There are many misunderstandings involved with living and treating attention disorders. Some of the common fallacies include information about parenting, medication, symptoms and treatment. Knowing the difference helps greatly when dealing with ADD and ADHD.
Some of the most common misunderstandings surrounding attention deficit disorders include:
ADD Symptom Facts and Myths
Misconceptions in symptoms are a common problem with attention disorder.
- Myth: ADD and ADHD are childhood disorders.
- Fact: Attention deficit disorder symptoms can continue into adolescence and adulthood up to 50% of the time, according to an extensive study done by Drs. Rachel Klein and Salvatore Mannuzza . Often adults will recognize their own symptoms as a parent when their child is diagnosed with ADD.
Sugar and ADD and ADHD
Diet affects behavior but eating sweets does not cause attention disorder.
- Myth: ADD and ADHD are caused by diet.
- Fact: While it is certainly true that diet affects behavior, attention disorders and specifically hyperactivity is not caused simply by kids being “sugared up.”
It is important to consider the impact and difference of food allergies and sensitivities and stimulation of caffeine and sugar on behavior when diagnosing ADD. True attention disorders and neurologically based and are not just the effect of sugar.
Hyperactivity Myths and ADHD
Children with ADHD and ADD may or may not show signs of hyper-ness.
- Myth: Hyperactivity is always present in ADHD
- Fact: It is possible to be diagnosed with ADHD and not have prominent hyperactivity. ADHD may be characterized by attention problems including hyper-focus and not always include busy behavior.
ADD and ADHD Medication Facts and Myths
Misunderstanding of ADHD medication is common.
- Myth: ADD medication leads to drug abuse.
- Fact: According to National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), research on the medications used to treat attention disorders does not suggest that patients prescribed medication for ADHD become addicted to their stimulant drugs when taken in the form and dosage prescribed by their doctors. The research also demonstrates that medication therapy in childhood does not add to the risk for drug and alcohol abuse disorders in adulthood.
Each year, the NIDA assesses the extent of drug use for students between 8th and 12 grade nationwide through a program called Monitoring the Future (MTF) and conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. The study includes amphetamines and types of medication used to treat ADD. According to the MTF surveys, prevalence of amphetamine peaked in the mid-1990s and has subsequently fallen by one-half among 8th-gradersand 10th-graders and almost by one-third in high school seniors as of 2008.
Parenting Myths Surrounding ADHD
It's easy to blame ADHD on parenting skills.
- Myth: ADD is the result of bad parenting.
- Fact: ADD and ADHD are recognized medical disorders.
The symptoms of true ADD/ADHD: inattention, interrupting and bouncing off the walls can be associated with a child without discipline or structure. Before diagnosing ADD, doctors and other professionals involved with the diagnosis consider all the factors of a child’s environment as potential behavior issues. True ADD and ADHD are NOT a result of a bad or lazy parent.
Attention disorder and bad behavior are two separate animals, although they do share a lot of the same traits. It is easy to speculate that a child who is demonstrating symptoms of ADD is doing so because of a lack of discipline. It is also easy for parents to use ADD as an excuse for not disciplining a child.
Learning to tell the difference between the myths and facts involved with ADHD, ADD and bad behavior, and obtaining a proper diagnosis and treatment for ADD and ADHD is crucial for positive development of social skills, confidence and success.
Sources:
"Longitudinal Course of Childhood ADHD," Rachel Klein, Ph.D.; Presentation at New York University Medical School, March 30, 2001.
Elizabeth Richards - Elizabeth Richards has published almost 200 articles for Suite101 since 2007 as a Contributing and Feature Writer.
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