hyperactivity's space

There is never a fool proof way of knowing if your child is going through severe mental anguish, trauma or has troubles that need to be attended immediately. But thankfully for most cases, kids do show signs and quite prominent ones that scream out for help. Try and observe them closely without intruding in to their privacy and see whether the signs are severe or not. The more informed you are of your child???s state of mind and symptoms, the easier it will be for you to pick up the right program for your troubled teen.

Some most common troubled teen conditions include ??~Attention Deficit Disorder??? (ADD), ??~Bipolar Disorder???, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder??? (ADHD), etc. Let us glance through some of the obvious symptoms of these conditions. Remember that covering everything is beyond the scope of this article.

* Failure in giving close attention to details, mistakes in schoolwork and other activities.

* Failure in organizing tasks, getting involved in long tasks, sustaining attention for a long period or performing daily activities.

* Failure in following instructions and performing tasks step by step.

* Hyperactivity can be evident through constant fidgeting of hand and fingers.

* Stands up suddenly in the class or runs about aimlessly.

* Starts of projects and leaves those midway.

* Cannot take part in long games and tasks and cannot play or stay quietly.

* Excessive talking.

* Symptoms of bipolar disorder would include the child oscillating between states of acute depression and a sense of great power.

* During the depression stage the person will experience fatigue, sleeplessness or oversleeping, guilt feeling, lack of self-esteem, self pity and suicidal tendencies.

* During the manic state the person will be overjoyed, show inflated self-esteem, overspending, increase in activities, becomes overly and excessively sociable and experience unpredictable emotional changes.


If you see your child suffering from more than four of these symptoms, it is time you consult a physician. Your child would need professional help. These symptoms are root to a number of behavioral modifications that may lead your child to drug addiction, alcoholism, crime and other activities to feed his or her mental anguish. All of these conditions are medically treatable and needs regular medication. There are many people who have suffered from these conditions but on timely detection and professional attention have come out as a triumphant.

Do not panic. Consult experts. There is help available everywhere in this era of modern communication. There are also numbers of programs that can help these children get back on their feet. Learn about programs for troubled teen. Military schools, boarding schools, four-stage programs, alternative schools and therapies, home counseling ??" there are a number of programs to choose from that will suit your budget and your requirement. Remember sending your boy off to a military school when what he needed was medical help and personal care is a wrong step forward. Discuss with counselors and professionals and collect all the information before choosing the right program for your child.

hyperactivity

adult adhd

adhd treatmentKeith Katz has been working with schools for troubled youth. He was also associated with trouble teen school.

hyperactivity: adult adhd

hyperactivity: adhd treatment

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5 Big Reasons ADHD Medications are only Part of the Answer

Let???s face it, for the parents of children with ADHD, and the adults who are frustrated with similar symptoms affecting every aspect of life, there is no question. Giving a child a pill for the disorder is not enough. Patients, family members, and friends already know at least 5 big reasons ADHD medications are only part of the answer for relieving the symptoms and making life more bearable.

Amazingly, the most common ADHD medications used to treat the disorder are actually stimulants! Considering the major symptoms, it seems totally bizarre to treat a hyper-activity, attention deficit disorder with drugs that will further stimulate the brain. However, the opposite is usually the case. Psycho-stimulators often help balance the chemicals in the brain, resulting in a calming more attentive persona.

However, doctors will be the first to admit that ADHD medications are only a small part of the treatment necessary for children and adults suffering from this all-too-common debilitating affliction. Here are 5 reasons why medication is only part of the treatment:

1. Time limitations
2. Side affects
3. Simultaneous disorders
4. Therapy
5. Coping skills

Of course, the long list has been the subject of volumes. Nevertheless, let us consider just a few of the most prominent reasons why any ADHD medication alone will not work.

Time

Generally, ADHD medication only work for 4 hours, or at most 6 hours. Thus, it means parents, school officials, and health care providers have to medicate children more often. Unfortunately, it is not recommended that kids be responsible for taking the pills as prescribed, so a supervisory adult must always be available when the next dose is due. Thus, the problems of ensuring proper dosing can be a challenge.

Side affects

Unfortunately, most any ADHD medications on the market today are not without side effects. While some patients may only recognize the benefits, other patients have to cope with added problems. Thus, it is questionable whether the benefits outweigh the added health concerns. Some of the potential problems include:

??? Weight loss
??? Increased activity before next dose
??? Tics
??? Risk of addiction
??? Death

In many cases, many ADHD medications decrease appetite. Thus, individuals will lose weight. While some people may consider this an added benefit, it can actually result in more health problems in the long-term.

In addition, there is the problem of increased activity between doses. It is not time for the next pill, but the ADHD medication is definitely wearing off. Thus, patients are left with a space of time where the symptoms are worse and coping is extremely difficult, until the next dose kicks in, and once again relieves the symptoms.

Then again, some patients also experience addition symptoms due to ADHD medication. Individuals may develop tics of the facial muscles, jerkiness, and other problems that will actually require more medication or coping skills.

As with any medications, there is always the risk that something will go wrong. Parents and patients have a legitimate worry that the medication will result in addiction. Then, if there comes a time to try something different, it will be almost impossible to get off of the stimulants. Also, some patients with ADHD have died, and doctors speculate the medication may have been a contributing factor.

Simultaneous disorders

Even with ADHD medications to deal with the symptoms, many of the patients also suffer from other disorders requiring equal attention. For example, individuals often have learning disabilities, glaring behavioral problems, anxiety disorders, depression and more. Thus, it is incumbent upon caregivers to address all of the health issues with a combination of treatments.

Therapy

Since many patients have underlying mental, physical, emotional, and social health concerns, therapy is a resource that medication alone cannot equal. In truth, ADHD affects the entire family. Not only does the sufferer need therapy, loved ones need to have support and the tools needed to deal with this chemical imbalance and associated disorders.

Coping skills

Therapy for the whole family is vital. ADHD medications are only a small part of the treatment package. Everyone needs better understanding of the disorder and the coping skills to handle life twenty-four hours of every day. ADHD is not easy for anyone, including siblings and loved ones who may provide emotional and relief support.

In short

Make no mistake about it! ADHD is a disorder that cannot be maintained by ADHD medications alone. Oftentimes, patients have other health related issues to contend with, and family members are also suffering and need professional assistance. It is a problem that affects all facets of life, and needs to be treated with every tool available to patients, parents, and professionals.

hyperactivity

adhd treatment

adhd medicationsTina Matsunaga has a BA in English/secondary education. Today, while raising her two children, she works from home as a freelance writer, article marketer and affiliate. For more information on ADHD treatments and medications, please go to http://www.curing-adhd-naturally.com/.

hyperactivity: adhd medications

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Stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. Historically, stimulants were used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems, obesity, neurological disorders, and a variety of other ailments. As their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent, the use of stimulants began to wane.

Now, stimulants are prescribed for treating only a few health conditions, including narcolepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression that has not responded to other treatments. Stimulants may also be used for short-term treatment of obesity and for patients with asthma.

Stimulants such as dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) have chemical structures that are similar to key brain neurotransmitters called monoamines, which include norepinephrine and dopamine.Stimulants increase the levels of these chemicals in the brain and body. This, in turn, increases blood pressure and heart rate, constricts blood vessels, increases blood glucose, and opens up the pathways of the respiratory system. In addition, the increase in dopamine is associated with a sense of euphoria that can accompany the use of stimulants.Research indicates that people with ADHD do not become addicted to stimulant medications, such as Ritalin, when taken in the form and dosage prescribed. However, when misused, stimulants can be addictive.

The consequences of stimulant abuse can be extremely dangerous. Taking high doses of a stimulant can result in an irregular heartbeat, dangerously high body temperatures, and/or the potential for cardiovascular failure or seizures. Taking high doses of some stimulants repeatedly over a short period of time can lead to hostility or feelings of paranoia in some individuals.

Stimulants should not be mixed with antidepressants or OTC cold medicines containing decongestants. Antidepressants may enhance the effects of a stimulant, and stimulants in combination with decongestants may cause blood pressure to become dangerously high or lead to irregular heart rhythms.

Treatment of addiction to prescription stimulants, such as methylphenidate and amphetamines, is based on behavioral therapies proven effective for treating cocaine or methamphetamine addiction. At this time, there are no proven medications for the treatment of stimulant addiction. Antidepressants, however, may be used to manage the symptoms of depression that can accompany early abstinence from stimulants.

Depending on the patient's situation, the first step in treating prescription stimulant addiction may be to slowly decrease the drug's dose and attempt to treat withdrawal symptoms. This process of detoxification could then be followed with one of many behavioral therapies. Contingency management, for example, improves treatment outcomes by enabling patients to earn vouchers for drug-free urine tests; the vouchers can be exchanged for items that promote healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral therapies, which teach patients skills to recognize risky situations, avoid drug use, and cope more effectively with problems, are proving beneficial. Recovery support groups may also be effective in conjunction with a behavioral therapy. Now that you have an overview of various drugs that can become addictive, let's see if you or a loved one might have a problem.

hyperactivity

adhd treatment

adhd symptomsDr. Lara Honos Webb is a clinical child psychologist and ADD/ADHD expert. She has created many free videos on ADHD.

hyperactivity: adhd

hyperactivity: adhd medications

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com

While many people consider ADD or ADHD to be caused by many 'social factors', i.e. bad parenting, video games, poor schools, etc., research is clear that the social causes have no merit with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The first place to start with the cause of ADD or ADHD is genetics. It is a very genetic disorder.

There is term called 'heritability', which refers to how genetic a disorder is. As an example - breast cancer is 30% heritable - meaning that about 30% of the possible causes of breast cancer can be attributed to genetics. Asthma is 40% heritable. Height is 80 to 85 percent heritable. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is about 80 percent heritable.

That means that ADHD is highly genetic. This research comes from twin studies and other family studies, and shows that ADHD is almost as genetic as height.

Now if genes cause 80 percent that means there is about 20 percent that is not caused by genetics. What are the other causes? When it comes to the non-genetic causes of ADHD, we can call these 'acquired' cases. When we look at acquired cases, we can separate these into: Prenatal (i.e. causes that affect the person before birth), and Postnatal (i.e. causes that affect the person after birth).

The Prenatal Causes of ADHD:

These are the acquired causes of Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disroder that occur during the pregnancy.

* Mother smoking during pregnancy: if the mother smokes cigarettes during pregnancy this increases the risk by 2.5 times (so the child is 2.5 times more likely to develop ADHD than if the mother didn't smoke during pregnancy)
* Mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy: With alcohol during pregnancy, there is the same increased risk - 2.5 times.
* Prematurity: If there is prematurity at birth, there is a general increased risk for ADHD, however if there is bleeding in the baby's brain there is a 45 percent chance that that individual will have ADHD.
* Increase in pregnancy complications: If there is an overall increase in pregnancy complications there is a non specific increased risk for ADHD.

Interestingly cocaine or crack exposure is not a risk factor for ADHD once you account for smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Generally speaking a pregnant mother who is using cocaine will also tend to use cigarettes and alcohol.

The Postnatal Causes of ADHD:

These are acquired causes of ADHD that occur after the pregnancy (i.e. after the child is born).

* Head injuries/head Trauma: ADHD can develop after a significant head injury - by significant I mean one that results in loss of consciousness, or a serious concussion
* Brain Hypoxia which means not enough oxygen getting to the brain for a period of time. An example of this could be a near drowning or some other situation like that.
* Brain tumours
* Brain infection.
* Lead poisoning in the preschool years (i.e. before 3 years old)
* Survival from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - because the chemotherapy itself can lead to brain changes.

The importance of the cause of ADHD is that for many people, when they realize that it is a real medical condition that is caused by medical issues, then they can let go of guilt - which can get in the way of useful treatment progress.

hyperactivity

adhd

adhd symptomsDr. Lara Honos Webb is a clinical child psychologist and ADD/ADHD expert. She has created many free videos on ADHD.

hyperactivity: adhd

hyperactivity: adhd medications

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has become one of the most common conditions affecting children today. And the numbers are increasing.

One of the most difficult things about ADHD, for those that have it, is that it can often cause lack of sleep, or a sleep disorder. As a matter of fact, ADHD is one of the top ten causes of sleep disorders in the United States.

In most cases, the stress of not being able to sleep triggers other disorders and mental problems, such as anxiety, depression, irritability, anger etc. People with ADHD have a hard enough time controlling their emotions and it becomes even more difficult with a lack of sleep.

Although scientists and researchers are still conducting further studies into the causes of ADHD and sleep disorders there are still no concrete scientific explanations as to what causes these behavioral disorders. I firmly believe that ADHD is caused by a poor diet, lack of exercise, and exposure to too much external stimulation, such as television or video games and has little to do with anything else.

I also believe that ADHD, as well as any sleep disorder is completely curable without medication. But to find a cure you need to address the causes of the condition. Drugs, like Ritalin only hide the problem or mask it. It is still there underneath the surface.

If you are still considering giving your child drugs ask yourself this question - are the drugs more for your child, or for YOU because you want to control your child?

Diet as a Cause Of ADHD?

In the past thirty years processed foods, loaded with chemicals and preservatives, have become the staple diet for our children. In the past thirty years the rates of ADHD have skyrocketed.

A child is laying the foundation for their life, growth of their physical body and mind. If you give them junk food during this period how are they possibly going to develop a clear, sharp mind?

Simply feed a child a candy bar and a banana at different times. Then ask them to read a book after eating each. See what happens.

Do you think their body needs the nutrients from the banana or high fructose corn syrup from soda or candy to grow? How detrimental do you think the soda or candy is to their development? To me, the correlation between diet and ADHD is a no-brainer.

It is best if you can start feeding your child organic fruit and vegetables as soon as possible. They are going to want to eat junk food like their friends and that is fine sometimes, just regulate it.

Also get them to exercise as this ensures proper physical development, and reduces any stress or anxiety your child might have. This will help them sleep better as well.

ADHD Sleep Disorder And T.V.

I believe the second major cause of ADHD is external stimulation in the form of television or video games. If a child sits, mesmerized, watching a television show that has fast moving characters where the screen changes every split second over and over and over again, what do you think it does to their brain?

Not only are they almost unconscious while they are watching T.V. their brain is being trained to change thoughts in split second intervals. Over time this causes the loss of ability to focus.

So limit the amount of time your child is allowed to watch T.V. or play video games. Make them get creative to entertain themselves instead.

Make The Changes Slowly

Just to warn you as you make these changes your child will resist. Getting your child off of television, video games, and junk food will be like trying to get an adult off of drugs. That is when you may realize how serious of a problem these things are for your child.

So reduce the television and junk food slowly so you don't make your child go through withdrawals and you don't have to deal with the tantrums. About three weeks after you integrate these changes you will see a major difference in your child's behavior and sleep patterns.

hyperactivity

adult adhd

add adhdDr. Lara Honos Webb is a clinical child psychologist and ADD/ADHD expert. She has created many free videos on ADHD.

hyperactivity: adhd

hyperactivity: adhd medications

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com