ADHD Is A Real Medical Condition

ADHD Is A Real Medical Condition
ADHD is, in fact, a medical condition. It is really
important to remember this, because even very educated
people who know a lot about ADD, often still, underneath it
all, think that maybe it is not a true medical condition.
They believe the person should just try harder. They think
deep down that that the person watches too much TV, or
listens to too much music, or plays too many video games,
or the teachers don't know what they're doing. There are
many misconceptions embedded in the mentality of our
culture.

ADHD is not a social problem.

ADHD is a medical condition and it is in the brain.

ADHD is caused by chemical imbalance. Research is showing
that there is a lower amount of the brain chemicals
dopamine and noradrenaline. When medication is taken, it
balances these brain chemicals and thus ADHD improves.

ADHD is also genetic. It is as genetic as how tall or short
you are. If you are a tall parent, the chance of having a
tall child is about 80% to 85%. And the numbers are the
same for ADHD. So, if you have a child with ADHD, the
chance that one of the parents has ADHD is about 25% to
30%. A sibling has about a 20% to 25% chance of having
ADHD. ADD and ADHD run in families.

The ideal treatment for ADD/ADHD is a combination of
medication, and non-medication therapies. This is similar
to the treatment of other medical conditions such as
diabetes. To be healthy as a diabetic, you have to watch
what you eat, track your blood sugars, exercise, monitor
your carbohydrates, etc. In other words, there has to be a
combination of lifestyle approaches and biological
approaches. (When I say "biological" I mean medicine,
because it works on the biology of the body).

The same holds with ADD/ADHD. It is a medical condition,
which requires medicine to help to fix the 'chemical
imbalance', but it also requires other treatments - such as
parenting support, academic strategies, behavioral therapy,
and even coaching. You need to find the right balance, and
get the help you need from different professionals. Just
always remember, modern science is proving it beyond a
doubt - ADD/ADHD is a real medication condition, and it is
not caused by any of the 'social causes' (i.e. TV, video
games, music, bad teachers, bad parents, etc.) It is my
hope that we can get past these misconceptions to help to
de-stigmatize ADD/ADHD so that it will be easier to get the
right help for people when it's needed.

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Dr. Kenny Handelman is a Board Certified Psychiatrist in
Canada and the USA. He is an expert in ADD & ADHD and helps
kids, teens and adults to improve their lives, and build up
their strengths. For a free special report on medication
for ADD/ADHD, please visit: http://www.MedicationMastery.com