A.D.D. Attention Deficit Disorder

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A.D.D.(Attention Deficit Disorder)

• By Brittany Heintzen

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A.D.D.
The disorder A.D.D. is a brain disorder. It is
caused by a chemical imbalance in ones brain. It
interferes with ones attention loss and the
ability to focus. Each brain cell has an axon,
the part of the cell that sends messages to other
cells and many dendrites, the part that receives
messages from other cells. There is a space
between axon and the next brain cell, which is
called a neural gap. Since they dont touch
chemicals called neurotransmitters (transport)
the message from the axon the dendrites. With ADD
there is something wrong so that the
neurotransmitters production, storage or flow,
cause imbalances. There are either not enough
neurotransmitters, the level is not regulated,
moving rapidly from high to low.
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History of A.D.D.
Until recently it was believed that children
could outgrow A.D.D. in their teenage years.
This is because not being able to focus and small
attention span are known to occur in teenage
years. If the disorder goes undiagnosed then
there is a good chance that the person could have
trouble at work, in relationships, and
emotionally as well. Odd behavior such as
exhibiting inattentiveness, and similar symptoms
were first documented in medical science in 1902.
Since then, the disorder has been called many
names such as Minimal Brain Dysfunction,
Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood, and
Attention Deficit Disorder with or without the
hyperactivity. Over the years it has finally
been renamed the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder.
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Symptoms Fails to give close attention to
details or makes careless mistakes Has
difficulty sustaining attention Does not appear
to listen Struggles to follow through the
instructions Has difficulty with organization
Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained
mental effort Is easily distracted Is forgetful
in daily activities
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A.D.D. Effects
The way that someone could be diagnosed with
A.D.D. is through clinical observations,
Psychologists, and teachers in a class room. The
only physical thing that A.D.D. affects is the
brain. The mental part is a whole different
story. The typical A.D.D. child has trouble with
focusing, behavioral issues, completing a task,
aggressiveness, and has constant mood
swings. The age that the person gets the
disorder is when the person is born. The
disorder sometimes has something to do if the
mother is under the influence of drugs,
cigarettes, or alcohol. The disorder also can be
in meiosis when the parent is carrying in the
disorder in their genes.
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Current Research
With Ritalin
Without Ritalin

• Scientists do not have a cure for A.D.D. at this
  point, but have developed ways to help people
  with A.D.D. as much as they can.
• They have developed medicines to help A.D.D. such
  as Ritalin and etc.
• RISK Also research proves that if you mix the
  drug Ritalin with others it could be fatal.

Picture from www.brainatlas.com
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How people are affected by it
People are greatly affected by A.D.D. they have
to deal with not understanding and are easily
distracted by the littlest things. A.D.D. it is
so easy to lose self esteem most teenagers with
A.D.D. go in and out of depression.
The costs of Ritalin I am unsure of, but the
cost of the private tudors (if needed), medicine
and therapy expenses is quite a lot of money.
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Charts of Kids Diagnosed With A.D.D. over the
past 4 years
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Conclusion
I chose A.D.D. because so many people are
diagnosed with it each year more and more. Also
my uncle was diagnosed with it as an adult. The
most interesting about my project is that I
finally understand how people are affected by it
and what actually causes A.D.D. I think the
strengths in my report are the brief description
on the disease. I think that my medication
description could have been better.
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Bibliography

• Www.chadd.org 1/12/02
• www.add.org 1/10/02
• www.googleimages.org 12/30/01
• Greenbaum,Judith Ph.D.Helping Adolescents with
  ADHD Learning Disabilities, pgs. 125-142.
  January, 2002

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The End