ADHD Breakthrough

Campus Report ^ | January 9, 2008 | Amanda Busse

[bs9021]

ADHD Breakthrough

by: Amanda Busse, January 09, 2008

A new study suggests that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children may be a matter of maturity.

According to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ADHD in children is caused when portions of the brain mature at a slower pace than normal. For many, the condition eventually normalizes and nearly 80 percent of children grow out of the disorder, the researchers found.

Researchers used a new image-analysis technique to measure the thickening and thinning of thousands of cortex sites in 223 children with ADHD and 223 children without the disorder for the study. Scientists found that the cortex sites in children with the disorder reached peak thickness three years later, on average, than those in children without the disorder.

“There has been debate about whether ADHD is a delay or deviance from normal brain development,” the lead author of the study, Dr. Philip Shaw, told the Los Angeles Times, “This study comes down strongly in favor of delay.”

The cause for the delay in brain maturation which causes ADHD is unknown, but there is evidence that both genetic and environmental factors influence brain development.

At early ages, environmental factors that influence the inattention and lack of self control associated with ADHD may include certain parenting and teaching techniques, according to another study published in the same month in Developmental Psychology. The study found that self-control and maturity levels were affected by family life and filtered into the classroom setting.

[bpjam]

if they were taking something remotely natural instead of stimulants to deal with it until they closed the three year development gap, they are almost virtually certain to be in the highest intelligence grouping.

Unfortunately, tens of millions didn’t make it without being drugged (ie, stunted). I don’t think we’ll see the real damage for another 10-20 years when all of these kids are in their 30-50s and we are relying on them to run our country. I’ll be you we never have a presidential candidate who was on Ritalin.

[SatinDoll]

That is very astute. I bet you’re 100% right on that.

[lil_rebbitzen]

I think some ADHD is real, but I also think we are over-diagnosing quite a bit.

I had ADHD for several years as a child, and we thought I might have some tendencies later, but it turns out, my adhd when I was 15 or so was depression. I just took myself off some Adderall XR that we were seeing if it helped. Seems with me, the adderall made my depression worse.

If this study is correct, it sounds like the ADHD can be grown out of (I grew out of mine), but if we keep medicating the kids, we can never tell!

[lil_rebbitzen]

I’ve noticed ADHD does tend to hit a lot of kids in intelligent families. I’m probably at least a 145 IQ, and it hit me BAD at 6 or 7, I guess. My father probably would have been diagnosed as a teen if they had anything about it then. He was pretty crazy, and he’s pretty high IQ as well (probably 150+). Something about riding on the back of a motorcycle, shooting streetlights out with dual shotguns. :)

At the same time, he was the youngest paramedic at 16 in the state of Alabama, and got Ranger status.

I love my dad so much. He’s so freaking awesome sometimes.