ADHD is a problem in both children and adults.
Although it is more common in children and affects about 3-5 % of children globally and is diagnosed in about 2 to 16% percent of school aged children.
ADHD diagnosis is also far more prevalent in boys who are diagnosed two to four times more frequently than girls. Although there is some question in the medical community as to whether that comes from a bias from teacher who initially usually see the symptoms of ADHD in a child and refer them for diagnosis.
There are three specific types of ADHD. The first is where you are predominately hyperactive. This means most of your symptoms are in the hyperactivity category. The second type is people who are predominately inattentive. Most of these people’s symptoms show up on the attention difficulty side of the chart.
The third subset of ADHD is combined hyperactive and inattentive symptoms. Most children with ADHD have this type. It means there 6 or more symptoms on each side that are present. Girls more often will only show the attention issues sides whereas boys are more apt to show both set of symptoms.
Although like with most things with ADHD there is some debate about it the three main known causes are genetics, evolutionary theories and environment. ADHD is usually diagnosed by first grade and is noticed usually be a teacher or parent who is struggling with a child who can’t concentrate well enough to get along in school.
For most people ADHD lessens over time. Although it is usually diagnosed early most of the severe symptoms are present during elementary years. Most people when they hit their teenage years see a significant reduction in their ADHD symptoms. By their mid twenties, only 50% will still have symptoms that cause them daily impairments.
There are many strategies for learning how to cope with ADHD. Coping in this sense means finding a life work around to ease the symptoms of the disorder. For example, if you have a child that exhibits high hyperactivity symptoms give him a constructive way to get that energy out.
Bring along an item that is ok for them to play and fiddle with. That way they have a way to get out their energy and they are less likely to just find a random object. If you have a child with attention issues make sure you are providing an area that is distraction free for school work. White noise is also helpful sometimes for making it easier for kids to cope with their symptoms.
So creating these little ways to do things differently to not make the symptoms be as chaotic can go a long way in learning how to cope with ADHD in an effective and healthy way. Research has also started to demonstrate how brain fitness could actually help individuals cope with ADHD by training their cognitive abilities.
