Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in children, and the symptoms often carry into adolescence and adulthood. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, children are being diagnosed at ten times the rate they were in the 70’s. A big question that is raised in the scientific community is whether or not these children actually have a disorder, or if it is simply easier to calm down an overactive kid with drugs rather than parenting. That being said, the most important thing with any buzzword disorder such as ADD is awareness.

A lot of people think that they have ADD, or some at least a share of the symptoms. In fact, I am writing about this topic because I was on a science website and found myself looking at cool picture galleries instead of actually researching a topic. I thought to myself, “wow, I really can’t pay attention to anything for more than 5 minutes” and then realized what I wanted to write my blog about.

There is uncertainty as to what actually causes ADD, but it is believed to be a combination of predisposed genetic factors and various environmental situations. According to nih.gov, there have been studies involving twins which have led scientists to believe that ADD could run in the family. A child may be at greater risk to develop ADHD/ADD if their mother smoked cigarettes or practiced other unsafe activities during pregnancy. A common misconception is that sugar is a main contributing factor in childhood ADHD, however experimental studies have began to disprove the notion.

So what are the symptoms? A diagnosis is broken up into three different categories: Hyperactivity, inattentiveness, and “impulsivity”. People who have more of the hyperactive symptoms exhibit more of the stereotypical ADHD behavior, such as non-stop talking and constantly being in motion. Impulsivity is a mix of mild tourette’s syndrome and a large amount of impatience. Impulsive people will have a hard time waiting for their turn and may sometimes blurt out inappropriate comments without thinking about them. Inattentive symptoms may be harder to spot, as someone who is inattentive may not have as many problems developing relationships and will rarely act out. They will sit quietly, but are usually day dreaming or will get bored of something unless it is pleasurable to them. These cases are trickier to identify, and many go overlooked.

If you haven’t gotten diagnosed yet, you are most likely safe. The vast majority of ADD needs to be diagnosed in childhood in order to be considered legitimate. Many college aged students who think they have symptoms are actually just a product of our fast-paced everyday lifestyles. We spend so much time checking various social networks and stimulating our senses at a mile a minute that when we have to sit down and work without distraction, we don’t know what to do with ourselves.

sources-
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml