ADD - Type 3

ADD - Type 2

ADD - Not all types created equal

When I write blog articles and posts on social media about ADD or ADHD, occasionally someone will strongly voice there opinion that ADD is a myth (okay, really sometimes they are downright rude and obnoxious about it...and I hide, ban and delete their posts). Thay assert ADD is a made-up concoction by teachers or doctors or the medical establishment. Typically the post is written hastily with no argument to back up their point of view.

I wanted to provide a more balanced view and couldn't find a more eloquenty stated, concise source than the quoted material from Dr. Daniel Amen, MD you see below. 

Sorting the Facts from the Myths

"ADD is not even new in the medical literature. George Still, a pediatrician at the turn of the last century, described children who were hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive. Unfortunately, he labeled them “morally defective.” During the great flu epidemic of 1918, many children also contracted viral encephalitis and meningitis. Of those who survived the brain infections, many were described with symptoms now considered classic for ADD. By the 1930s, the label “minimal brain damage” was coined to describe these children. The label was changed in the 1960s to “minimal brain dysfunction” because no anatomical abnormality could be found in the children. Whatever its name, ADD has been part of the psychiatric terminology since the inception of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in 1952. (The DSM is the diagnostic bible listing clinical criteria for various psychiatric disorders). Every version of the DSM has described the core symptoms of ADD, albeit by a different name every time." 
“An estimated seventeen million people in the United States have attention deficit disorder (ADD), which was later renamed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I prefer the name ADD, as ADHD highlights the hyperactive component of the disorder (H) and discards half the people who have it, particularly girls, who are typically not hyperactive. According to the CDC, 13.2 percent of boys at one time have been diagnosed with ADD, 5.6 percent of girls.

ADD - Type 1

When it comes to treating ADHD, there are many different options and approaches. One of the more effective options is the use of treatments that have a natural approach to helping those who have ADHD. Importantly, this natural approach should not be confused with holistic medicine as the scientific basis for natural treatment options have been conclusively proven for decades. However, for those considering a natural approach, it is good to understand what makes this method practical and longer lasting in contrast to other treatment options.

Neurobehavioral disorders have exploded in our current generation. ADHD is diagnosed in a significant portion of school aged children. A research survey of parents shows that approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have ever been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011. Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify around 1 in 68 American children as on the autism spectrum–a ten-fold increase in prevalence over the last 40 years. Studies also show that autism is four to five times more common among boys than girls. An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States. ASD is estimated to affect more than 2 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide. We are seeing many cases of anxiety and depression in kids as young as 4.