ADHD - Facts, Stats and Thoughts!

ADHD is a term that you often hear...  "Johnny has ADHD," or "Suzie has a tough time in school, can't sit still, must be ADHD."  What is ADHD and how does it affect people?  Read on!

1.  Definition - According to the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders-5th edition), ADHD is described as a neurodevelopmental disorder in which children and adults have a "persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and is more severe than is typically observed in individuals at comparable level of development."  A person must demonstrate specific difficulty in 5 (adults) or 6 (children) areas to meet the criteria for diagnosis.  There are 2 types - hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive.  

2.   How long has ADHD been an issue?  A disorder of attention was first described by a Scottish physician, Sir Alexander Chriton in 1798.  Further explanation was given by Sir George Still, a British pediatrician, in 1902 which included difficulties in self-regulation and mentioned intact intellectual abilities.  In other words, the term refers to smart children and adults who have problems with attention and focus.  Since the 1950's, ADHD diagnoses have been on the rise, most markedly since the 1990's.  

3.   Prevalence - in other words - who has it?  According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 11% of children in the US were diagnosed with ADHD in 2011, and more boys (13.2%) than girls (5.6%) have been diagnosed with ADHD.  

4.  Common Symptoms include, but are not limited to, being easily distracted, frequently forgetting or losing things, not following or remembering directions, fidgeting, excessive talking, having difficulty taking turns, difficulty organizing and planning activities, not completing homework or following through on plans, and daydreaming.  Having a few symptoms does not mean you have ADHD, though having many of the preceding challenges and noting that they impact your daily living...well, you may want to talk to your doctor about that.  ADHD can impact an individual's success in school, work, and interpersonal relationships.

5.   Diagnosis - there is no ADHD test.  Instead, a doctor will use an interview, symptoms reported, and inventories and surveys filled out by the individual as well as teachers, parents and other adults to determine if an individual meets the criteria for ADHD.

6.   Treatment options:  medication and/or behavioral intervention, which includes the teaching of strategies to improve the individual's overall functioning.  There are many professionals who offer expertise in behavioral intervention for clients with ADHD, such as psychologists, teachers, tutors, and speech-language pathologists. Speech pathologists help students and adults with a variety of ADHD-related needs, including strategies for organization, homework, long-term projects, written language, and pragmatics (social skills). Parents and guardians have an essential role in ADHD treatment, and should be a part of the intervention team.

7.   Where does ADHD come from?  There is no clear evidence that indicates a cause of ADHD, but it is widely thought to be a genetic condition, and behaviors often appear in more than one member of a family.

8.   Successful individuals with ADHD (there are SO many that it was hard to narrow it down): JetBlue founder David Neeleman, Red Sox player Shane Victorino, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Katherine Ellison, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and The Voice, political consultant James Carville, Comedian/Actors Robin Williams and Howie Mandel, Singer/Actors Will Smith and Justin Timberlake, Actors Woody Harrelson and Ryan Gosling, NFL host and former player Terry Bradshaw, Virgin mogul Sir Richard Branson, Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Michael Phelps, and possibly F. Scott Fitzgerald, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison,  etc., etc., etc....  

9.   Is it a big deal?  Well, as you've read, it is considered to be a disorder, and it effects many children and adults.  Depending on who is asked, there are pros and cons to having ADHD.  Whether it negatively affects a child's success in school or an adult's credit score, or allows an individual to think "outside the box" and become a wildly creative success, is all very person-specific.  What is most noteworthy is that ADHD is a variation in learning style that parents, teachers and students should be aware of.  If a child isn't successful in school because he       can't seem to sit still to listen to his teacher's instructions, it is a problem.  If a teenager has a messy room, a habit of not passing in homework and waiting until the last minute to start projects that were assigned 3 weeks ago, and then doesn't pass the driver's permit test because he missed half of his driver's education classes ("I forgot"), then it may be a problem of ADHD.  If an adult can't seem to hold a job because she oversleeps, misses appointments, loses important documents, and impulsively speaks harshly to her co-worker or boss, then ADHD may be playing a role.   

10.  ADHD often does not occur alone, that is, people who have ADHD may also have other concomitant issues such as depression, anxiety, language learning disorders, communication disorders, and sleep disorders.   What starts first - who knows!?  Do students who have a tough time attending in school sometimes end up having poor grades, then getting in trouble at home with their parents for their grades, then feel badly about everything and become truly depressed?  You bet.  Is that to say that all children with ADHD will end up in that situation?  Of course not.  We are all individuals with varied abilities, support systems and coping skills.  There is no definite path for anyone, as we are all faced with choices along every road we take. What makes some successful and others less so is multi-faceted and in many ways undeterminable.  

If you'd like to read more about ADHD, you can, of course, google it, or check out these web-sites:  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/ADHD/,  http://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org/wp-content/uploads/ADHDAwareness_Facts.pdf, and http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/adhd.htm.