Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Its Treatment In Adults
...inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. While it is more publicly noted as a childhood problem that is outgrown with age, many researchers have found it persists into post-pubescent stages and is a common psychiatric disorder in adults (Wender, 1995). ADHD is a chronic condition for which there is no cure, but there are ways to manage the condition. Treatment generally involves three tracks: education, medication, and therapy. Using these strategies, many people do learn to adapt and live fulfilling lives.
Until the release of the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III, APA, 1980), what we know now as ADHD was known by many other names such as "minimal brain damage," "minimal brain dysfunction," "minimal cerebral dysfunction," "hyperkinesis," and "hyperactive child syndrome." DSM-III termed the condition Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and filed it under the "Conduct Disorder" category, noting its presence in adults as Attention Deficit Disorder, Residual Type. The fourth edition (DSM-IV, APA, 1994) now categorizes it under "Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders" with three subtypes: ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type; ADHD, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type; and ADHD, Combined type.
ADHD, except in some rare cases where it is linked to environmental factors (Nadeau, 1995,) is hereditary (Wender, Rosenthal, Kety, Schulsinger, Welner, 1973.) Since this is the case, a subject diagnosed with ADHD as an adult generally had the condition throughout childhood. Untreated, the child may withdraw from social situations and be labeled as "shy," or become a class clown or troublemaker because of his/her symptoms. Most develop a lifelong feeling of being "weird" or "different" (Fowler, 1994.) The child, left to deal with the symptoms without help many times develop...
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