How does Adderal XR help with ADHD?!
Question:
How does Adderal XR help with ADHD?
Answers:
Let me tell you scientific way that ADD impacts the brain. ADHD is a sub-category of ADD. All through school and graduate school I was told: If you give a kid speed and it slows 'em down, it means they have ADD. Didn't makse sense to me then and it doesn't make sense now! This is what I have learned since then:
ADD occurs at the frontal lobe of the brain--right behind the forehead plate. What does the frontal lobe do? Short term memory, impulse control, problem solving abilties and emotion regulation.
When a brain spect (a brain scan that shows the brain in color) is performed on a person with ADD it shows the frontal lobe as dull, dull gray. On a person without ADD the frontal lobe is bright pink (think of a cut of raw steak). What this means is that the Neurons are not firing in the frontal lobe. If the brain spect is left on and a person with ADD is given their medication, some bright pink spots will begin to show up. If it is the right medication, most of the frontal lobe will begin to turn pink. When I tell parents this I always hear, I want to put my kid on a spectroscope and get a real diagnosis. Problem is, a 20 minute scan costs over $10,000 and insurance won't pay for it.
What I love about this explanation is that it helps families understand the child is not trying to be difficult. It also tells me that kids need to be medicated 7 days a week. In my opinion, taking a kid of his ADD meds for the week-end and summer is medical neglect. It is hard on the kid and their frontal lobe to be yo-yoed like that. (Picture an adult who requires 3 cups of coffee to get going in the morning, and then taking that person off their coffee on week-ends and summers-they would be foggy, grouchy, etc.)
Hope this helps!!