ADD and Hyperactivity

Is an Attention Deficit Disorder incurable?

Understanding ADD and Hyperactivity

ADD, ADHD, and Hyperactivity are labels used to describe symptoms experienced by children with difficulty in regards to focus, behavioral problems, and excessive activity.

When treatment or therapy is prescribed, it is also directed at symptoms and therefore does not solve the problem. ADD, ADHD, and Hyperactivity all describe the symptoms of brain injury. When a good brain is mildly or moderately injured, the result can be mild to severe learning problems. These are neurological problems that can only be solved with a good neurological treatment program that is directed at the brain itself. A proper diagnosis for such a child is “brain-injured,” not a label that describes one of his many symptoms.

Brain injury is a matter of degree in all human beings. A child who is severely brain-injured may have significant problems both intellectually and physically. In fact, a child who is only mildly brain-injured may also have coordination problems and learning problems, but these problems will be to a much milder degree. Such a child may appear to be as capable as the next child, but he cannot actually perform as well in life even though he is trying very hard to keep up with his peers.

Recovering from ADD and Hyperactivity

No matter where the path begins that may ultimately lead to a brain injury, the most common end result is a decrease of oxygen to the brain. This can occur from any number of traumatic events during pregnancy, delivery, or through illness or injury during childhood. The developmental histories of children with learning problems show babies who were premature or postmature with delayed or prolonged labors, to children who experienced high fevers or falls during their infancy. Sometimes, the cause of injury is painfully obvious and at other times (especially when it occurs in utero) it may be more difficult to discover. Brain scans are a wonderful tool to locate tumors or cysts or other gross abnormalities, but they do not give a complete picture of the brain and how it is functioning. There are many brain-injured children with very serious problems whose brain scans look relatively normal.

Brain development can be slowed or even stopped by brain-injury, but it also can be speeded by stimulation so that the child can catch up to his well peers. All of us are on a continuum of brain function, beginning with the baby who is just developing and proceeding to a mature adult who continues to experience brain growth and development until death. We proceed up this continuum of neurological development at varying rates of speed, depending on how much or how little stimulation we receive. We can also move down this continuum at any point if our brain is injured through trauma or illness.

Myths & Facts

Myths

Myths About ADD and Hyperactivity

They are incurable.
They will always require medication to be “normal”.
They are less intelligent or less motivated than other children.

Facts

Our View on ADD and Hyperactivity

They have neurological problems and can develop like other children.
They can live a normal life.
They are intelligent and capable of great things.