All children get hyperactive sometimes, but for some it’s a real problem. Paediatrician, Dr Kerry Robinson, looks at identifying and treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

According to clinical guidelines produced by NICE, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, 69,000 school age children in England and Wales have ADHD (that’s about 1%) However, there’s been a lot of controversy regarding the use of the stimulant drug, Ritalin, to treat ADHD in children and teenagers. Opponents claim that Ritalin is over prescribed and unnecessary, and rallies have been organised to try to stop the use of psychiatric medication in treating children.

The NICE guidelines show that 70% of children diagnosed with ADHD do not receive Ritalin. The truth of the matter is that the British public and the medical profession have been slow to accept Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a real illness. Being a relatively new diagnosis, many doctors went through medical school hardly aware of its existence. This is not to say it did not exist. It did. It just wasn’t recognised. Now it has been identified and treatment is available.

What is ADHD?

ADHD, sometimes called ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), is a psychiatric illness found predominantly in children who have three main behaviour problems:

Hyperactivity
Impulsive behaviour
Short attention span

Children with these tendencies find it difficult to fit in at school. Concentrating on lessons is difficult, they get into trouble because they act on impulse and parents find them exhausting because of they’re hyperactive.

How does someone get ADHD?

We don’t really know. We know it’s much more common in boys, and research suggests there’s a genetic component. It’s thought that the genes fail to control the part of the brain involved with the chemical dopamine correctly. Dopamine is a natural chemical responsible for transmitting signals between nerve cells in the brain. An imbalance in the amount of dopamine in the brain causes abnormal behaviour. Using medication can redress this imbalance.

The symptoms of ADHD are nothing to do with bad parenting
Many parents who have one child with ADHD, have other children who behave normally and do well at school.

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ADHD