Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or more commonly known as ADHD is defined as follows by most resources:

“ADHD is a Disruptive Behavioral Disorder characterized by the presence of a set of chronic and impairing behavior patterns that display abnormal levels of inattention, hyperactivity, or their combination.”

from: 1994 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Ed. IV, (DSM-IV)

I describe ADHD as a lifelong condition children are born with which creates social problems for them. It is generally those children who behave or operate differently to the ‘expected social norm’ and those children who find it increasingly difficult to ‘fit in’ with the rest of their peer group, stick to routine and a set of rules or basic conformity.

Some other explanations include:

ADHD is not a result of bad parenting or poor environments, it is a hereditary brain disorder that interferes with the way a person processes information. If you or your spouse have ADHD, your child has a good chance of having it too.   Scientists identified two of the genes that may cause ADHD.  Dr. David Fassler reported before a recent meeting of the American Medical Society, “ADHD is a very active area of research. There is a clear genetic component. We are getting closer and closer to understanding the biological basis… Neuro-imaging suggests differences in brain structure.”

Thus when doctors use MRI brainscans  to watch brain activity, they discovered that ADHD children’s brains clearly function differently than those of children without ADHD.

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