ADHD and How it Affects Life

“It is hard for the individual to organize or finish a task, to pay attention to details, or to follow instructions or conversations. The person is easily distracted or forgets details of daily routines,” says the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It is normal for children to have trouble focusing and behaving at one time or another. However children with ADHD do not just grow out of these behaviors. The symptoms continue, can be severe, and can cause difficulty at school, at home, or with friends.”

Over seven million kids have ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; that's over 11% of children in America today. It’s possible to find the disorder in kids ages 3-12, having most symptoms appear at 12 years old. Every person with ADHD can have different symptoms, which can be mild, moderate, or severe. 

ADHD is diagnosed more often in boys than in girls, this is because of their different behaviors. Boys tend to be more hyperactive than girls, while females are usually more quiet and seem to pay less attention. There are three types of ADHD; predominately inattentive, predominately

hyperactive, impulsive and a combination of all three.

People diagnosed with predominantly inattentive ADHD often have trouble paying attention and focusing. Symptoms can also include: trouble managing time and tasks, forgetting to do routine chores and frequent carelessness. 

However, people with predominantly hyperactive ADHD are known to fidget and/or squirm,they may talk excessively, have difficulty staying seated, may be impatient and will often act without thinking.

Another type of ADHD is a combination of both types, which causes people to make careless mistakes, have frequent forgetfulness, poor organization, trouble following instructions and finishing important tasks and being easily distracted by little things.

Combined is the most common type of ADHD, even though all types are hard to deal with. It’s possible for people to have a mix of all forms of ADHD or just having one type in particular.

ADHD may cause harmful and complicated symptoms. People have many different problems: Behavioral or conduct problems (44.1%), Anxiety (39.1%), Depression (18.9%), Tourette syndrome (1%)learning disability, learning (36.5%), Development delay (21.7%),Speech/language disorder (14.8%), Autism spectrum disorder (14.4 %), and Intellectual disability (4.4%)

There are several treatments that doctors recommend. The 3 most common forms of treatment are ADHD medication, behavioral treatment, and mental treatments, which are different types of therapy.

Data shows the different treatments that different people get. The CDC has found that a total of 53.6% of people are currently taking ADHD medication, while 44.4% of people are currently receiving behavioral treatment, and 58.3% go through mental health treatments, like therapy.

ADHD medication can be very helpful to people to make their lives easier. The medications come with their generic names, along with their brand names. One generic medication is Methylphenidate, which has brand names like Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin and Daytrana. Other medications may include generic names like Amphetamine, with brand names like Adderall, Adzenys, and Evekeo. Another common generic medication is called Dextroamphetamine, brand names you may have heard are Dexedrine, ProCentra and Xelstrym. Many ages take these medications. Overall, a total of 53.6% of people diagnosed with ADHD are currently taking medication. Only around 23.6% of children ages 3-5 take ADHD medication, while 56.9% of kids aged 6-11 take medication. And 53.4% of teenagers are currently on ADHD meds.

Over the last 12 months, 58.3% of total people diagnosed with ADHD have been to some form of behavioral treatment, whether its counseling, therapy or some healthcare provider.. 57.4% of children aged 3-5 have been to therapy and/or counseling. However 60% of kids aged 6-11 have been and 57.1% of teens are currently in some form of therapy.

There are several different types of behavioral treatment that are given to ADHD diagnosed people. Some parents decide to put their child into therapy while they go to parent training, which helps them understand and even deal with their child. Another option which is extremely helpful is family therapy. A child will take therapy along with their parents to help them communicate better with less stress and in a safe environment.

“The most challenging part of having ADHD is probably staying organized and finishing tasks because the way the brain works is that the second you start something new you’ll want to do something more interesting. Another thing I find really difficult is communication and it's really hard to talk things out and you get very overwhelmed at the tiniest situation,” says an anonymous student at  Brea Junior High School. Even though ADHD can be very entrapping, with the right treatment, encouragement and environment, ADHD can and will be easier to live with.

Written By: Emmaline Elmore and Anastasia Biniasz

Edited By: Anastasia Biniasz and Taylor Choe

Illustrated By: Rohini Velar