Running head: ADD AND ADHD

ADD and ADHD Disease

Ashley Shamaley
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

This paper is about how ADD and ADHD effects children in their everyday life. It also shows
how a person can deal with the disease and how to live their life with it. It will describe the
effects of ADD and ADHD and how to prevent it for effecting a persons life. It shows the
number of cases increased over several years and the percentage of children and adults with the
disease. The number of adults and children with ADD and ADHD has increased and decreased
because sometimes people have the illness when they are a child and out grow it when they are
adults. ADD and ADHD can be prevented from ruining someones life if the person manages it
and controls the disease.

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ADD and ADHD Disease

A major topic in most communities is Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention
Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The rate of the disease has increased over several
years and people are looking for ways to decrease the numbers. In most communities many
people have this disease but with proper treatment and exercise it can be manageable. To manage
the disease one simply needs to do mental exercises.
About ADHD and ADD
ADD and ADHD are illnesses that prevent people from being focused and causes them to
be hyper and unfocused. The illnesses begin to occur when a person is around five years old and
last throughout their whole lifespan. According to the Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), Numerous studies have shown that a large proportion of children with ADHD persist
to have symptoms in adolescence and adulthood, to be impaired in everyday life and to have an
increased risk of a number of difficulties as adults(pS45) Many people who have ADD or
ADHD have many difficulties throughout life. They have difficulties such as focusing on a
certain task, or paying attention to someone. Many adults who have this illness tend to have
difficulties in everyday life, as well as their job. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), is when
someone cannot pay attention for a long time span. Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD), is when someone cannot pay attention for a long time span, but also gets hyper at the
same time. In some cases a person can have ADHD but be non-hyperactive. According to
Processing Speed Weakness in Children and Adolescents with Non-Hyperactive but Inattentive
ADHD, The term attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (ADD/WO) was used to refer
to children who were inattentive and impulsive but not hyperactive (p578). Children with non-

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hyperactivity and impulsiveness, this means that the child does what they want when they want
but, are still unfocused while doing it.
This tends to be a problem when the
child is growing up because of the
impulsiveness.
Who has the disease
ADD and ADHD is can be found in
children and adults. It effects children
more because they are little and cannot
control how they act. Adults can control their actions because they can process their actions.
According to Childhood ADHD and Addictive Behaviours in Adolescence, 142 adolescents
(75.4% male), 12 to 16 years old, out of 179 children previously diagnosed with DSM IV TR
ADHD between the ages of 6 and 12 years (p129), this quote states that 179 children are
diagnosed with ADHD and of 179 children 75.4% of them were males. The rate of children with
ADD is higher than adults with ADD because it affects children more. In another article scientist
test children to see the rate the child can get other diseases if they have ADHD. According to the
article Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and obesity in US males and females, age 8-15
years: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2004, Overall, 412 youth
(15.6%) were classified as having ADHD; of these, 94 were identified by both the DISC-IV and
parent report, and 124 were identified by the DISC-IV only (p448)., this states that children are
more likely to have ADHD when both parents have ADHD as well, and less likely to have it
when only one parent has ADHD.

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Treatments

When people have ADD or ADHD they have a hard time doing simple task. One of the
main questions asked when people have this disease is whether to treat it or not. If you treat the
disease then the person can manage to control when they are being hyperactive and impulsive.
But if the disease is not treated then they have a harder time in life struggling with even the
simplest task. According to The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems
and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD, after mindfulness training, adolescents
attention and behavior problems reduced, while their executive functioning improved, as
indicated by self-report measures as well as by father and teacher report (p775) the quote states
that after a few mindfulness training the person with the illness can manage to control their
disease and actually focus on the task that they are working with. The person with the disease
needs to practice and train their mind in order to be successful in life and not live with the
disease as hard as other people do. According to Childhood ADHD is strongly associated with a
broad range of psychiatric disorders during adolescence; a population-based birth cohort study,
ADHD is significantly associated with an increased risk for a broad range of psychiatric
comorbidities (p1036) this states that even with training and managing the disease there could
be many problems that can still go wrong like psychological issues.
Statistics
The number of cases of ADD and ADHD have gone up in recent years, and many doctors
have tried to reduce the number. The number has gone up because many people with the disease
reproduce and do not learn how to manage it. According to Impaired conflict resolution and
alerting in children with ADHD: evidence from the Attention Network Task states, Recent

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studies of the ANT in children and adults with ADHD have proven inconsistent (p1340) this
proves how the number has increased over the years. ADD and ADHD cases increase because
people do not notice that they have the disease and then later on in life are diagnosed with it
causing the number to rise. According to Sex Differences and the interaction of age and sleep
issues in the Neuropsychological testing performance across the lifespan in an ADD/ADHD
sample from the years 1989 to 2009 states, ADHD is seen as a lifelong disorder, although there
is an overall reduction in ADHD symptoms (decline of hyperactive impulsive behavior and
persistent inattention symptoms) as children grow into adolescence and adulthood (p404) this
states that the number of cases can go down when the patient grows up into adulthood. The
patient can have ADD and ADHD as a child and controls it which leads to them outgrowing it
and conquers how to control it in their life.
ADHD and ADD is a common issue in most communities but with proper treatment and
extensive research it can be managed. ADD and ADHD effects many people throughout their life
and can continue to affect people with or without the disease without treatment.

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Reference Page

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