Concept of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) - Essay Example

Concept essay on attention deficit disorder (ADD)Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is classified as a neurological disorder, which mostly affects children. Teens and adults with this condition may not pay attention to monotonous work. For example, they may experience challenges in schoolwork; however, they may be proficient in other exciting tasks. Most individuals having the condition may also be impulsive; they may do or say something without considering the consequences. Individuals having this disorder get bored more easily than individuals without this condition do.

Approximately half of the individuals with ADD condition become hyperactive (Brown 12). This implies that their level of motor activity is higher than that of ordinary individuals. The individuals can shift from one activity to another; this they can do without completing the activities they had started. Research has depicted that, for every one classroom in the United States, approximately two students have acquired this condition. Attention deficiency disorder is normally associated with the brain functioning (Brown 13).

Individuals having Attention Deficient Disorder tend to have a slower brainwave action in the front area of the brain, which is the part that helps in paying attention. The front part of the brain assists individuals in selecting what to be attentive to, and what not to, depending on the individual’s environment. For individuals to have the condition, several regions of the brain are affected, involving several neurotransmitters. However, teachers and parents should understand that children having the disorder are usually born with it.

Various symptoms can help in identification of individuals with the ADD syndrome. Some of the symptoms include; individuals’ inability to stay in one place, individuals having difficulty in waiting for their turn in games, individuals having difficulties in following instructions, and individuals become easily distracted by an action or an item. In addition, individuals may talk excessively and play games quietly (Brown 15). Diagnosis of the disorder can be done through observation of a child’s behavior by an expert, or through a teacher observing the child’s behavior and putting the observations in writing, which can be analyzed by a specialist.

There are different possible factors that have been thought to be the probable causes of ADD. They include organic brain damage, genetics, environmental factors, and family factors. Arguments put forward suggest that organic brain damage is the main cause. Organic brain damage is likely to occur resulting from injuries, deprivation of oxygen, prenatal complications, and infections during delivery. Researchers argue that approximately 10% of parents having ADD have a high chance of delivering a child having ADD, thus attributing the cause to genetic factors (Brown 13).

However, the cases are higher in monozygotic twins than in dizygotic twins. Environmental factors are also another cause, whereby levels of lead in the environment, levels of fluorescent light, and environmental pollution cause the condition. Mothers of children having ADD tend to be disapproving, critical, and non-affectionate; this may worsen the symptoms of the disorder in children suffering from it. Although ADD is treatable, it is not curable (Brown 16). Parents and other caregivers should offer maximum support to individuals with this disorder.

People should not neglect children suffering from Attention Deficit disorder; they should care for them.Works CitedBrown, Thomas. Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults. New York: Yale University Press, 2000. Print.