Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum New insight on ADHD, with apologies

I hate to rake a dead horse over the coals, especially one that has caused such strong feelings and sharp words in previous times, for which I apologize once again, but this article suggests that the time for discussion has come 'round again.

Using ever-more-sophisticated methods and technology, researchers have once again addressed the question of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Syndrome, or ADHD. They report evidence for a structural basis as a cause of ADHD. And the news is not all bad.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6942511

Interesting, I will be passing this on to the mothers i know with ADHD children.

Well it still sounds more like something for that Princeton group studying ESP.

I've lived and dealt with ADD all the way into adulthood. Any new information is great information! Thanks!

As the parent unit of one "child-from-Hell" (said with deepest affection!), it heartens me greatly to hear from one that managed to survive to adulthood without being throttled in their sleep by a frazzled care-giver!

Maybe one day there will be a way to prevent or more facilely diagnose ADHD so that it can be effectively treated.

Well, it's a nice dream!

Anyway, welcome to SAGG. We hope you enjoy the ride. Barf bags are issued upon request. We do request that you not feed the trolls; they have their own rewards....

I've found one advantage to ADD is that I've never really suffered from boredom. My attention span never lasted long enough for me to become bored with anything!

It is really hard on a parent and I know this now in retrospect.

glad to be on board! Though sometimes you don't know you've fed a troll until after it bites a finger off. :-)

I was diagnosed with ADD-Inattentive type (not to be confused with ADHD; I am not hyperactive) at the age of 21. This diagnosis shed a tremendous amount of insight into my developmental process (adolesence especially). Trying ritalin gave me painful headaches; ceasing the meds ended the headaches.
But I do not see this as a "disorder" but rather a benefical way of multi-tasking. Problem is I am prone to hyper or hypo focus. For example, people sometimes times will be speaking to me and I am literally not aware of their presence; not because I do not want to be but because I am preoccupied.
I strongly feel that children should not be medicated (unless they are out of control) for there are short-term side effects and the long-term side effects are unknown.
Again I do not see ADD as a "disorder", rather as a different way to gather and perceive information.
Amaranth, I feel for you and your child; and in addition, many people diagnosed with "ADD" have high IQs.
Sincerely,

The appearance of disease and actual disease must be distinguished seperately... As doctors will tell you in most cases it is not there at all(it is by birth) and something like it can also appear due to stress...
ADD is an extereme form of psychological disorder..making the subject incapable of doing or understanding anyhting...
Apologies not required as it is just another disease which requires Science to be treated.

** "ADD is an extereme form of psychological disorder..making the subject incapable of doing or understanding anyhting...
Apologies not required as it is just another disease which requires Science to be treated."**

Posted, ever so brilliantly, by -DKV

That is a statement of profound ingnorance. Obviously you know nothing about ADD; as you equate people with ADD as being essentially "vegetables". "Making the subject incapable of doing or understanding anyhting..." -DKV do not respond to posts of which you have not one iota of acumen regarding the subject matter; it makes you look foolish. That is some friendly sound advice from your friend in SAGG.
Sincerely,

DKV:

You are obviously talking out your arse. You post many rambling, vague and outright loony posts on this forum. It is clear to me you don't know what ADD or ADHD is about. Perhaps you're mistaking it for Autism. I suggest you do some homework before you ramble on about the subject.

Life with an ADHD child is a special and miserable form of hell itself. Only those who have experienced it can come close to understanding the frustration. My son is brilliant; in his junior year (11th grade) he tested well above college graduate levels in many subjects, and well above grade level in Mathematics (at least 1.5 standard deviations above the mean). Yet his short attention span and inability to focus kept him in the low "C's" gradewise. It is a great frustration to a parent to see a child with such obvious ability fail at things like simple English and Math when they are capable of much more.

Learn something from people who know what ADD or ADHD really means. "Smart but feeling dumb" is a phrase that describes very well the life of those afflicted with the disorder. The ripple effect on the rest of the family takes its toll as well. Have some understanding before you spout off with your philosophical ramblings, please. Some of us find it offensive when you rave on about a subject you know nothing of.

( DKV )"You are obviously talking out your arse. You post many rambling, vague and outright loony posts on this forum" - Amaranth Rose.

LMFAO!

I wonder how people with ADD/ADHD throughout history have been labelled; some have said that Einstein probably had ADD. Others think the rise in diagnoses of autism and ADD is a form of biological evolution. Regardless, it is real and it does effect people and their families.


Sincerely,

"Affect". And yes, it does.

see I wasn't paying attention! lol BTW, on the Myers-Briggs personality scale I am an INTP and I wonder how much interplay personality (or my personality) takes a role in an ADD diagnosis.
Sincerely,

I never took any personality tests. I'm just a tired old woman grown weary in the service of a youth with multifarious personal problems. Now I have time to write and find myself too battle weary to do it. Life with an ADHD child is an endurance test in the best of times, a trip to hell when things go wrong as they often do. I'm just beginning to decompress; give me another week or two to get back to my usual affable self.

One of the problems is that kids are frequently diagnosed with an attention-deficit disorder, when it's just a case of "boys being boys" or what have you.

The resulting flood of medication may be keeping kids sitting quietly in class (while their brains are zinging inside), but it's doing a disservice to the kids who don't really need the meds, as well as minimizing the kids who do need help.