Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

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What is Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder?

Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that affects 3-5 percent of all American children. It interferes with a person's ability to stay on a task and to exercise age-appropriate inhibition (cognitive alone or both cognitive and behavioral). Some of the warning signs of ADHD include failure to listen to instructions, inability to organize oneself and school work, fidgeting with hands and feet, talking too much, leaving projects, chores and homework unfinished, and having trouble paying attention to and responding to details. There are several types of ADHD: a predominantly inattentive subtype, a predominantly hyperactive-impulsive subtype, and a combined subtype. ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood, although the condition can continue into the adult years.

Is there any treatment?

The usual course of treatment may include medications such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) or dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), which are stimulants that decrease impulsivity and hyperactivity and increase attention. Most experts agree that treatment for ADHD should address multiple aspects of the individual's functioning and should not be limited to the use of medications alone. Treatment should include structured classroom management, parent education (to address discipline and limit-setting), and tutoring and/or behavioral therapy for the child.

What is the prognosis?

There is no cure for ADHD. Children with the disorder seldom outgrow it; however, some may find adaptive ways to accommodate the ADHD as they mature.

Source: National Institutes of Health

New depression in children research has been reported by scientists at Johns Hopkins University, Department of Psychiatry

"The total sample (age range 6.6 to 11.7 years) was primarily male (194 boys and 52 females) and consisted of 148 children diagnosed with ADHD and 98 community controls. Three central findings were derived from this study. First, there was a strong relationship between ADHD (with and without comorbid ODD/CD) and depression in both younger and older aged children. Among younger children with ADHD, there was no differential influence on the level of depression depending on whether or not ADHD was comorbid with ODD/CD; in contrast, with older children, comorbid ODD/CD had higher levels of depression than was the case for children with ADHD that did not display such comorbidity. Second, with younger children approximately half of the relationship between ADHD (with and without comorbid ODD/CD) and depression was exclusively mediated by others appraisal of social competence. Third, a more complex relationship between ADHD and depression emerged during the later part of the childhood years. As such, the relationship between ADHD, others appraisals of social competence, and depression was further mediated by self-appraisals of social competence," wrote R. Ostrander and colleagues, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Psychiatry.

The researchers concluded: "Findings are discussed in terms of developmental theory and theoretical models of childhood depression."

Ostrander and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology (Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, depression, and self- and other-assessments of social competence: a developmental study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2006;34(6):773-87).

For additional information, contact R. Ostrander, Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, 600 N Wolfe Street, CMSC 346, Baltimore, MD 21287-3325 USA.

The publisher's contact information for the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology is: Kluwer Academic, Plenum Publ, 233 Spring St., New York, NY 10013, USA.

Keywords: United States, Baltimore, Abnormal Child Psychology, Adolescent Medicine, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression, Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health, Psychiatry.

This article was prepared by Mental Health Weekly Digest editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Mental Health Weekly Digest via NewsRx.com.