The LD Advantage
How Doctors See ADHD:
Causes Of ADHD:
So what is the main cause for A.D.H.D? Truth is, scientists are still unsure today but have narrowed it down to a few possible causes.
- Scientists believe that A.D.H.D is genetically passed down and have found that eighty percent of individuals living with A.D.H.D has at least one family member also with the disorder.
- Researchers, at the National Institutes of Health, have found “differing use of glucose between individuals with a history of ADHD and those without such a history"
- “Studies have also found differing levels of chemicals involved in nerve transmission between individuals with and without ADHD, These crucial chemicals, called neurotransmitters, appear to be deficient in individuals with ADHD in a portion of the brain believed to be related to related to rewards and punishment.”
No matter which theory is correct, it is obvious that ADHD is directly linked to the brain.
Basic Information
- ADHD is a neurologically based disorder caused by by a deficiency of a specific neurotransmitter in a specific set of brain circuits.
- 3-5% of school children have ADHD
- In 2007 there were about 5.4 million children, ages ranging 4-17 with ADHD.
- ADHD tends to affect boys 3 times more then girls
- About 4% of kids with ADHD also have learning differences
- Parents of children with a history of ADHD report almost three times as many peer problems as those without ADHD
Links:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html
The History of ADHD
- 1798: The first reports of children being "fidgety" and "restless" are released.
- 1844: The first known description of ADHD is published in the children's poem "Fidgety Philip"
- 1899: Thomas Smith Clouston described, in children, states of mental explosiveness and over excitability.
- 1930-1940: Scientists coined the term "brain injured" to describe children with learning differences.
- 1937: Medication was used for the first time to treat a child with ADHD when Dr. Charles Bradley used of Benzedrine and realized that it helped their behavior and school performance.
- 1966: The term Minimal Brain Dysfunction Syndrome was used to describe behavior typically found in children with ADHD.
- 1973: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 added ADHD as a qualification for accommodations at school for children with ADHD to help them succeed.
- 1987: DSM-III-R is published by the APA; This changed the name ADD to ADHD.
- 2000: The three categories of ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type, Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Type, and Combined Type, are created by the APA under the DSM-IV-TR.
- 2002: Strattera is the first non stimulant medication approved by the FDA.
- 2009: Intuniv is the second non stimulant medication approved by the FDA.