Myths Surrounding ADHD

There are many myths that surround Attention Deficit Disorder, and sadly they are believed by many unsuspecting people who know nothing about the disorder. A lot of these myths have developed from years and years of medical professionals diagnosing only young boys and no one else.

One of the big myths that is very prevalent today is that ADD is the popular diagnosis for this time period. If a child acts up in the classroom, he has ADD and he or she must be on medication. While there appears to be an explosion of ADD in America, this is due to many factors. One factor that needs to be considered is the evolution of technology and medicine. Each year, we learn more and more about every type of disorder and ADD just happens to be one of them. This does not mean that it is a fad diagnosis. Another thing to consider is that sometimes children are slapped with a label before it has even formally been diagnosed. The ADD label is so informally thrown around that how many children actually have the disorder is misconstrued.

Another myth is that ADD is overly diagnosed. This is simply not true. As discussed in the previous paragraph, ADD is not diagnosed formally unless a psychologist or psychiatrist tests an individual. Testing can either be formal (which I believe is preferable) or informal where an individual's history is taken and evaluated. Doctors do not just quickly give out ADD as a diagnosis, and over diagnosis is pure myth.

A third myth is that ADHD is only a disorder for hyperactive boys. This myth comes from the many years that it was promoted as fact by the medical community. It is not true, and it is also not true that more boys have this than girls. Because girls have only recently been diagnosed, there is not an accurate picture of how many actually have it.

Another myth that can be very damaging is that having ADD is only a small problem in an individual's life. Yes, some individual's who have ADD may fare better than others, but many have real problems in dealing with everyday life issues and routines. The difficulties that people with ADD face should not be thrown off.

A myth that has just recently been discounted is that people outgrow ADD by the age of twelve or thirteen. Some individuals may outgrow it or the symptoms dissipate over time, but many individuals do not. It is not something that just goes away on its own though, and anyone who thinks that is true has their facts wrong.

And lastly, there is a myth that medication is the only thing you can do to help ADD. This is something that is believed by a lot of people. Yes, medications help in many cases of ADD but it is the just the beginning of getting help. Counseling and learning how to structure your time are also very important steps to take.

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