Posts Tagged ‘Attention Deficit disorder’

ADD: HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM ADHD?

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD is a very complicated, and time and again misinterpreted, disorder. Its beginning is physiological, but it can have a multitude of consequences that come alongside with it. That apart, what is the differentiation between ADHD and ADD? ADHD is the abbreviated form of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, its major indications being noticeable hyperactivity and impulsivity. These are the indications that are noticeable to the purposeful onlooker. ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder with the major indications being lack of concentration. Now a lot of other things can come alongside with both of these subtypes of ADHD, but those are the distinctive characteristics of both.

For several years, the usual picture of Attention Deficit Disorder has been the little boy that is bouncing off the walls and making his teachers and parents go mad. ADHD is beyond a doubt the more identifiable of the two subtypes since it is so much more noticeable than ADD. Since hyperactivity causes a lot more disruption and problems for classrooms, it gets the most notice and will be picked up on a lot quicker. Unluckily, even if ADD is less visible, the consequences of the disorder can be just as negative.

With negligent attention deficit disorder, or ADD, the person enduring it will give the impression of being spacey and disordered. More often, victims with this type will be gazing out of the window during classes and will seem as if they are never somewhat there. It is much more tricky to make a diagnosis and a lot of people with this form of ADD go years without even knowing they have it. But the consequences of the drifting mind can be just as disparaging.

For a long time, it was considered that only boys suffered from ADHD. However, this figment has been busted of late. It is now acknowledged that both girls and boys can suffer from attention deficit disorder, and many do not get out of it in middle age. One disparity that has been noticed is that girls are inclined to have the inattentive version of ADD, and many times it is wrongly diagnosed as depression. Since inattentive ADD does not create noticeable troubles and disruptions to the nearby surroundings, a lot of them endure in silence for years before they discover the real reason of their plight.

With both ADHD and ADD, making a diagnosis early on is very essential. Even though troubles with schools are the most apparent indications, some victims do not have major problems with getting school work completed. Keep track of your children, not just academically, but generally and psychologically as well. Do they have problem with other children? Does it appear as if they have difficulty putting in order or are extremely disordered? Do they have difficulty sitting motionless for a period of time? Are they extremely silent or extremely chatty? Now any of these indications do not in particular denote ADD or ADHD, but they do point to asking for outside help. We always recommend you seek out licensed mental health professionals as well.

Of course there are many options to dealing with either of these diseases. Our stand is more on learning skills to overcome the challenges that one might face now and in the future. How to improve focus and other skills like diet and time management will be important. Understanding how your mind works is very important in designing your future.

Mystically yours,

Michael Holt, Ph.D.
Magi Institute of Natural Medicine

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10 ADVANTAGES OF HAVING ADD

Friday, April 9th, 2010

There is a widespread mistaken belief in the world that getting Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD is a dreadful thing. Even as the ADD afflicted brain without doubt holds out a few risks, it puts forward a few hard to believe advantages as well. Given below is a listing of mannerisms that I over and over again see in my patrons, friends, and contemporaries with ADD.

1. Empathy

People with ADD have an incredible control to associate with other people. But it goes a notch ahead than that. We also have a highly developed capability to identify with others, and to see a lot of diverse point of views.

2. Ingenuity

I have on no account come across an ADDer who was not ingenious. Painters, designers, sculptors, film makers, writers, musicians, and comedians – the list goes on. Creative aptitudes are plentiful. Composers Mozart and Beethoven are assumed to have had ADD.

3. Enthusiasm

When an ADDer is fed up with a job, finishing it can look as if like torment. But provide an ADDer an attention grabbing task to work on and look out. When we would like to achieve something, and we have the essential tools to do so, there is no stopping us.

4. Problem Solving Capability

ADDers flourish on deciphering puzzles and problems. Provide us with an attention grabbing problem to crack and we will not be able to leave it until we have established the explanation. Significant historical inventors such as Thomas Edison and Thomas Jefferson are assumed to have had ADD.

5. Hyper-Focus

The capacity to hyper-focus is something that ADDers can make use of to our benefit. When kept under control and aimed towards fruitful jobs, like achieving objectives and living dreams, it can be an unbelievable positive feature that allows us to get the work done, and done well.

6. Sense of Humor/Flair for Comedy

Nearly all ADDers love to laugh, and a lot of them have an ability to make others laugh as well. Well known humorists such as Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams are believed to have ADD.

7. Spirit

There is no doubt that despite the fact that there are many great traits that come alongside with ADD, there are also challenge. But ADDers have a hard to believe capability to spring back back from those challenges, and others’ condemnation of those challenges that we have undergone.

8. Intuitiveness

ADDers have a quick sense of perception. This may be as a result of extremely refrained intensity of awareness, or great innate knowledge of the human mind, or something else that we have thus far to comprehend. No matter what the explanation is, it is a very valuable gift.

9. Idea Generating

ADDers are brilliant proposal makers. We do not by and large like to be troubled with particulars, but we can crop up with thoughts in no time at all. We are a real benefit in brainstorming meetings.

10. That “Special Something”

A lot of ADDers believe that they have an exceptional way of looking at the world, a point of view that others simply do not comprehend. That is, until the ADDer comes across other people with ADD. You may say that we are on our own wavelength.

Mystically yours,

Michael Holt, Ph.D.
Magi Institute of Natural Medicine

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INTRODUCTION TO ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

One of the most wrongly diagnosed and wrongly understood neurological conditions in the world is Attention Deficit Disorder or more commonly known with its acronym of ADD. The reality is that the majority of people lacks a proper understanding of the disorder, and also would not be able to identify it if they met a person with ADD. This article, and there is more to follow, intends to give you information about ADD, the meaning of the disorder, the methods by which it is diagnosed, the various treatments, and some topics regarding the issue. And let’s hope that this would be a valuable tool by which your knowledge and ability to understand the disorder will increase.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or shortly ADHD/ADD, is a problem where the individual who is affected by it fails to be attentive for a long period of time. Motor restlessness and impulsive behavior are other indications of the disorder. Reports suggest that approximately 4.4% of all adults possess some degree of ADD.

ADD is understood as a disorder of the neurobiological type caused in brain by a glitch in the dopamine neurotransmitter systems. Genes play a huge part in maximum cases. There is 30% chance for a child to have ADD if a parent or near kith and kin has the disorder. In cases of twin children, if one of the pair has ADD, the other’s chances of being struck by the disorder increases by 50%. At one time the belief was held that ADD could be caused by poor nutrition, but it has been dismissed now as a myth. This does not mean that nutrition can not reduce the symptoms of the disorder. Similarly, allergies, drugs or bad parenting could be cut off from the list. Deep head trauma, fetal alcohol syndrome, intoxication through lead, and thyroid irregularities, are some of the other medical conditions showing symptoms like ADD. Hence it is advised that the other possibilities are rules out completely before the person could be said to have ADD for sure.

Having ADD means that an individual having it is not getting sufficient neuro-chemicals. Said in simpler terms it signifies that proper stimulation of the brain is missing, as a result of which the brain attempts to find methods by which the release of the chemicals can be increased. People with ADD try to stimulate their brains with things like physical activities, movements, and always doing things that stimulate or are stimulating. This is not a conscious decision on the parts of the people with ADD. They really cannot help themselves and it becomes a reflex action and they act in a hyperactive manner.

The difficulty caused by this is that individuals who suffer from ADD, when face a circumstance that do not stimulate them, like school work, try to put their attention on something that is stimulating to them. Of course the school work is completely hampered by this, and the child cannot perform well in his or her studies. I can narrate a story here told to me by a friend. This incident happened when knowledge about the disorder was poor. There was a child who would suddenly get up on his desk when the class is still commencing, and would begin to tell jokes. In the beginning people thought that he was trying to be funny and consciously disturb the others. But over time it came to be known that the child had ADD, and his actions were beyond his control.

Personal relationships and the ability to be permanently employed also become cause of concern for people with ADD. Then legal issue also crop up when ADD causes people to take dangerous chances with themselves and end up doing careless things to stimulate themselves.

Mystically yours,

Michael Holt, Ph.D.
Magi Institute of Natural Medicine

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