What Is ADD and Is My Child At Risk?

ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) Or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper is the most common mental disorders that develop in children. When left untreated it can lead to poor school, work, and social behavior. It can also lead to low self-esteem. The Center for the Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 2 million children have this disorder. Attention Deficit Disorder is a biological or brain based condition. It is impulsive, hyperactive and distractible behavior.

This mental disorder can continue in childhood and through out adult life. 30 to 70 percent will continue to have ADD as an adult. The cause of this disorder is still under investigation. Males are at a greater risk of developing ADD because of genetics and heredity. These two play a major risk factor. Research studies focus on genes and combination of genes to figure out the cause.

The differences between ADD and ADHD are ADD is without the hyperactive and ADHD is with the hyperactive behavior. The symptoms of these two mental disorders are:

Sounds and sights can easily distract inattentive behavior, having difficulty completing a task. Go from one activity to another, ADD can overlooked because sometimes it is hard to identify. ADHD involves hyperactivity. Hyperactivity is when there is a constant motion, always moving around and fidgeting. ADHD runs in the family. About 40%-50% of children with this disorder have a parent that has it. Brain injury might be the cause of ADHD, but a small number of children with this disorder have brain injury.

With ADHD, hyperactivity is very noticeable. Symptoms can be restlessness along with moving around and fidgeting. Having difficulty staying seated, talking too much, blurting out answers when not called upon, always interrupting and do not have the patience to take turns. With these symptoms, it makes it harder for the child to have good academic performance, a stable home-life and have problems developing social relationships.

Enlarged Tonsils can be one of the causes of ADHD. If the tonsils are enlarged, they will get in the way of breathing, sleeping and cause mood swings. Lack of sleep, which causes mood swings and behavioral problems, could lead to the mental disorder. Tonsils can become so large that it can partially block or obstruct the upper breathing passage. This can lead to difficult breathing, gasping and snorting sounds. This condition is called adenotonillar hypertrophy. This is another name for enlarged tonsils. This causes sleeping disordered breathing.

There are muscles in the upper throat that keep the passages open. A symptom of SDB is loud snoring. When you are relaxed, the muscles move closer to each other, which cause this loud snoring sound. When having this condition it can make you have mood swings, behavioral problems, and interfere with your sleep.

If you think, your child has this disorder take them to see a doctor. Learn about it and get your child tested, if you suspect that your child might have it.