But what is ADHD and how is it diagnosed?

ADHD refers to a condition in which there is supposedly a slight difference in normal brain function which causes a clever child to underperform at school and to behave badly.

Contrary to popular opinion, ADHD is not a new condition – some of the earliest documented work on the condition was done by George Still – an English paediatrician who specialised in child arthritis (also known as Stills disease). Dr Still was alive almost 100 years ago.

There are rumours that some very famous people had or have ADHD including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Picasso, Napoleon, Richard Branson are some of the names often mentioned.

Given the amount of media coverage, it is tempting to believe we are in the midst of an epidemic of ADHD as so many children are now being diagnosed with this condition. Some doctors and professionals believe that society in general is now more aware of the condition hence the rise in numbers. Others believe that poor parenting skills, breakdown of “traditional” family values and the collapse of society in general is failing our children and leading them to develop this condition.

Whatever viewpoint you personally subscribe to, the fact is that more and more of our children are displaying symptoms of this and similar conditions and it is up to us, their parents, to find out the whys and wherefores so that we can help them overcome this “disorder”.

But how do you know whether your child is ill or just badly behaved? It is difficult – even the medical professionals cannot agree with each other over the exact nature and diagnosis of this and similar conditions. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Dr’s believed that ADHD was a condition you were born with.

At the end of the first world war, this view had changed and attention deficient hyperactivity disorder was blamed on brain damage (possibly caused by encephalitis assoiciated with the influenza epidemic).

In the 1930’s a group of patients were prescribed amphetamines and their behaviour “improved” so some professionals believed it was all about hyperactivity.

In the 1950’s, the professionals began to realise that most “patients” with adhd symptoms had never suffered brain damage. Some became obsessed with testing for minor neurological differences such as the dominance of eye, foot and hands, the flow of movement in the fingers etc and some medical centres today still focus on these “tests”.

In the 1970’s, the focus returned to hyperactivity with some doctors claiming that children were becoming more hyperactive due to additives polluting our foods.

Other professionals concentrated on stimulants such as Ritalin – initial studies proved positive until there was a major backlash from an unexpected source. In the late 1980s, the Church of Scientology sent press releases stating that Ritalin was a dangerous and addictive drug. There was major press coverage and whilst some of the information provided was true and factual there was , as is often the case with ADHD, a lot of misinformation provided by both sides of the argument.

The current definition of attention deficient hyperactivity disorder describes a cluster of behaviours – most of which are present to a lesser extent in almost every child. There is now a huge divide in the medical profession as to the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and associated disorders – it is no wonder normal parents are completely confused!

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