o The child is very easily distracted. Simple sounds, sights and stimuli can easily distract the child, preventing him from concentrating very well in whatever it is he does.
Other than being inattentive, another set of symptoms for a child's potential attention deficit disorder centers on his being hyperactive. Here are some manifestations:
o The child tends to talk too much.
o The child always seems restless and can never be confined in a seat. He fidgets with his own hands and often squirms when seated.
o The child is very playful, but can never play quietly. He is rowdy and very noisy when playing, as if constantly screaming.
o The child with attention deficit disorder also tends to distract other children intentionally. In other words, the child is very hyperactive and is somehow aggressive and a bit bully.
