>>General Information about ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects nearly 3 to 5 percent of children in pre-school and early school years. Although the disorder was first chronicled by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman in 1845, it was Sir George F in 1902 who brought attention to the disorder by presenting a series of papers on impulsive children with behavioral problems, that are cause by genetic dysfunction and not related to child rearing practices. Since then, numerous researches had been carried on the subject that had acknowledged ADHD as a separate behavioral disorder. Children with ADHD are known to be impulsive, inattentive and hyperactive. Often these symptoms are present in most preschool and early school going children at some level. But whether the child is suffering from ADHD, it needs to be assessed by a qualified person. Studies had been done to find out the cause for ADHD, and the most recent studies have tended to point to genetics and neurobiological causes that lead to ADHD in children. Research have pointed out that use of cigarettes and alcohol during pregnancy may increase the risk of ADHD in children. ADHD may also be genetically influenced and thus may carry from one generation to next.

>> What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
Some common symptoms of ADHD can thus be child's inability to sit still, causing disruption in school routine, one that acts before thinking, or is passive, or sluggish in any group activity, and shows poor concentration. Different behavior may be noticed at different settings or time. As all these symptoms are seen in preschooler and early school going children, it may be difficult to diagnose the child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and thus may need to be shown to a clinical practitioner to realize the difference, as ADHD is difficult to diagnose. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) in its most recent version had identified three types of behavioral problems associated with ADHD.
Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type: (may not be inattentive) Some behavioral symptoms exhibited by children in this condition are the following.
* Being restless or fidgety
* Always squirming in their seats
* Always in motion, running, climbing, even in places where they have to sit still
* Answering even before the questions can be completed
* Finds it difficult to wait in queues or take turns
Predominantly inattentive type: (may not be hyperactive or impulsive) they may show a different set of behavior patterns altogether.
* Become easily distracted by any passing sight or sound.
* Inattentive to details
* Makes lots of careless mistakes
* Do not follow instructions much
* Forgetful of belongings like pencils etc
* Skips from one incomplete task to another
Combined type: (who are inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive) They show mostly all of the symptoms discussed above at some point of time.

>>How to Diagnose ADHD
To diagnose ADHD it is important to ascertain that the behavior exhibited by the child is inappropriate for his age.There are proper diagnostic guidelines available that had decided the specific symptoms that lead to ADHD.
* The behavior must appear early in life, before age of 7.
* The behavior pattern must be consistently occurring for at least six months.
* The behavior must hamper the child's educational and social development consistently for some time, may be a year or two.
Because all children do not behave in the same manner in the same situation, it is important for the parents to know from an expert about what behavior is age appropriate for the child. Only then it is possible to diagnose ADHD as behavior inappropriate for the child of that age. Parents will need to take their child to pediatrician, psychologist or psychiatrist to diagnose whether their child's suffering from ADHD or is just immature and extra playful. Among the pediatricians, psychologists or psychiatrists, neurologists and social workers, some can prescribe medicine, others may use behavioral therapies to help the child. It is important for the parents to know their child's problem and decide on the specialist most suited to meet the unique needs of the child.

>>Common behavioral Problems associated with ADHD
Children afflicted with ADHD at times have also been diagnosed with some behavioral problems.
Learning disability - 20 to 30% of children with ADHD seems to have some sort of learning disability. They may have difficulty in understanding the language or expressing it, a reading disorder called Dyslexia, often seem to accompany the ADHD in a child.
Tourette Syndrome - This is a neurological disorder where the child may show some nervous tics like blinking of eyes, facial twitches etc. or repetitive mannerisms like clearing their throats, snort, sniff etc.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder -This is expressed in terms of non-compliance, stubbornness, and defiance to parental authority and temper tantrums.
Conduct Disorder - The child shows anti-social behaviors like lying, stealing, fighting with other children in such a type of disorder.
Anxiety and Depression - The child faces these feelings as he finds himself unable to cope in the real life situations.
Bipolar Disorder - This disorder is characterized by successive feelings of elation and depression. Although difficult to diagnose in children with ADHD, this disorder is often manifested in dysfunction of moods in such children.

>>What are the Treatments of ADHD
Treatment of ADHD has two components: medication and behavior therapy. A study by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), US, has found out that long term combination treatment of both these components have helped the children with ADHD the maximum, than any of the treatments alone. In the areas of parent-child relationship, social skills, school performance etc the result was very positive. Another benefit of such a treatment combination was that children could be treated with very low doses of medicine.
Medications - For ages medics have been using medication to control children with ADHD. Broadly these medications may fall into a class of drugs called stimulants.
Some such drugs in use are:
Amphetamine like Adderall
Methylphenidate like Concerta, Metadate ER, Metadate CD, Ritalin, Ritalin SR, Ritalin LA
Pemoline like Cylert
Dextroamphetamine like Dexedrine, Dextrostat, Focalin.
Behavioral treatments - some interventions are commonly used by trained therapists to help the child with ADHD.
Some of these interventions are:
Psychotherapy - It is the process in which the therapist helps the parent and the child give vent to their feelings and come to grip with their emotions and thus heal them.
Behavioral therapy - This process is meant to help the child in directly changing his behavior to a more socially acceptable form without going into the causes of such disruptive behavior.
Social skills training - In this procedure the child is taught the social expertise required to live harmoniously with the people who make the child's social set.