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ATTHD1IHI DEROr msonos nt!c& affects a? to 8 of ctthta In tts ILt ca ted to tears la pdatteIFanMCngtS88BlialiitelBeeeBtdirne(MonePBSHlspltPC3tte3ttaittt!sSL j ru M BY DANIEL AMEN G WAS A BRIGHT BOY WHO “OUR struggled every year in school” says Bany Lewis ofVfen-turi Calif “He was restless and impulsive had trouble following directions and was confiraintatioiuil Ws real- lywonied about his future "The diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD) the most common learning MD and behavior problem in children today-calittle Ibe As mother schoolteacher a to Kathy boy’s sinprise Lewis had observed many such children Still hear- ing sudi a diagnosis can be hard to accept I know b& causebeskles being an ADD specialist andarcsearcher I also am the briber of three children with the disorder meai ‘ W s5& V V' r‘ifgvS i 'fwreiipreniMMMR “a-- - Ttw typlcstydiwiwthy MariW 1 MB —and aomatintes Msflotst aoliool and ' i Clin-kad- ty - rivs&3§? ?: '£ m y exhibit all these behavion to have ADD in fact only 50 of sufferers are i$8w?f P&f&f at home Children with ADD typically fidget with their hands squirm in their setts (when they remain seated at all) don’t wait their turn in games talk excessively shift from one activity to another and say and do things without considering foe impact on othen or themselves these characeristicsaredesctfoed as tfV "ft aC hyperactive-Maparents and even some professionals wonder whether ADD (also called ADHDfortttentiondeficitAfypemctivitydisardegisjutf a fad disease— a misnomer for childish horseplay 1 afture you ADD is a' vety real neumlogically based illness with genetic undetpjnnings (If a child has it one or both parents nay have an undiagnosed case)Coninuy to popular belief it’s hot ovenliagnosed The cwrno 2 ny theAmeriamMedcriAssociationtxytupto6ataur school-ag-e kids haw ADDbut only29f (tfthem are d being treated Girts wifo AIM) are more likely to be because thtendnot to bettdisrapdre as Ixjys over-loolre- Getting the H0R dlaGnoai&Ifyou juqxttthatyour child has ADD talk with his orher teachers (who have fots of experience'wifo kxsof children) and then witha pediatridanorspedalittwhoammateadiagnorisafter taking a histny observing foe diild and using rating scales The goal is to modify behavior and the usual treatmeitt is medicationThe most common drugs are Ritalin AdderellConceita and Dexedrine InitiaDyBany and Kafoy Lewis did not want to idy on dragstocanirol their son'sbefasvior As adoctorI understand how k may seem that we're too quick to medicate children But I’m also aWare of die toll ADD takes: Research shows that without proper treatment 35 of suf-v : mmid sum Mb som Maaau ' T |
