Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and could continue through adolescence and adulthood. It affects between 5 to 8 percent of school age children, and between 2 to 4 percent of adults. Children are all different varying in personalities, temperaments and levels of energy. It is common …show more content…
Kessler states in the article during childhood she was unable to understand her reasons she kept misbehaving. She also admitted to having spent an increasing amount of time in the hallways of school for excessive talking and being the class clown. Furthermore, she explains her mom was not able to control her as a child, and neither was she able to control her behavior. As she entered adulthood she discusses her behavior was improved. However, she was still unable to focus, which made it extremely challenging to figuring out the task she should have been completing and made her struggle to finish projects she began with excitement. After she was diagnosed as an adult it made her realize many of her personal traits that she struggled with repeatedly were actual symptoms of her disorder, which were treatable. She explains that she rethought her entire life asking herself why it was not pointed out to …show more content…
ADHD usually can cause low rate of activity in parts of the brain areas responsible for motor control and attentiveness. The sources of the neurological defects still remain unclear. According to studies of a Biederman group in Massachusetts, it indicated 10 to 35 percent of the immediate family members of children with ADHD are likely to have the disorder. Pregnancy and birth negligence may affect developing brain, leading to ADHD. Fetal exposure to alcohol has been linked to ADHD. Environmental factors, such as prenatal defects, infection of the central nervous system, thyroid issues, toxicity from lead and allergic reactions are still being studied as possible causing factors of the disorder.
Factors linked with ADHD are low birth weight, hypoxia at birth, and fetal exposure to toxins such as, alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine. Researchers from Yale University, Harvard and the Addiction Research Foundation have also linked ADHD and addiction. They reported adults with ADHD are three times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than others without the disorder. The National Institute of Health is examining possibilities that Ritalin may mimic cocaine, affecting those with ADHD by becoming more likely addicted to