AD/HD, ADHD, and ADD, all different names for the same syndrome, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects our executive functions, which underlie our capacity to attend to tasks, inhibit behavior, and regulate activity levels in developmentally appropriate ways. People with impairments in executive functions may:
- Have trouble staying on task
- Show great initiative but poor follow through
- Have poor planning and timing skills
- Be disorganized
- Interrupt in conversations
- Act without thinking
- Have trouble sitting still
While any one of us might experience some of these troubles at some time in our lives, it is the intensity, duration, and pervasiveness of the symptoms that differentiate ADHD as a disorder.
Today, we know that ADHD first appears in childhood, frequently continues into adolescence and often persists into adulthood. Current research suggests approximately 7.2% of children and 3.4 % of adults have ADHD. Some studies suggest that the prevalence is even higher. ADHD exists worldwide. It has a strong genetic component. Other conditions are often present with ADHD, conditions such as depression, anxiety, and learning disabilities.
The complications of untreated ADHD, particularly when combined with other commonly co-occurring conditions, can result in repeated failures in life. Unchecked, this can lead to poor self-esteem, inadequate social skills, and behavioral disorders, which eventually impact ability to stay in school, keep a job, or maintain relationships. A disproportionate number of people with undiagnosed and/or untreated ADHD abuse drugs. There is evidence that even when people with ADHD escape these traps, they are more likely to divorce, have job troubles, and become the great underachievers of our society.
What can be done? Thanks both to extensive clinical research and to recent advances in neurology and genetics, much more is known about ADHD now than was a generation ago or even a decade ago. The behavioral issues are based in neurology, not in poor character or bad parenting. Self-monitoring and regulating executive functions are central to effective treatment outcome. Ongoing scientific efforts focus on improving parenting and teaching strategies. An array of medications are also available to treat ADHD.
As awareness and understanding of this disorder grows, more professionals are becoming ADHD-savvy, so there is more help available to families, children, and adults affected by this disorder. Likewise, there is more information available in books and the internet to help parents and individuals learn to understand and live well with this disorder. However, more needs to be done, as there are still abundant myths and prejudices surrounding this disorder which prevent people from getting the help they need to live life more easily and successfully. Unidentified and untreated ADHD remains a problem, often at great cost to the individual and to society.
How does Fidget to Focus fit in? This book, by Dr. Roland Rotz, addresses an unseen, often unacknowledged part of ADHD: the constant “fleeing from boredom” that Dr. John Bailey, Director of the Center for Attention and Learning in Mobile, Alabama, considers to be a hallmark of the disorder. Fidget to Focus advocates an innovative approach that opens up another realm of strategies for living successfully with this disorder. These strategies can be used to complement any existing intervention or treatment. Strategies culled from this book have assisted many children and adults in reorienting the way they approach relationships, learning in school, or functioning on the job.