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im quite hungry actually...
triniangie wrote:right... i know what you mean, cause the "cases of a strong chemical imbalance", mamoo_pagal can be linked to... wait, wat was this all about again? ...is it lunch time?
ohhhh! that is a pretty butterfly for real! looks maroon...
triniangie wrote:right... i know what you mean, cause the "cases of a strong chemical imbalance", mamoo_pagal can be linked to... wait, wat was this all about again? ...is it lunch time?
ohhhh! that is a pretty butterfly for real! looks maroon...
Diagnostic Criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder/ADHD
Note: The information below is intended to familiarize you with the diagnostic criteria for ADHD/ADD. Making this diagnosis correctly requires a comprehensive evaluation, however, and should only be made by a qualified health care provider.
In the United States, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder is diagnosed according to criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV). ADHD/ADD symptoms are divided into two groups: symptoms of inattention and symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity. These groups of symptoms are shown below:
Inattentive Symptoms
· often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork,
work, or other activities;
· often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities;
· often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly;
· often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish school work, chores, or
duties in the work place (this failure is not due deliberately refusing to do it or not
understanding instructions);
· often has difficulty organizing tasks or activities;
· often avoids or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort;
· often loses things necessary for tasks or activities;
· is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli;
· is often forgetful in daily activities;
Hyperactive/Impulsive Symptoms
· often fidgets with hands or squirms in seat;
· often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected;
· often runs about or climbs excessively in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents and adults, may be limited to subjective feelings
of restlessness;
· often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly;
· is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor"
· often talks excessively;
· often blurts out answers before questions have been completed;
· often has difficulty awaiting turn;
· often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g. butts into conversations or games)
To avoid diagnosing individuals who show only isolated difficulties, at least 6 inattentive symptoms and/or 6 hyperactive/impulsive symptoms must be present to possibly qualify for an ADHD/ADD diagnosis. In addition, these symptoms must have been present for at least 6 months to a degree that is considered inappropriate for the individual's age.
"Does my child have to show both kinds of symptoms to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder?"
No. Many, but not all, individuals with ADHD/ADD display both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Some, however, display one set of symptoms but not the other.
If 6 or more inattentive symptoms are present the diagnosis of ADHD/ADD, Predominantly Inattentive Type may apply. This is what people mean when they refer to ADD. Technically, this term is no longer correct.
If 6 or more hyperactive/impulsive symptoms are the diagnosis of ADHD, Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Type may apply;
When 6 or more of both types of symptoms are present, the diagnosis of ADHD, Combined Type may apply.
"Is deciding whether these symptoms are present the only factor involved in making the diagnosis?"
No - it is only the initial step. The following conditions must also be present:
SOME HYPERACTIVE-IMPULSIVE OR INATTENTIVE SYMPTOMS THAT CAUSED IMPAIRMENT NEED TO HAVE BEEN PRESENT BEFORE THE CHILD WAS 7.
This means that a 10 year old who suddenly begins displaying ADHD symptoms would not be diagnosed with ADHD if there was no indication of these problems when the child was younger. It is not necessary for the child's symptoms to have been as problematic at the earlier age, but there needs to be some indication that they were present.
For example, it is not uncommon for children with inattentive symptoms, but not the hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, to do okay in the early grades when the academic demands are not very rigorous. This is especially likely for a bright child who catches on despite not attending very well. In later grades, however, when the work becomes more demanding, the child's problems with attention may begin to create real problems. Thus, although it may appear that the child's problems with attention emerged "suddenly", a careful investigation often reveals the presence of attentional difficulties earlier on.
In cases where there truly is no indication of ADHD symptoms, even at a reduced level, than ADHD would not be an appropriate diagnosis. Instead, it is likely that some other type of problem such as a mood disorder or anxiety disorder is responsible for the symptoms.
THE SYMPTOMS MUST CAUSE SOME IMPAIRMENT IN
TWO OR MORE SETTINGS (E.G. HOME AND SCHOOL).
This is a very important consideration. In order for the symptoms listed above to reflect ADHD/ADD, they must impair the individual's functioning in 2 or more settings. For children, these settings would generally be home and school. This means that if the child's symptoms are apparent in only one setting, and are not evident anyplace else, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder is not an appropriate diagnosis. For example, if the symptoms are only evident in school, but are not present at home, Sunday school, cub scouts, little league, etc., than ADHD/ADD would not be a correct diagnosis. Similarly, if symptoms are reported by parents when the child is home, but are not observed anywhere else, than ADHD/ADD is also unlikely to apply. In these circumstances, one would look for factors unique to the setting where the symptoms are evident to try and understand what is causing them
It is important to emphasize that the intensity of ADHD symptoms can vary considerably across settings and it is not necessary that the degree of impairment from symptoms be equivalent in different settings. For example, it is not uncommon for a child's difficulties to be more prominent at school than at home. When this occurs, it is often because the demands to sustain attention and inhibit activity level are greater at school than at home. Thus, in order to satisfy the dual setting criteria, there just needs to be some indication that the problems are not exclusively confined to a single context.
THERE MUST BE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPAIRMENT IN SOCIAL, ACADEMIC, OR OCCUPATIONAL FUNCTIONING.
This is another very important consideration. In order for the symptoms listed above to reflect ADHD, they must clearly impair the individual's functioning in one of these areas. For children, one would generally expect that the symptoms have a negative impact on academic performance, ability to meet appropriate behavioral expectations (e.g. following rules), and to get along with others. If the symptoms are so mild as to not create difficulties in any of these areas, than ADHD would not be diagnosed.
THE SYMPTOMS DO NOT OCCUR EXCLUSIVELY DURING THE COURSE OF A PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER, SCHIZOPHRENIA, OR OTHER PSYCHOTIC DISORDER AND ARE NOT BETTER ACCOUNTED FOR BY ANOTHER MENTAL DISORDER (E.G. MOOD DISORDER, ANXIETY DISORDER, DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER, OR A PERSONALITY DISORDER).
The purpose of this final condition is to avoid diagnosing ADHD when the symptoms reflect another psychiatric problem and not ADHD. In the conditions listed above individuals may display symptoms that are similar to those characteristic of ADHD. In diagnosing ADHD, therefore, it is necessary to confirm that it is not one of these other disorders that is responsible for the symptoms.
In reality, the first 3 disorders listed (i.e. pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or some other Psychotic Disorder) are quite rare, and impair an individual's functioning to such an extent that it should be clear that something besides a simple case of ADHD is present. The remaining disorders are most likely to be the cause of ADHD symptoms when the symptoms emerged after age 7, and there was no indication of ADHD symptoms earlier on.
SUMMARY
As is hopefully clear from the above, the diagnosis of ADHD is not a simple matter. It requires that careful attention be given to a number of specific symptoms; that information about a child's functioning be collected from different sources (i.e. at least parent and teacher); that there be clear indication of impaired functioning in important life areas; and that other possible explanations for the child's symptoms are ruled out. When these detailed criteria are applied, you can be confident that the diagnostic judgment is more likely to be accurate.
Cjruckus wrote:wikipedia wrote:Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (sometimes referred to as ADD) is thought to be a neurological disorder, usually diagnosed in childhood, which manifests itself with symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control, and distractibility.[1] In neurological pathology, ADHD is currently considered to be a chronic syndrome for which no medical cure is available. Pediatric patients as well as adults may present with ADHD, which is believed to affect between 3-5% of the human population.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention- ... y_disorder
I never encountered this on such a mass scale until i went to college in the states. The school had an extensive Learning Effectiveness Program (Known as LEP) that had a good number of the student population (about 7 - 10%) involved. But now i sit down and think about it, throughout my 18 years living in trini prior to college I never knew anyone who had serious ADD. As a matter of fact, my school didnt have a program for it, none of my friends too drugs for it, and it seemed like somthing you would only find outside the country.
So a friend of mine just got a job as a teacher abroad and she said that in her class of 4th graders, about 40% of them are diagnosed with ADD by the school and doctors. Some of the kids even are going in enroute to get some serious drugs to get their problem fixed. Such as small doses of adderall and such..
Now is ADD becomming a growing problem across the board?
What about our Trinidadian Primary schools? Are grades on the decline? has the school system slowed down to accomodate the change?
Tuners with growing kids, what are your experiences with them in school?
Has society changed in such a way that our attention spans have shrunken so much that we cant focus on somthing for more than 10 seconds?
So Banzai, indeforest, strauss, hutrini and the other socially inclined posters.. lemme hear you on this.
(if you wish to learn more about it, check the link)
Bizzare wrote:Would you believe I was just googling this and then saw this thread???????
I had no idea of a thread like this here. Been Googling this stuff like 2 weeks now :/
Dude, I have a serious problem. I have a hard time concentrating. I don't mean like ordinary, I mean like I can't even sit by my PC for 5 mins without taking a walk to the back or going to the fridge. Damn, I couldn't even get work projects done. This messing with my life.
Serious problem here fellas
Can't describe how bad it is nah. I think It safe to diagnose myself with ADD/ADHD or whatever it is.
geodude wrote:we think a young member (8 years) of our family has ADD, never had him checked as yet
initially we thought he was just being lazy or spoilt or difficult, however as the time has progressed we can see the characteristics getting worst rather than going away,
i think the time has come to get him properly evaluated before this affects the rest of his life, i would very much appreciate if some one could post some contact info for reputable docs in Trini,
redmanjp wrote:geodude wrote:we think a young member (8 years) of our family has ADD, never had him checked as yet
initially we thought he was just being lazy or spoilt or difficult, however as the time has progressed we can see the characteristics getting worst rather than going away,
i think the time has come to get him properly evaluated before this affects the rest of his life, i would very much appreciate if some one could post some contact info for reputable docs in Trini,
i believe there is a Dr. Sharpe that evaluates kids for ADHD- but perhaps u should try an on-line evaluation to determine if it does in fact have the hallmarks of ADHD before doing this as it costs thousands of dollars to do this
Sumana.00 wrote:redmanjp wrote:geodude wrote:we think a young member (8 years) of our family has ADD, never had him checked as yet
initially we thought he was just being lazy or spoilt or difficult, however as the time has progressed we can see the characteristics getting worst rather than going away,
i think the time has come to get him properly evaluated before this affects the rest of his life, i would very much appreciate if some one could post some contact info for reputable docs in Trini,
i believe there is a Dr. Sharpe that evaluates kids for ADHD- but perhaps u should try an on-line evaluation to determine if it does in fact have the hallmarks of ADHD before doing this as it costs thousands of dollars to do this
I know she's going to retire at the end of the year but she's helped with my brother's ADHD for years
My parents tried educating the schools back then about it (inclusive of St Aug Comm College) but the teachers were in no way open to learning about it or how to deal with children who had it
ADHD linked to structural brain differences
15th November 2011
People who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood appear to inherit differences in brain structure that persist in adulthood, according to a recent US study.
F. Xavier Castellanos, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at New York University in the US, said that although the majority of people who had ADHD in childhood improved in adulthood were able to improve, the nature of their challenges did not change.
The researchers also found that some people's brains became even more characteristic of ADHD as they aged.
Symptoms of ADHD include not being able to sit still even for short periods, daydreaming, and an inability to pay attention to most things.
Previous studies have shown that children with ADHD have less brain volume than children who do not have the disorder, especially where specific brain regions are concerned.
The areas of the brain that regulate being able to pay attention to things, as well as being able to regulate emotion, are both reduced in size.
The recent study included boys who had been recruited as study subjects as early as the 1970s.
Originally, the data had consisted of 207 young boys, all of whom were between the ages of 6 and 12.
An additional 178 boys who had not been diagnosed with ADHD served as a control group.
For the recent study, the researchers were able to include 59 of the study volunteers who had been studied since childhood, and use magnetic resonance imaging to study the brain structure of those volunteers.
In addition, the researchers were able to include 80 of the volunteers who had originally been part of the control group.
Of the 59 people who had been diagnosed with ADHD in the 1970s, 17 continued to have symptoms of the disorder as middle-aged adults.
Using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, the researchers were able to conclude that the outer layer of the brain was significantly thinner in people who had ADHD as children.
Even in people whose ADHD symptoms were no longer present in adulthood, the researchers saw the same thinning of brain matter.
Castellanos said that, in people whose symptoms still presented a problem in adulthood, the thinning was particularly noticeable.
He said that the areas where there was thinning seemed to have to do with top-down control of attention and the regulation of attention, such as when people managed to put things out of their mind in order to continue concentrating on something else.
Sara Hamel, a behavioural/developmental paediatrician at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in the US, said that such studies were exciting to her, since they managed to get at the real neurobiology of ADHD.
She said that, while some people still saw ADHD as a personality trait or simply the result of bad parenting, the recent study showed there were tangible neurological deficits in place.
Castellanos said that almost all of the people he studied used stimulants in order to regulate their symptoms.
Hamel said she believed it was important for peple to realize that having ADHD was something people inherited, and that medications and behavioural therapy could both help people deal with the symptoms.
Link between ADHD and body clock established
RONAN McGREEVY
A NUI Maynooth-based neuroscientist has helped establish a link between the genes that control our body clock and the common condition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Dr Andrew Coogan’s research found the genes which control our circadian rhythm do not function properly in adults with ADHD, a condition characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and hyper-pulsivity.
The research opens the possibility of using existing treatment such as light therapy to deal with a condition which affects 5-7 per cent of children and 3-5 per cent of adults. It is normally treated with the drug Ritalin.
“It has been shown in other conditions such as depression that if you find that an individual has depression and has an abnormal circadian rhythm, by putting the ciracdian rhythm back to its correct time, you can improve depressive symptoms,” he said.
“We’re interested in finding out if this is the case with ADHD.”
It also corroborates established research that sleep patterns for people with ADHD are much poorer than the rest of the population.
DNA samples were extracted from 13 ADHD patients and a control group of 23 people at the University of Swansea.
The genes that control the circadian rhythms were extracted from cheek swabs taken from both groups and analysed. They were taken at regular intervals for a week and each participant in the trial wore an Actiwatch which determined their activity and sleeping patterns.
When a gene is switched on, it undergoes a process called transcription, where DNA is converted into RNA. That RNA is then translated into protein. Because it is possible to detect RNA in saliva, they could ascertain which genes were switched on or off.
“We noted healthy patients showed body clock genes that were switched on at appropriate times of the day whereas the ADHD patients exhibited body clock genes that were flat with little, or no, activity,” said Dr Coogan, adding that the disruption of circadian rhythms in adults with ADHD seemed to get more pronounced with the worsening of ADHD symptoms.
Though the research pertained to adults, Dr Coogan, who specialises in research into circadian rhythms, said it was also applicable to children as well where the condition was much better known and was associated mostly with hyperactivity and in an inability to concentrate.
He stressed the condition was often accompanied by other “core morbidities” and associated psychiatric disorders including depression and substance abuse.
“You’ll practically never find an adult with ADHD who just has ADHD,” he explained. It is also much more prevalent in the prison population.
The research was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry , part of the Nature Group.
Hook wrote:that should make articles on ADD and ADHD shorter...much much shorter...
now somebody gimme the gist of that article above this post
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