What you need to know.
Here are the top things we believe you should know about ADHD
ADHD is currently believed to be a neuro genetic disorder resulting from 70% neurology/genetics and 30% difficulties in brain development and/or brain trauma.
The resulting symptoms and severity that people with ADHD experience are directly linked to those affected circuits and subsequent pathways being damaged and/or disrupted. The more severely damaged/disrupted these pathways are the more severe the symptoms of ADHD appear.
There is only one ADHD which has three subcategories; -predominantly presentation in Inattention -predominantly presentation impulsive/hyperactivity – presentation of a combination of the two.
Current clinical definition from Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM:
A study claims that “The cost of ADHD” per person is $14,576 per year. That means ADHD cost American’s $42.5 BILLION a year!
ADHD children are up to 30% slower in emotional development than children without the condition. For example a 16 year old who is learning to drive is using the decision making skills as that of an 11 to 12 year old. A 10 year old operates at the maturity level of a 7 year old.
Parents of children with ADHD are three times more likely to separate or divorce than are parents of children without ADHD.
21% of teens with ADHD skip school repeatedly
30% of teens with ADHD have failed or had to repeat a year of school.
About 30-60% of patients diagnosed with ADHD in childhood continue to be affected into adulthood.
ADHD is currently the most treatable psychiatric disorder as the treatment outcome on symptoms is far grater than that of any other disorder.
75% of oppositional defiant disorder manifests by age 14
Substance abuse is 3-4 times greater than the national average for those with untreated ADHD
ADHD is defined as: A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development.
Males are almost 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than females.
The average age of ADHD diagnosis is 7 years old.
Symptoms of ADHD typically first appear between the ages of 3-6
Co-morbidity conditions include -learning disabilities -conduct disorders and difficulties such as antisocial behaviour, fighting, oppositional defiant disorder -anxiety disorder -depression -bipolar disorder -Tourette’s syndrome -substance abuse -bedwetting problems -sleep disorders.
On average a classroom of 30 children will have 1-3 children with ADHD
40% of children who have ADHD have at least one parent with ADHD
About 80% of children who need medication for ADHD still need it as teenagers.
35% of teens with ADHD drop out of school
4.4 % of the adult population in the USA has ADHD but less then 20% of these individuals seek help for it.
Components of treatment- Evaluation, education, medication, modification and accommodations are needed to gain the greatest beneficial behaviour outcomes for people with ADHD
65% of ADHD children have a problem with defiance, noncompliance and other authority figures including verbal hostility and angry outburst.