After becoming parents, the conversation turns to the children, we talk about the fun activities we do with them, how they surprise us by saying big things beyond their age, and sometimes how they challenge us as parents. “My boy is very active. It never stays in place. He gets distracted easily. He keeps losing his belongings, too. I think he's hyperactive!” Do these sentences sound familiar to you?
If these symptoms alone were sufficient to diagnose ADHD, it would be necessary to diagnose all children with ADHD. As parents, we can sometimes attach too much meaning to our children's behavior and become unnecessarily worried, and sometimes we can devalue the word "hyperactive" and use it for every active child we see. In both cases, we may encounter undesirable results. Because we either do not accept what is, we underestimate it, or we are looking for a solution for a problem that does not exist...
However, the source of the situation a person with ADHD is in cannot be seen with the naked eye; is hidden in the brain. The symptoms of ADHD are often interpreted as laziness, carelessness, indifference, rudeness, and sometimes even lack of intelligence. The truth has nothing to do with these.
So what is ADHD?
ADHD is a neurobiological disorder in which problematic brain chemistry causes a person to experience difficulties in executive function skills. The main neurochemical difference in the brains of people with ADHD is that dopamine and/or norepinephrine levels are not sufficient to activate the relevant parts of the brain. This is a condition where the person with ADHD faces real problems at the brain level that make it incredibly difficult to perform the basic tasks of life. From remembering to take your medicine to being able to have a normal conversation with your peers, from sitting quietly during class to remembering what was taught.
ADHD is not laziness, stubbornness or disregard. The problem stems from the brain, not from discipline that has not been given. Busting urban myths about ADHD starts with knowing them. The truth we know today is that someone with ADHD can be at least as successful as someone without ADHD, as long as they know they have ADHD and receive appropriate treatment.
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