What Is ADHD ?

It is a common occurrence these days that children are wrongly diagnosed as suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Similarly, children who suffer from this disorder and need proper attention and medication, often go undetected.

ADHD Medication Policy Worldwide

To avoid the above-mentioned situations, pediatricians all over the world have thought of the introduction of a common policy so as to determine the potential cases of ADHD. The kids in the 6-12 age group are especially taken care of, in this policy. It is proposed that a new scale DSM-IV should be used by the doctors to identify the cases of ADHD.

Previously, the doctors did not care to follow the behaviors indicated in this scale and made their judgments on random observations. The problem of ADHD is so wide spread that almost 75% of the children in the 6-12 years age group suffer from it.

What is DSM-IV ?

DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV) is actually a list of all those behaviors that are related to Hyperactivity, Inattention and Impulsiveness. There are nine such behaviors listed in this scale. A child needs to show at least 6 out of these 9 behaviors to be called a case of ADHD. Moreover, the behaviors listed in this scale must be observable over a long stretch of time and should not be limited to only one location. Fro example, a child must show the 6 required behaviors for a period of 6 months both at home and school. Then only, the child can be called to suffer from ADHD.

ADHD Symptoms and Behavior ?

Hyperactivity

The child talks very much and does not sit at his place when told to do so.

Inattentiveness

The child is not able to devote attention to different tasks for sufficient amount of time. It seems as if the child is not able to understand or listen to what is being told to him.

Impulsivity

The child cannot wait and often breaks rules or imposes upon others in order to get the desired thing.

ADHD Treatment

It is recommended by the AAP that doctors should talk to both parents and teachers while they are diagnosing a case of ADHD. Moreover, it should be seen whether the child has any emotional disorders or not. But this exercise is very difficult to practice in actuality because doctors get very less time to diagnose a child. At the most 15 minutes are available and it is extremely difficult to diagnose the right case in this limited amount of time. Only special appointments with doctors that come at a huge cost can serve the purpose.

In USA about 3% to 5% children suffer from this disorder but unfortunately only a very small portion of these gets any kind of medication. The families that belong to the upper middle class only are able to pay for the diagnosis and cure of ADHD. The poor sections or the minority youngsters are not that lucky and never get diagnosed for ADHD, leave alone the chance of their getting medication for it.