Posted on 01/09/2008 11:21:34 AM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at campusreportonline.net ...
I’m a believer too....
Sibling and parent (ROF ADHD) and I’m totally ADD.
Meds make a sane life possible.
Don’t you hate it when ignoramuses do that? One bad thing about the Internet is having to put up with so much of that crap (on various issues).
No, as a parent of a child with ADHD, I can tell you that it's not.
It is overdiagnosed, and it is over medicated. But it's NOT BS.
My son is now 18 and still deals with some issues of his ADHD. We stopped meds way back when he hit puberty and, if we had it to do over, would probably not have done the meds at all.
But the condition is real.
My Grandmas hickory switch was for lesser symptoms...
(shudder)
The brain scans don’t show that the behavior is outside the range or the scope of society at large or that it is a permanent condition; they merely show that the activity matches the behavior which is not necessarily destructive.
In the meantime, screw ‘em up royally with drugs!
I was among the firm skeptics of ADHD, and one of those who believed if the parent would just apply the board of education to their seat of knowledge they could cure the kid. But my 6-year old son most definitely has ADHD, and despite some peoples beliefs it is not something that can be beaten out of a child. I have learned in a short time that a kid with ADHD is not the same as a kid that is a spoiled brat. Far from it, my child is the sweetest kid who is very generous to others and fun loving. I have been working with him at home with that Total Transformation program that you hear advertised on the radio, and it does seem to have helped at home - but at school I have been pulled aside 3 times so far by his kindergarten teacher this year, to tell me is not listening to simple directions given in class. A typical incident would be her giving directions for the students to grab a pencil and eraser and gather in a circle on the mat. He will join the other kids on the mat, but be the only one who did not grab the pencil and eraser. I am working with him and things are getting better - but I don’t believe in giving them drugs, unless they are a danger to them selves or others, which he’s not.
I call it “Burn the witch” mentality about medical issues.
I am very strict and punish at home for bad grades and behavior. Alas, nothing worked. Once my daughter got put on the Daytrana patch she started making all A’s, talking and fidgeting less, and had a longer attention span all the while remaining the happy, precocious, and want to be popstar child she has always been.
Trust me it is real just over diagnosed. I have 3 boys and 2 girls so I had a control group to work from.
Yep.
I have two sons who were both diagnosed in childhood by competent professionals as having ADHD. I accept the diagnosis.
I also believe that part of the problem was that highly intelligent and creative boys in an ultra-structured classroom are a pain in the you-know-what.
They were never put on meds. I wouldn’t allow it.
They were taught, day-by-day, what acceptable behavior was, what consequences were for improper behavior, and that they could wait to channel their creativity and energy in places outside the classroom.
Was it tough? You bet.
Today, both have advanced engineering degrees. They’re bright, fun, successful adults.
And they will always be square pegs fitting into a round-hole world.
The “baby” of the family?
I had 3 boys and it was the girl that has it. Your unlearned theory is flawed at best.
Read up on what is considered classic “ADD” or “ADHD” and get back to me.
It’s not about external behaviors but internal short circuits etc. The ability to sort thoughts, catagorize, tune out distractions, actually ‘hear’ what is being said over the chaos going on inside the head.
It’s not about ‘bad’ or active children being drugged but about helping kids who are in an internal hell of too much stimulus and unable to get out and interact.
It’s real and I thank God for the Dr.s who treat it.
(Coming from me, that’s a lot ;) )
I think you are right. I believe we have lowered the expectations of reasonable behavior by excusing the misbehavior of some kids and calling it an illness, syndrome or whatever in order to remove blame or eliminate the need for excuses. In my classes as a young student I often heard “Sit down, shut up and pay attention!” For those who thought they could not do so, a trip to the principal’s office was in order. Funny how many of us learned that we could sit still with the proper... encouragement.
You’re example is typical of what we dealt with. The child can do all of the tasks, but not necessarily if you give them in sequence. Your son gets to the mat but forgets his pencil.
My son’s issues were never behavioral.
Most folks don’t get that the majority of ADD/ADHD kids can be helped without being medicated. Some need the meds, but even then, they’re weaned off. The best treatment is like what you did...it’s hard work but knowing the whys of the behaviors makes all the difference.
I do know of a few adults who are still on meds, but that’s rare.
No. # 4.
I firmly believe that #1 ( a boy ) had it too, not as bad, but back then ( he is 21 ) I wouldn’t allow myself to accept it either and called BS. In retrospect he had and I can see that I ( #1 out of 4 boys ) had it as well when I was younger. My girl has it worse though and all the discipline in the world would not mitigate it. So you no-believers do what you will you are short-changing some children and making their lives less than a child’s should be. How sad for the babies.
You posted, in part: using the same logic, all refrigerators ought to be pink.
***
Actually refrigerators should be white.
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