ADHD: 7 Facts
ADHD is a non-discriminatory disorder affecting people of every age, gender, IQ, religious and socio-economic background. Includes citations
What Is ADHD?
ADHD Quick Facts
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder—ADHD—is a brain-based disorder that affects about one in ten school-aged children. Symptoms continue into adulthood for more than half.
What is an Evaluation for ADHD Like?
It’s a matter of finding out how your life resembles the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. It’s not scary.
Aren’t medications for ADHD just different versions of illegal drugs?
Unlike illegal drugs, prescription stimulants are effective and safe treatments for many people with ADHD. However, people taking stimulants should be carefully monitored for signs of abuse and dependence.
Isn’t ADHD just an excuse for laziness?
ADHD may look like a lack of willpower or an excuse for laziness when it’s not. ADHD is really a problem with the chemical dynamics of the brain. It is not under voluntary control!
Why does ADHD seem to run in families?
Parents with ADHD are likely to carry a high load of ADHD-related variants in their genes, and they are more likely than parents without ADHD to pass some of them on to their children.
What is the difference in ADHD between males and females?
Research has found that the symptoms of ADHD in males and females are more alike than different. But when you ask men and women about their lived experiences with ADHD, you are likely to find some striking differences.
What is the relationship between ADHD and emotional regulation?
Throughout its 240+ year history in the medical literature, ADHD was known to be associated with significant problems with impulsive emotion and poor emotional self-regulation so much so that some theorists considered it a core feature of the disorder.
How common is ADHD in children and adults?
ADHD is estimated to be present in 5.29% of the children worldwide. In adults, this is between 2.8 and 4.4%. These are averages: estimates vary in different countries.
What causes ADHD?
In most people having the diagnosis, ADHD is likely to be the result of their genetic make-up (i.e. their DNA) and events that happen to them throughout life. Together, these may cause slight differences in the development of the brain, as we see them in people with ADHD.