ADHD is thought to affect between 3%-5% of children in the United States, or approximately 2 million youngsters. Between 30% and 70% of children with ADHD will grow up to have the condition as adults.

Current thought holds that there are three types of ADHD:

• ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Type
• ADHD-Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type
• ADHD-Combined Type

Patients with ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Type suffer from a wide range of difficulties, including making careless mistakes in schoolwork/work, not appearing to listen when spoken to directly, and difficulty keeping focus/attention on tasks that may require sustained effort.

Those with ADHD-Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type often have difficulty awaiting turn, talk excessively, and fidget in their seat or find it difficult to remain seated when necessary.

Individuals with ADHD-Combined Type have symptoms from both categories.

Individuals with ADHD do not make enough chemicals in key areas in the brain that are responsible for managing attention/concentration as well as inhibiting impulsivity. Recent research also links smoking and other substance abuse during pregnancy to ADHD. ADHD is NOT caused by, television, video games, sugar or other foods, food allergies, bad parenting, bad schools or teaching.

Untreated ADHD in children is often manifested by school failure, low self-esteem, and high risk for impulsive/dangerous behavior and substance use. The hyperactivity/impulsivity aspect of the illness often wanes into adulthood, where individuals may still suffer from deficits in attention and focus that make it difficult to succeed in the workplace or in their social lives. Fortunately, medication and other treatments are often very effective in treating the symptoms of ADHD.

Like most mental illnesses, ADHD can be treated with either pharmacotherapy (medication) or psychotherapeutic interventions. The most effective medication treatment for ADHD is generally psychostimulant medications such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) or mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall). Stimulants work primarily by increasing the amount of dopamine-a neurotransmitter-in key parts of the brain. Atomoxetine (Strattera) is a non-stimulant treatment of ADHD and works by increasing norepinephrine; bupropion (Wellbutrin) is another non-stimulant that works by increasing both dopamine and norepinephrine.

While medications are often very effective, psychotherapeutic interventions such as individual psychotherapy, social skills training, family psychotherapy, and ADHD coaches are often employed to help individuals suffering from ADHD.

• ADHD was first described by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman in 1845.
• Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) has been used to treat ADHD in the United States since the first half of the 1900s.