ADHD: Misconceptions, Causes, and Treatments

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a neurobiological disorder that interferes an individual’s ability to concentrate on a particular task, inhibit behaviors, and regulate activity level.  ADHD is linked to poor working memory, a condition that  can affect an individual’s ability to learn.  According to a study done by Dr. Patricia Pastor and Cynthia Reuben in the July 2008 report of  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vital and Health Statistics, the estimated prevalence of ADHD in 2006 is 4.5 million children between 5 and 17 years of age with more boys being diagnosed at 9.5 percent than girls at 5.9 percent (See References 1).

Misconceptions of ADHD

According to the NIH, ADHD was once labeled as a childhood disorder, where its symptoms would disappear upon the entry of the adolescent stage (See References 2).  Parents, teachers, and the medical community had also thought that ADHD developed from the result of these following factors: over-consumption of sugar, overexposure to television, poverty, and poor parenting.  After decades of study, the CDC has concluded that there is no sufficient evidence to show a causal effect between ADHD and the aforementioned factors.  However, synergistic effect does exist with biological factors, and together they can increase the risk of ADHD development (See References 3).

Possible Factors of ADHD

The CDC has indicated that previous research studies of twin siblings have pointed to genetics as a high risk factor for ADHD (See References 3).  Other possible factors are “brain injury, environmental exposures, alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy, premature birth, and low birth weight” (See References 3).

Working Memory and ADHD

Working memory is a system executed in the frontal lobe allowing individuals to hold new information briefly and combine it with previously learned information to solve cognitive tasks. A study from Dr. Mark Rapport and his team has shown that individuals with ADHD have poor working memory (See References 5). Furthermore, Dr. Patricia Pastor and Cynthia Reuben show in their study that of approximately 23,000 children diagnosed with ADHD, only 5 percent did not show signs of learning disability (See References 1), suggesting that there is a high correlation between ADHD and poor working memory.

In order to maximize the working memory capacity, individuals need to be able to selectively screen out information and take in only the relevant information, process, retain, and retrieve information when needed and combine them with new information to solve cognitive tasks. Dr. Mark Rapport and his team found in their study that individuals with ADHD have a disturbance in the central executive processing, the unit that controls and divides attention,and deficiencies in phonological and visuospatial subsystems, units that temporarily store and rehearse verbal and visual stimuli respectively (See References 5).

Treatment of ADHD

The CDC reports that stimulant drugs have worked well on 70 to 80 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD in the U.S., however, with more side effects than non-stimulant drugs (See References 4). It is important to note that not all individuals will respond to medications with similar effects (See References 4). Behavioral therapy, another form of treatment, can help individuals with ADHD to reduce and or encourage desired behaviors with the use of positive reinforcements and consequences.

A newer type of treatment, which is currently being studied is neurofeedback. This treatment involves placing one end of electrodes on the scalp of the patient and the other end to a game controller. If the player starts losing focus, the video game loses its response, thus forcing the child to refocus (See References 2). Participants have responded well to the neurofeedback study, but further study is still needed to test whether other factors, such as the environmental setting could have contributed to a child’s improvement in behaviors and learning.

Resources about ADHD

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)–Data and Statistics. May 2010. (accessed October 2010).

National Institutes of Health. (2009, January). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Retrieved October 2010, from National Institutes of Health:PDF

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, May). Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)–Facts about ADHD. Retrieved October 2010, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Website

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)–Treatment. April 2010. website (accessed October 2010).

Kofler, M. J., Rapport, M. D., Bolden, J., & Altro, T. A. (2008). Working Memory as a Core Deficit in ADHD: Preliminary Findings and Implications. The ADHD Report , 8-14.

List of Resources for Teachers With Students Who Have ADHD

Resource by A.Moore

I just moved to Michigan from South Carolina. This is my first winter here and so far it's freezing. I enjoy traveling, drawing, camping, writing, and doing community service in my spare time. I work for a education company and help them with their outreach to teachers and students. Hope everyone enjoys my articles.

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