Attention Deficit Disorder In Girls and Boys (ADD/ADHD)

Attention Deficit Disorder – ADD or ADHD In Children

ADD or ADHD seems to be the buzzword these days when it comes to childhood issues. Does your child exhibit signs of this disorder or are they just regular kids? The number of documented cases have almost doubled when compared to a decade ago, and evidence of this increase can be seen in the continuously growing number of advertisements, articles, and stories on the subject…but do they have a problem?

Symptoms of ADD In Children

ADD or attention deficit disorder is exactly what its name suggests — the inability to focus attention on anything.

It is a nuero-behavioral development disorder that affects 3-5% of the world’s children, with twice as many cases affecting boys than girls.

The disorder can easily be managed with early treatment but when left undiagnosed, the child may still exhibit symptoms as an adult.

The causes of attention deficit disorder have not been officially determined but popular theories are that the disorder is hereditary, and that it can be brought on by environmental or social factors that a child may have been exposed to early in life.

As I said earlier, several decades ago, there was no such thing as ADD. Children who exhibited the symptoms of what we now know were dismissed as being stubborn, impulsive or even naughty. Today, we recognize that these children have a disorder and that they can’t help their behavior.

The signs of ADD may vary from child to child but there are a few symptoms that are quite common in practically all cases. For example, inattentiveness is very typical and they have a hard time following complicated instructions and usually can’t finish tasks. They are easily distracted and their minds frequently wander off from the task at hand no matter how hard they try to concentrate on what they are doing.

Despite this interesting observation, however, incidences in girls and boys are equally possible. Gender nor age is specific in the development of this disorder. (ADD in teenagers.) Other typical signs of ADD in both boys and girls are:

• Frequent mood swings
• Irritability
• Rebellion
• Lack of organization and
• Inability to stay still.

It may not always be easy to diagnose ADD in children because this condition shares symptoms with many other common childhood conditions.

Attention Deficit Disorder In Boys

Most children who have ADD are hyperactive, hence the term ADHD. They have a very short attention span, and display impulsive behavior. Quite interestingly, these are the very same symptoms that most normal boys show during early childhood. For this reason, many boys with ADD are not assessed.

ADHD Symptoms in Boys

• May be moody and quiet – or totally the opposite – noisy and out of control.
• May appear to be naughty and disobedient, but isn’t trying to be.
• Messy and unorganized.
• Angry and frustrated.

Attention Deficit Disorder in Girls

It is quite normal to see boys running around, being unable to stay in one place for a long time. However, such behavior is not very common among girls because they tend to stay focused longer and are relatively a lot more gentle in terms of behavior.

Of course, there are also a lot of perfectly healthy girls who are very ‘hyperactive’, and this doesn’t automatically signify that they have ADHD.

ADHD Symptoms in Girls

We all know one of the most common signs of ADHD is hyperactivity. Being hyperactive, not being able to sit still, and fidgeting, are all the regular symptoms exhibited.

However, the symptoms in girls are sometimes harder to spot, as girls exhibit different types of behaviors to many boys, because we just accept the fact that they’re girls! There are some similarities of course, but here are some more symptoms to watch for:

• Daydreaming when they should be focused.
• Crying, even if there is no real reason to cry.
• Chatting incessantly.
• Not listening to other conversations in a room and continually interrupting.

Another thing to remember is that girls, (and I can speak from experience here), can also have low self-esteem and anxiety issues, which can cause problems and appear to be signs of ADHD. For example, crying frequently, may be because of bullying at school, and talking too much may be to cover up anxiety and low self confidence issues.

Whatever the problem, it needs to be explored.

• Attention deficit disorder in girls and boys can continue into adulthood and can manifest into anxiety and depression.

If you are parent of a child with ADHD, there are natural treatments available.

• You should discuss the various treatments with your child’s doctor so that you can pick the best option to use.
• This is very important because every case is unique and so you shouldn’t use any treatment just because it is used on other children, or you assume your child has a problem.

There are also natural homeopathic formulas available that provide both adult or child ADD/ADHD symptom relief. If you would like more information on a natural remedy, you may like to read my Synaptol review.