Attention Deficit Disorder
Although this topic might be a bit played out as of recent years, I believe that it required a second look. This week I went on the web and retrieved a document of the subject of Attention Deficit Disorder. Although I have heard the term thrown about a bit on the news a further inquiry on its exact causes would help with this weeks topic.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) [http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm] is a pamphlet written by Sharyn Neuirth. The subsection read for this week’s topic was the causes of ADHD. She stated that it is not the parents’ fault for the children to come about with ADHD. The first reaction that many parents have to their child’s diagnosis with ADHD is self blame.
Neuirth cited many reasons for the children to develop ADHD. She stated, however, that scientists are still investigating and validating/invalidating different causes of ADHD. She stressed two such invalidations: brain damage, and the consumption of certain foods. Both of these long standing theories were dismissed due to their minimal impact on the actual populous with ADHD.
Later Neuirth went on to state several definite causes of ADHD. Although, I say several, it is really one cause. Consumption of illegal/harmful drugs. She mentioned crack, cocaine, and alcohol among others.
Upon reading this, I thought to myself... well, actually, then it is the parents’ fault... for using these drugs while they were pregnant. The child would never have had to deal with this had it come from a normal family. I don’t quite know if she considered, or even realised, this while compiling the pamphlet for the NMIH.