Attention Deficit Symptoms and Attention Deficit Treatment

What Is ADD/ADHD?

Several years ago a disorder "surfaced" that explained, at least in part, the phenomenon of children who were unable to sit through a class without jumping up from their seats, or talking out of turn, or being disruptive. These attention deficit children were, in previous times, called trouble makers and problem kids. They tended to disrupt the classroom or, at home, seemed to be unable to sit still for more than three minutes at a time. The disorder became known as "attention deficit disorder", and, as time went on, the label was changed to read ADD/ADHA, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

There has been a lot of confusion and controversy over the definition and treatment of ADD/ADHD due to the tendency of some members of the professional mental health community to think that those diagnosed with the disorder have some kind of defect within their brain that can't be changed. Attention deficit reviews indicate that assumption is based on studies done very early on, when the initial group studied had swelling of the brain or encephalitis.  It is difficult to know exactly what causes ADD and many ascribe to the thought that it is a compilation of a variety of issues under one banner name.  There is some research into the possibility of ADD being contributed to by an epidural given in childbirth, but there is no solid proof of that to date.

Attention Deficit Symptoms

Attention deficit symptoms, in order to be in line with the diagnostic criteria for ADD/ADHA, must have persisted for six months to a point where it is inconsistent with the child's development or adult behavior. When measuring inattention, the criteria indicates the person often fails to give close attention to details and is careless with schoolwork, work or other activities. Sustaining attention in tasks or even at play is difficult and when spoken to directly, the person doesn't seem to be listening. Follow through on instructions and failing to complete assignments, homework, or duties in the workplace is lacking.

Using ADD To Benefit

It is commonly thought that those with ADD/ADHD have trouble focusing, when, in fact nothing could be farther from fact. The truth is that those with attention deficit tend to hyperfocus on anything that grabs their attention - the problem is finding something to get their attention. Now, there is some evidence suggesting that for those with attention deficit, music is a great place for them to excel, especially because of their ability to hyperfocus. It has also been suggested that teaching attention deficit children to control their behavior can be accomplished by focusing their learning on different types of musical styles to compliment various activities, ie, quiet music for independent activities and jazz for group endeavors. This ability to hyperfocus works well for adults with ADD/ADHD. Research has shown that ER doctors and first response attendants tend to be ADD - it works to everyone's benefit because they are able to focus in the midst of chaos.

ADD Treatments

Attention deficit treatments are varied, with the use of complementary and alternative medicine and behavioral therapies as well as attention deficit medications. For a long time, children were given Ritalin, a psychostimulant and other drugs of the same natural, that are designed to relieve the symptoms of ADHD. These drugs do work, and according to some of the research available, they are quite safe. Current research is going on to check the possible correlation of psychostimulants with heart attacks. To date, it does not seem to be a risk factor unless there is a history of heart disease in the background.

Attention Deficit Diet

Another link to ADD/ADHD is diet, including food allergies and nutritional deficiencies. Since attention deficit children have trouble focusing and often are hyperactive, eliminating sugar from the diet could have a very positive effect. Sometimes an attention deficit diet is all that is needed to correct the situation and it certainly does reduce the need for ingesting toxic pharmaceuticals. Healthy food choices are not difficult to make and everyone benefits from the decision. Eating organically grown foods is another good choice. Pesticides and genetically modified foods carry within them the potential for aggravating the condition. There are plenty of books available that have attention deficit diets and ways to naturally deal with ADD/ADHD. For a good many people, this is the way to go.