What is Attention Deficit Disorder

A friend of mine has a grandson diagnosed with child attention deficit disorder. When I spoke to her about it, I wondered how you could tell whether it was ADD or 'just difficult or slow'. It is very difficult to tell with boys up to the age of about 16. Where do you draw the line? My grandmother was a primary school Head teacher for many years and she used to say that boys didn't develop intellectually as quickly as the girls did.

My interest raised, I decided to investigate further. It appears that there are three stages in normal development. The first stage can be seen in babies when they become focused on one thing for a period of time and ignore everything else. A child whose development stops at this stage might have a tendency towards autism.

Stage two is when a toddler is constantly finding things of interest but is not able to concentrate on one thing for very long. A child who stuck at this stage of development might be diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder.

It seems that at the third stage, a child develops the ability to focus their interest for longer periods and to shift their attention at will. This is considered to be a mature pattern of attention and concentration and is the level required to be successful in the classroom.

My friend says that ADD isn't just about an inability to concentrate for very long. People with Attention Deficit Disorder aren't able to choose when or where to pay attention or when to stop. She told me that when her grandson crosses the road, even though he has been taught over and over how to do it safely, if he has to wait for traffic then he would suddenly go no matter what the traffic is doing. There is never any warning that he is going to do this; he just knows that he needs to cross so off he goes.

The strange thing is that, together with this inability to choose when to pay attention and when not to concentrate comes an ability to intensely focus on a particular activity and forget to take a break. This could be repeatedly assembling the same jigsaw or watching the same movie to the exclusion of anything else. If this is not recognised and worked on early, some people say that it can lead to overeating, substance abuse, and compulsive behaviour later on.

ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a variation of Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD. People that suffer from this problem seem to be unable to relax or are constantly on the go. When seated they might be squirming or fiddling constantly, they just won't stay still. This can often be a nightmare for parents of children suffering from ADHD because the child doesn't need much sleep either. Imagine what it would be like to have a child that hardly ever sleeps and is constantly jumping around when they are awake which will be most of the time.

So what help is there? Is there a cure? Is it something that a child can grow out of? The answer to the last question is 'no', ADD and ADHD is a physical dysfunction of the brain. It does tend to run in families but it is not due to bad parenting or poor discipline.

Treatments for Attention Deficit Disorder

If it's caught early enough, children with ADD can benefit from both therapy and medication. Diagnosing the severity of the disorder is very difficult however so it's hard to determine how much help the child needs. The disorder has a wide spectrum, which means that mild cases of it may go unnoticed. ADD experts appear to favour a treatment regime using both medication and psychotherapy. Affected parts of the brain can benefit from psycho stimulants like Dexadrine and Ritalin and psychotherapy can help the child to control their impulses, concentrate and behave properly in many situations.

Alongside this medical treatment, it is recognised that diet can be important. There is evidence to suggest that some children with ADHD can react badly to certain combinations of foods. These can include dairy products, chocolate, wheat, fruit and particularly additives. A possible link between attention difficulties and hyperactivity and the use of preservatives and colourings in food has been found.

It has been discovered that people suffering from ADD tend to be lacking in fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6. It is thought that proper mental function growth is critically dependent on these fatty acids. There isn't any conclusive evidence of this but a change in diet might well be worth trying. Omega 3 is found in fish like mackerel and salmon and in flax oil. Safflower oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, margarine, sunflower oil and corn oil all contain Omega 6.

There is a more positive side to ADD. During my research I found a lot of opinion that some of the most famous people from history appeared to exhibit symptoms of ADD. The list of suggestions is quite long but it includes people like Mozart, Pasteur, Einstein and Beethoven. It appears that some of the characteristic symptoms of ADD can lead to outstanding performance so take good care of your ADD child because they might be a genius.

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