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What is Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD?

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

My interest aroused, I decided to look into it further. It appears that there are three stages in normal development. The first stage is seen in babies when they become focused on one thing for a period of time to the exclusion of everything else. A child whose development remains at this stage for too long might have a tendency towards autism.

The second stage is when a toddler is constantly finding different things of interest but never able to concentrate on one thing for very long. A child who is 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 other side of the Attention Deficit Disorder equation is the ability to focus intensely on an activity to the exclusion of everything else, including breaks. The ADD sufferer might watch the same movie over and over or complete the same jigsaw time and time again. Some people say that if this behaviour isn't recognised and treated as early as possible then it could lead to overeating, substance abuse or compulsive behaviour.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a variation of Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD. People that suffer from this problem appear to be unable to relax or are constantly active. When sitting down they might be constantly squirming or fiddling, they just won't keep still. This can be a nightmare for parents of children suffering from ADHD because they don't need much sleep either. Imagine having a child that hardly ever sleeps and is constantly jumping around when they are awake.

You might be wondering whether a child with ADD will grow out of it eventually. I'm afraid the answer is no, they won't. ADD and ADHD are caused by physical problems within the brain so it isn't very likely to change with time. The disorder can be passed on through the generations but bad discipline or poor parenting can't cause it.

Attention Deficit Disorder and Treatment:

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.

Diet can also be very important in ADD treatment. Some children have bad reactions to certain foods like wheat, chocolate, fruit, dairy products and additives. Additives can be particularly problematic in this respect and a potential link between them and ADD and ADHD has now been discovered.

There has also been some research into fatty acids as it has been found that people with ADD appear to be lacking in Omega 3 and Omega 6. It is thought that these fatty acids are crucial for proper growth in mental function and brain development. The Omega 3 family of fatty acids are found in fish such as salmon and mackerel, as well as flax oil. Omega 6 is found in corn, sunflower, canola and safflower oil, margarine and vegetable oil. Even though none of the evidence is conclusive, parents may wish to try a change in diet to see if it helps.

To finish, it was interesting to note that on several web sites some famously successful people exhibited behaviours that now lead experts to believe that they had ADD. These include people like Beethoven, Mozart, Einstein and Pasteur.