Define ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disability characterized by a short attention span, hyperactivity, and difficulty with impulse control.

Steps

 * 1) In the frontal lobe of the brain there are certain chemicals and electrical activity which helps a person to concentrate, stay focused on tasks, ignore unimportant distractions, control activity level and inhibit their behavior. People with ADHD have significantly less of these chemicals with leaves them with concentration problems, easily distracted, hyperactive and impulsive.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 1.jpg|center]]
 * 2) * The ADHD gene is recessive. A parent with ADHD has a 1/3 chance of passing it to their child.
 * 3) * ADHD is not caused by poor parenting, diet, brain damage or other physical causes. It is not a learning disability and does not affect intelligence.
 * 4) Learn about the different types of ADHD. It is classified into three types:[[Image:Define ADHD Step 2.jpg|center]]
 * 5) * Type A: Inattentive ADHD (previously known as ADD), which is marked by impaired attention and concentration
 * 6) * Type B: Hyperactive-impulsive ADHD, which is marked by hyperactivity without inattentiveness
 * 7) * Type C: Combined ADHD (the most common type), which involves all of the symptoms
 * 8) There are three different categories of ADHD: Inattention, Hyperactivity, Impulsivity.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 3.jpg|center]]
 * 9) There are 10 symptoms of Inattention, 6 symptoms of Hyperactivity, and 6 symptoms of Impulsivity. [[Image:Define ADHD Step 4.jpg|center]]
 * 10) Attention deficit is difficulty concentrating, people with ADHD struggle to concentrate in tedious tasks, have a short attention span and get bored and lose interest in activities faster than their peers, are easily distracted and often struggle to achieve to their potential in many areas of their lives, they often have difficulty staying on task and completing tasks in required time.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 5.jpg|center]]
 * 11) Hyperactivity means having excessive amounts of energy. ADHD sufferers will struggle to sit or stand still, they may have trouble staying in their seats in the classroom or walking from place to place (need to run and skip), they often require less sleep and have trouble falling asleep. Most talk a lot and can be very loud. They may get over excited easily and have difficulty settling down. They will appear to be driven by a motor and may always feel restless.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 6.jpg|center]]
 * 12) Poor impulse control refers to the ability to consider the consequences of their ADHD. ADHD sufferers generally act without thinking and may get into trouble a lot. They may be impatient and have trouble waiting their turn.  During conversations they tend to dominate and put their say in before giving others a chance.  They tend to be very uninhibited.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 7.jpg|center]]
 * 13) Most people with ADHD have Type C (the combined type). This means they are affected by problems of concentration and learning as well as the problems of hyperactivity and behavior. Type A (inattentive) people just have serious difficulties with Attention Deficit but not with hyperactivity or behavior. Some have ADHD Type B predominately hyperactive/impulsive type, they have problems with hyperactivity and behavior but not attention deficit.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 8.jpg|center]]
 * 14) Most people, especially children have these problem to some degree, but those with ADHD have them very severely, it is not ADHD unless the problems are far more severe than in the average person of the same age. ADHD affects only a small percentage of the population.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 9.jpg|center]]
 * 15) ADHD is a lifelong disability. ADHD is an inborn condition which may become apparent in infancy, but perhaps not until ages 2-3. By the time the child is in school, the problems are more obvious as the child is now expected to sit still, concentrate, complete schoolwork, follow rules, wait their turn and be compared to other children of a similar age.  If a teenager or adult is diagnosed they must show that they had these problems from a very young age.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 10.jpg|center]]
 * 16) ADHD is a pervasive disability, which means it affects all areas of life. It is not ADHD if the problem only occurs at school. ADHD affects its sufferers at school, at home, in their jobs, when playing sports, when socializing, when watching TV and when doing leisure activities.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 11.jpg|center]]
 * 17) Around 95% of people with ADHD continue to experience problems as teenagers. A small percentage will start to see improvements in their teen years and may go on to live normal adult years as the brain matures. But most will still need medication to get them through high school.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 12.jpg|center]]
 * 18) About 80% of children with ADHD will face significant struggles as adults. Their ADHD will affect their ability to complete study, get and keep a job, care for themselves, develop social relationships, enjoy leisure time and for marriages. Medication will be needed to allow life to be a success.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 13.jpg|center]]
 * 19) Boys with ADHD tend to experience worse effects when they are children. This is because boys are expected to be active, impulsive and aggressive. This coupled with ADHD can equal a world or energy. Hormonal changes may increase ADHD symptoms in girls: puberty, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and menopause.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 14.jpg|center]]
 * 20) ADHD has been around for millennia. In the olden days very little was known about any kinds of medical conditions let alone conditions of the brain. History shows many people who would have been diagnosed with ADHD today. Many would have been advantaged by the life style in the olden days as life was more active and was filled with hard physical labour, those with ADHD may have had a large advantage due to hyperactivity and high energy levels.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 15.jpg|center]]
 * 21) * ADHD was first recognized and diagnosed as a condition in 1902, it had many named including restlessness syndrome, organic drivenness and fidgety phils to name a few.
 * 22) * Stimulant medication has been used since the 1930's to treat the problem, which has had many names over the years, and Ritalin has been used since the 1950's.
 * 23) * Many older people claim that there were no ADHD kids when they were in school but in the 50's, 60's and 70's this condition had different names like Minimal Brain dysfunction, MBD, Hyperactivity and the hyperactive child syndrome. The odds are they did know someone who was hyperactive. Children were on medication but it was not talked about as things are today, it was considered private family business.
 * 24) * In the 1990s a different dimension was discovered to this condition. It was now called Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD, basically, it is ADHD in adults. There were two types. ADD with hyperactivity and ADD without hyperactivity.
 * 25) ADD and ADHD are not exactly the same thing. ADD is ADHD without hyperactivity, usually identified in adults. ADD, as a diagnosis, is most often termed as a sub-category of ADHD.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 16.jpg|center]]
 * 26) There are many secondary symptoms that are suffered by ADHD sufferers. Some may not suffer any of these symptoms, some may suffer all but most suffer from some. They include - coordination problems, anxiety, poor handwriting, social problems, disorganization, poor short term memory.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 17.jpg|center]]
 * 27) People with ADHD are more likely to suffer symptoms of a second disorder, known as a co-morbid. Common co-morbids include learning disabilities, autism, anxiety disorders, depression, and bipolar affective disorder.[[Image:Define ADHD Step 18.jpg|center]]

Tips

 * ADHD is often called a chemical/electrical imbalance, but the truth is that the cause is often as unknown as the disorder. It has been linked to the environment, and certain substances from metals to gluten have had negative effects, no one knows the cause.
 * Most messages that travel through the brain due so in the form of enzymatic messengers through a fluid called a neurotransmitter from axon to receptor cells. If either the axon doesn't fire the message, the receptor doesn't receive the message, if the neurotransmitter is clouded, or the enzyme is damaged, then the message either goes somewhere else, or it is destroyed. In a person with ADHD, the mind goes into overdrive because the enzymatic messengers are slowed down. In effect, the brain never fully wakes and must be stimulated. The person only appears hyperactive because the brain is over compensating by accelerating that which should be a wakeful state.

Related wikiHows

 * How to Keep a Job With ADHD
 * How to Treat Adhd
 * How to Deal With Adhd
 * How to Cope With ADHD