Sunday, August 7, 2016

Causes And Management Of Adhd In Children

By William Sullivan


ADHD is an abbreviation used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This is a mental disorder classified under neurodevelopment. This problem causes patients to experience problems with paying attention, controlling behavior, and they engage in excessive activity. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most diagnosed mental disorder diagnosed in children, even though the cause is always never found in most of the cases. ADHD in children continues to be a problem, affecting millions of children globally.

A diagnosis of this condition can only be made after symptoms have prevailed for over six months. Symptoms should also be the cause for inability to function in a minimum of two settings. Common settings are recreational sites, home, workplaces, and schools. Some children have trouble in multiple settings, especially if the condition is advanced. The criteria should also have been attained at age twelve for the diagnosis to be authentic.

Children suffering from ADHD exhibit several different symptoms. The symptoms usually occur together at the same time, but not in all the cases. Patients often forget things, keep switching activities, miss details, and get easily distracted. They find it difficult to maintain focus on a single task, and they become bored with a task after a few minutes. They have trouble following instructions and understanding minor details. They often daydream, move slowly, and seem confused.

Out of all the cases, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder usually occur together with other conditions in about 65 percent of all the time. Among the conditions it is associated with are Tourette syndrome, learning disability, oppositional defiant disorder, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, and primary disorder of vigilance. Additional conditions include obsessive-compulsive disorder, restless legs syndrome, sleep disorder, and substance use disorder.

This condition has also been associated with language delay, developmental coordination disorder, and persistent bed wetting. Language delays consists of many disorders such as hardship following instructions, slow processing of spoken language, hardship listening in distracting environment, and weakness in short term auditory memory. Difficulty in telling the difference between normal and abnormal level of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity often make diagnosis difficult. Thus, most diagnoses are often made later in life.

Low intelligence quotient has often been linked to attention deficient hyperactivity disorder. IQ score of patients are usually very low. The cause of the low IQ scores has drawn controversy among researchers. It is argued that the cause of low IQ scores could be distractibility as opposed to intellectual inability. Further research is in progress to reach a consensus about the significance of the link between attention deficient hyperactivity disorder and low IQ.

There are three main subtypes of ADHD, that is, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, predominantly inattentive, and the type that combines the first two. The main cause of this condition is often unknown in most cases. However, interactions between environmental and genetic factors are believed to be strong causes. Infection and brain trauma have also been associated with the condition.

Physicians aim to manage attention deficient hyperactivity disorder because it cannot be treated. Medications and counseling are some of the approaches used to manage it. Management efforts often cause outcomes to improve in the long run, but it is not possible to alleviate them completely. Stimulants, alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonists, atomoxetine, and antidepressants are some of the medications used.




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