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- What is ADHD?
- Symptoms of ADHD
- Causes of ADHD
- Prevention of ADHD
- Risk factors for ADHD
- Complications of ADHD
- When to see a doctor about ADHD
- Diagnosis of ADHD
- Conventional treatment of ADHD
- Alternative/complementary treatment of ADHD
- Living with ADHD
- Caring for someone with ADHD
Conventional treatment of ADHD
Conventional treatment that is recommended today uses a combination of a number of different types of therapy (including medication usually) for the treatment of this condition. The combination of therapies used will depend on each case of ADHD:
Behavioural therapy
There are various types of behavioural therapies and counselling that are used to treat ADHD (usually in conjunction with medication)
- Emotional counselling
- Family counselling
- Organisation training
- Parent skills training
- Psychotherapy
- Scheduling - how to
- Social skills training
- Time management training
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Medication
This consists of prescribing either non-stimulating or stimulating drugs depending on the symptoms of the child (or adult) suffering from ADHD:
- Stimulating drugs - these drugs are commonly used in ADHD and regulate the activity of the neurotransmitters, especially dopamine, but also norepinephrine (noradrenaline); the drugs have a specific time-span of action and can be either short-term (4-5 hours), or medium-term (6-8 hours) or long-term (10-12 hours). The most well-known drug in these class of medications is Ritalin, which has many known side effects. The side effects can be usually (but not totally) mitigated though lowering the dosage or switching to a different type of drug in the same class (different to Ritalin, but same drug type)
- Non-stimulating drugs - these drugs act as selective norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which modify the way that the neurotransmitter norepinephrine is regulated in the brain of a person suffering from ADHD and this helps to control their symptoms by reducing the level of their mental stimulation
There is quite a lot of controversy regarding the prescription of the conventional drug Ritalin (and other medications) used to treat ADHD, with advocates against Ritalin claiming that Ritalin (and similar drugs) are over prescribed and ADHD over diagnosed.
Approximately 1 in 200 children in Australia are being treated with drugs for ADHD, the most common being Ritalin (this figure is higher in the USA). Ritalin works by stimulating the central nervous system to function differently and helps concentration, but it has a great deal of side effects which may counteract the positive effects. Long term side effects of Ritalin are not yet known.
The side effects of Ritalin include - height retardation, involuntary movements, tic, hallucinations or delusions, seizures, headaches, hair loss, zombie-like behaviour.
The drugs used to treat ADHD work on norepinephrine's activity in the brain. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter, which regulates mood and level of activity. It is an excitatory neurotransmitter, which means that it excites the brain cells into activity.
Scientists believe that norepinephrine plays a big role in the development or the exacerbation of ADHD, as norepinephrine is important in regulating attention, activity and impulsiveness. Although scientists believe norepinephrine plays a role in ADHD, they are not entirely sure how it plays a role in this condition.
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