Is your child very naughty? Can't stay in one place? Or does he constantly complain that he doesn't pay attention in class? We hear about ADHD all the time these days. Some people think it's a new 'fad'. But what exactly is ADHD? How common is this condition? Let's talk about it in detail and in a heartfelt way.
How many people actually have ADHD?
It's a bit difficult to give a definitive answer to this question because researchers have used different methods to investigate this issue, and the data they get is a bit different.
Most reports suggest that between 5% and 8% of school-age children have this condition, but organizations like the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) say the number is as high as 11%.
Now, one problem with this is that some studies rely on what the parents say. That is, if the parents say, "A doctor said my child has ADHD," that's taken as data. But just because they say that, it doesn't mean that the child meets all the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD.
Sometimes, doctors label a child as ADHD even though they have other academic, behavioral, or psychological problems. The flip side is also true. That is, some children who actually have ADHD go undiagnosed.
Simply put, ADHD can be confused with many other problems, so sometimes even doctors have a hard time classifying exactly what condition they're seeing.
However, one thing experts know for sure is that ADHD is the most common behavioral disorder that occurs in childhood .
Is this a 'new disease'? "We didn't have these in our time, did we?"
Many people say that this is a problem of modern society, that your parents "didn't have this" when they were kids. They point to the fact that the number of children diagnosed with ADHD increased by 42% from 2003 to 2011. Does that mean that more people are developing the condition now than before? Here too, the truth is a bit more complicated.
Parents often ask, "Oh, doctor, is there something wrong with the water? Is there something wrong with the food I'm giving my baby? Or is this because of something I did during pregnancy?"
Our answer is: "No, it's not like that. What's happened now is that there's increased awareness of this condition in society, there's increased research on it, and we now have much more advanced diagnostic tools and methods than before. "
Think of it like a camera from back in the day and a high-tech camera today. With today's advanced medical techniques and awareness, we can now accurately identify children we missed in the past. That means there may have been as many people with ADHD decades ago as there are today, but they may never have been identified or treated.
Boys? Girls? Who has ADHD more?
Many people mistakenly believe that ADHD is a problem that only affects boys. In fact, current data suggests that boys are twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as girls. However, these statistics may change as researchers learn more about how the condition manifests in girls.
There are three main types of ADHD :
1. Inattentive type
2. Hyperactive-impulsive type
3. A combination of both types (Co MBI ned type)
If girls have ADHD, they tend to have more inattentive symptoms than hyperactive symptoms . So it can be difficult to diagnose them. The combined type is more common among boys.
This difference can be understood more clearly from the table below.
| Characteristic | In girls | In boys |
|---|---|---|
| The most commonly seen type | Inattentive type | Mixed type (Combined) |
| Main symptoms | Daydreaming, being easily distracted, forgetfulness, difficulty organizing | Inability to stay in one place, constantly fidgeting, running around, interrupting conversations, lack of patience |
| The impact of identification | Because the symptoms are not so obvious, it is more likely that the disease will be mistaken for a "quiet" or "shy" child and missed. | Because the features are so prominent and can be disruptive to the classroom, the chances of detection are high. |
Is ADHD only a childhood condition?
No. About 60% of people who had ADHD as a child continue to have symptoms as adults. For an adult to be officially diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms must have started before the age of 12. It may not have been diagnosed as a child, but the symptoms must have started by that time.
These symptoms can change over time, so an adult's ADHD may not look exactly like a child's.
Imagine a boy who used to run around the classroom as a child, but as an adult he may not run around like that. Instead, he may have serious problems with paying attention and organizing his work . Hyperactivity is rarely a major problem in adulthood, but attention deficit problems may persist.
So what happens to the other 40%? Are they "completely cured" of this? Not exactly. ADHD is a neurobiological disorder . We know that the brain grows and changes over time. So either their brain has changed, or their lifestyle has adapted to it.
For example, if someone with ADHD who works successfully as a traveling salesman suddenly switches to a desk-based office job, their problems may resurface.
The gender gap narrows slightly as we age. Among adults, for every 1 woman diagnosed with ADHD, there are 1.6 men.
Take-Home Message
- ADHD is not a new "fad" or a parental fault. It is a real medical condition related to brain development.
- More ADHD patients are now being reported, not because the disease is spreading, but because our knowledge, understanding, and diagnostic methods have improved.
- ADHD manifests itself differently in girls than in boys. Because their symptoms (inattention deficit) are less obvious, they are more likely to go undiagnosed and overlooked.
- This is not limited to childhood. Many people continue to have symptoms into adulthood, and the nature of those symptoms may change over time.
- If you have even the slightest suspicion that you or your child has ADHD, it is very important to speak to a qualified doctor or therapist about it and receive an accurate diagnosis and guidance.
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