Trauma and traumatic stress, according to a growing body of research, are closely associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD). Trauma and adversity can alter the brain's architecture, especially in children, which may partly explain their link to the development of ADHD.
Many people think that ADHD is a result of trauma, but is it true? The answer is yes, but more for some people than others. The truth is that 90% of the time ADHD is not caused by trauma, but if the trauma is extreme enough, it can cause severe ADHD-like symptoms.
More than 20 genetic studies have shown evidence that ADHD is strongly inherited. Yet ADHD is a complex disorder, which is the result of multiple genetic interactions. Previously, scientists believed that maternal stress and smoking during pregnancy could increase the risk of a child developing ADHD.
Child maltreatment has consistently been found to be associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
It's a common misconception that ADHD is something that you can grow out of, develop at any stage in your life and is curable. The fact is, ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means that the brain hasn't developed neurotypically from birth.
Individuals with ADHD tend to have a deficit in self- discipline. They tend to give up easily on tasks, become quickly bored with tasks, display frequent impulsive behaviors, and have difficulty sustaining effort and attention.
Thayer's study shows that the ADHD group of children had larger and more frequent variations. Fathers with ADHD will pass this code discrepancy to offspring. Barkley explains that the heritability of ADHD runs around 80 percent. Genetics account for 80 percent of the components that define ADHD.
The Family Connection
There are genetic characteristics that seem to be passed down. If a parent has ADHD, a child has more than a 50% chance of having it. If an older sibling has it, a child has more than a 30% chance.
Barkley, PhD. “Children diagnosed with ADHD are not likely to grow out of it. And while some children may recover fully from their disorder by age 21 or 27, the full disorder or at least significant symptoms and impairment persist in 50-86 percent of cases diagnosed in childhood.
ADHD, also called attention-deficit disorder, is a behavior disorder, usually first diagnosed in childhood, that is characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and, in some cases, hyperactivity.
What is the cause or basis of ADHD? It is an impulse disorder with genetic components that results from imbalances of neurotransmitters.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders affecting children.
Trauma can make children feel agitated, troubled, nervous, and on high alert — symptoms that can be mistaken for ADHD. Inattention in children with trauma may also make them disassociate, which can look like a lack of focus — another hallmark symptom of ADHD.
Conclusions: Results suggested that ADHD cases were more commonly exposed to emotional abuse and neglect. They had significantly more dissociative experiences and reported Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms more frequently.
Bipolar disorder and ADHD. The most difficult differential diagnosis for doctors to make is between ADHD and bipolar disorder. These two conditions are often hard to distinguish because they share several symptoms, including: mood changes.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most prevalent childhood disorders today, is generally more likely to be diagnosed and treated in boys than in girls.
Most new parents suffer from symptoms that could fall under the general guidelines for a diagnosis of ADHD: lack of focus on directions, forgetfulness, disorganization, losing important items and a general sense of foggy thinking. Simply adding a fully dependent human being to your busy schedule can do some of that.
Accidents are the most common cause of death in people with ADHD, and the relative risk of dying is much higher for women than men with ADHD and individuals diagnosed in adulthood. The study is the first to shed light on the role of ADHD in premature death.
Children were assessed with neuropsychological paradigms measuring IQ, motor, timing, and executive functions. Results: Paternal and maternal ADHD were equally positively related to ADHD in offspring.
Adults and children with ADHD have lower levels of dopamine, which limits their brains ability to both recognize rewards and seek them out. This results in a lack of motivation. Without recognizing rewards, the body is unmotivated to act in any direction.
Punishing a child with ADHD for difficult behaviors is ineffective and counterproductive because they don't have the luxuries of regulating their emotions and behaviors like a neurotypical child would. Punishment only results in them feeling guilty and ashamed for what they couldn't control.
ADHD has been a subject of great controversy and debate. A number of people who have been diagnosed with the syndrome—some of them psychologists and psychiatrists—have challenged the notion that personality traits such as inattentiveness, impulsivity, and distractibility deserve the label symptoms.