Adult Attention Deficit Disorder defined, most often, as age-inappropriate impulsiveness, lack of concentration, and sometimes excessive activity. Once referred to as Hyperkinesis or Minimal Brain Dysfunction (oh, isn’t that just wonderful?) it occurs in approximately 1-1/2% to 2-1/2% of adults. About half of all children with ADD / ADHD will continue to experience the symptoms throughout life.
Attention Deficit Disorder is found on the ‘nature’ side of the ‘nature vs nurture’ argument. So, you’re unable to blame your parents for the way they raised you. Instead, you can blame them for having passed on their genes…
Research has shown that the brains of people with attention deficit disorder (or ADHD) have several regions which are consistently smaller than those brain regions of individuals without the disability. These brain regions are the pre-frontal cortex, striatum, basal ganglia, and the cerebellum. Additionally, there appears to be a lower level of activity in the ADD brain region where attention is thought to be regulated (as measured by EEG) and there is thought to be a other differences, including various chemical levels and how the connections are made between nerves. For all of these reasons, I prefer to simplify the whole thing down to being ‘wired’ differently.
There are several personality characteristics that are typically displayed by an adult with attention deficit disorder. The characteristics are both positive and negative. Please note that, just the fact of having some of these traits is not enough to conclusively say that you have attention deficit disorder. You really do have to find an appropriate local doctor and work with him to find out if you have the disability.
But, don’t despair! Treatment is widely available and may require counseling, medication, and life style changes to property deal with the issues of ADD / ADHD.
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