Are ADD and ADHD real?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I think that if people looked at the facts AD/HD is undeniably real.

-Scientists have recently found a gene that causes it, this was all through the papers and news late last year by the way.

-The symptoms are very specific and not just about inattention and hyperactivity. In my case the everything matches up perfectly.

-Part of AD/HD is hyperfocus, which a normal person would not be capable of. My boss worked for 36 hours straight, without a break, except to eat and pee, and doing technical, highly dangerous, and physical work, without tiring mentally.

-The brains of people with AD/HD have large differences, which are evident after an autopsy. Remarkably, with medication, the brain will change after time to match that of a normal person.

-Brain scans show up much less activity in the frontal lobes in AD/HD patients than normal.

-AD/HD is hereditatry, and there's loads of studies that back this up.

-People with AD/HD react very differently than others to stimulants for the same dose. Normal people become hyperactive, impulsive, very alert, with an extremely narrow focused attention span. People with AD/HD feel much less inner restlessness and frustration, much less boredom, and loose much of their hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Their attention span becomes more focused than they were, to match that of a normal person and they don't feel "wired" at all. Only when someone abuses their medication, the symptoms match.

-People with AD/HD often have the same weaknesses in their IQ which differs from normal people even though their total IQ is about the same. For example working memory.

ADD is a neurological condition marked by impulsivity and distractability. ADHD is marked by impulsivity, distractability and hyperactivity. These conditions are very real and are believed to be inherited. Neurologists and other researchers feel that about 8% of the population probably have one form of the diagnosis. Individuals with ADD/ADHD often have varying degrees of severity.

Individuals with ADD/ADHD often are first diagnosed around the age of 6-7 years of age,when problems in the classroom often surface. Difficulty concentrating, focusing and completing work is often problematic for them. In addition, children/teens often become disruptive in larger settings and have socialization problems. In addition, individuals with ADD/ADHD are frequently more sensitive than other individuals and don't have adequate social cues, due to their impulsivity. Many individuals diagnosed with this condition have often been found to be very bright and extremely creative.

A diagnosis is usually made from classroom observations and an assessment done by a licensed clinician and/or a child/adolescent psychiatrist. ADD/ADHD is a very valid disorder.

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RR

They are real - this is evident from the fact that adults can have ADD/ADHD as well as kids and it interferes with work, school, and/or relationships. I know a few people with ADD/ADHD and they wish that they could concentrate on things better and didn't have so many things flying around in their head at once. There are tests that they can do that go beyond asking "do you have problems paying attention." As far as giving kids a diagnosis and putting them on medication - for sure it is possible that they could actually have ADD/ADHD but some kids are just hyper. It really comes down to finding a good psychologist or psychiatrist who is realistic about human conditions and recognizes when a diagnosis and/or treatment of ADD or ADHD is appropriate.

Edited to add: It IS evident because adults generally don't use a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD to "misbehave" as your question asked. No, there is not a blood test at the moment but there is current research comparing EEGs of affected individuals to EEGs of unaffected individuals that are finding differences. Do you question the existence of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as well? These people have very real symptoms but at this point there is no "biological" test available to diagnose them. These (and other mental disorders) are diagnosed based on criteria from the DSM-IV, just like ADD/ADHD. Blood tests are in the works based on certain biomarkers or genes but those are still in their infancy and are not widely used. Again, I emphasize the importance of finding a good doctor who is NOT interested in giving a pill just to get out of a patient room, but someone who will sit and discuss the side effects and pros/cons to prescribing medication rather than therapy or other intervention.

I personally don't think so. I think psychologists are all full of crap, I think there are such a low percent of people with REAL mental conditions that they wouldn't be able to make a living unless the misdiagnosed more people than necessary.
If my kid ever had ADD or ADHD I wouldn't put him on meds I'd just deal with it some other way.

The main treatment is amphetamine type drugs adderol and ritalin the list goes on. As far as being real then it depends on what you mean everything is real the cause is always mysteryy?

Nope. Every kid I know has ADD. BECAUSE THEY ARE KIDS! WHAT DOES ONE EXPECT? Its just another way for "legal" drug dealers to deal drugs.

yup, they have testing to see if you have ADD or ADHD.. it's not just an excuse alot of people have it, more than you prolly think either

yeah i think so.