All About ADHD- Harshita Gambhir

What is ADHD?

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

ADHD is characterised by poor attention. People tend to be easily distracted and impulsive. Challenges with impulse control, annoyance and concentration of tasks are observed. Their perception of time can be off and they use a piling system, which fails to work for them. However, they have incredible focus when it comes to activities they enjoy.

ADHD has nothing to do with intelligence, nor does it necessarily mean having a low IQ. This is because your ability to focus doesn't relate to how smart you are.

Neural Circuits in ADHD

The "default network" is active when we are not doing anything. "Task networks" are what make you goal oriented. These networks communicate with each other. People with ADHD have these networks working in a correlated manner, which is not typical. When someone grows out of ADHD, these two networks become anti - correlated.

Genetics and rates

ADHD has a strong genetic component. The inheritance depends on how closely an affected person is related to you, genetically. For instance, if a parent has ADHD, then the child has a 25% chance of having it as well. Current estimates show that 10% to 12% of kids have ADHD, but it can be resolved too. However, increase in rates of ADHD in adults has been noticed. Reasons might be excessive use of smartphones, resulting in the exposure to a plethora of media anytime, anywhere.

Treatment

In the cases of students and adolescents, training parents in behavior management and organizational skills can be effective.

Stimulants are the best-known and most widely because they are fast acting medications. Non-stimulants were also approved. They do not work as quickly as stimulants, but their effect can last up to 24 hours.

ADHD can be treated and people having it can resolve it via several methods. One should consult a psychiatrist to confirm and should not completely rely on information provided online or self-diagnose.