In the world of neurology there exists a condition that is defined as “a chronic condition that includes attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness”. And this condition is called “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” also commonly known as “ADHD”. This condition was earlier known as “Attention Deficit Disorder” or “ADD” and was officially changed to ADHD in 1994 in the fourth edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. In India about 10 million cases of ADHD are reported per year. Hence it becomes essential to understand this condition in depth. Given below are few major points that highlight what ADD/ADHD really is and what exactly are its symptoms and remedy.
1. What is ADD/ADHD?
ADHD or ADD is a neurological disorder in which an individual is found to be struggling to pay attention, impulsive, and hyperactive. This condition very often begins in childhood and can last up to adulthood. Unfortunately this condition is usually chronic and can last for years or even for life at times. This condition also affects humans from all age groups. So be it a child of 3 years or fully grown mature adult of 60 years this condition can certainly affect anyone. Such is the damage caused by this condition that it could lead to low self esteem and even troubled personal relationships. Furthermore, this condition is also classified as ADHD-PI, in which PI stands for “Predominantly inattentive”.
2. What are the symptoms of this condition?
According to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” an individual suffering from ADHD exhibits the following symptoms. The symptoms are as follows:
- Inability in giving close attention to details. Also prone to careless mistakes in studies, work, other activities etc.
- Not prone to listening carefully when spoken to directly.
- Often fails to follow instructions given due to inability to comprehend the instruction itself.
- Often finds difficulty in organizing.
- Often avoid activities such as studies that demand a lot of mental effort.
- Often easily distracted and forgetful in daily activities.
3. What are the remedies for this condition?
The two major remedies that can be used for this condition are psychosocial techniques and use of medications. The psychosocial technique essentially involves encouraging parents to provide for an ideal home and teachers providing an ideal school environment for children suffering from ADHD. The parents must also sufficiently be educated about the behaviour of the child suffering from this condition. In similar vein teachers must undergo classroom management wherein techniques related to handling of a child suffering from this condition must be taught. Thus even though psychosocial technique might not able to help get rid of this condition completely. It certainly would help make life much better for an individual suffering from ADHD and, hence this technique should be used.
The other possible method to treating this condition is by the use of medicines. The medicines that can be used for this condition are usually stimulants such as methylphenidate, dimethylphenidate, and mixed amphetamine salts. There are two types of stimulants i.e. fast and slow acting stimulants that can be used to treat this condition. These stimulants in turn prove useful in treating ADHD. Yet one must remember that these stimulants although useful do not cure the condition.
Although ADHD/ADD is a serious neurological that is incurable it can be treated and, the best treatment to this condition being the use of psychosocial techniques rather than the use of medications in the form of stimulants.
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