About ADD: Symptoms and Treatment Options

What is ADD:

Young boy with ADD

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is a disorder that is applied mainly to children and sometimes adults who consistently find it difficult to inhibit spontaneous responses over at least a six month period.

Symptoms of ADD:

1. Short attention span making focus and concentration difficult.
2. Inability to complete a task, especially tasks that are uninteresting.
3. Easily distracted while doing activities and tasks.
4. Impulsive.
5. Difficulty turning in paper and assignments.
6. Often misses or overlooks details.
7. Loses or forgets important things.
8. Has difficulty waiting in lines.
9. Says or does things without thinking through the consequence.
10. Blurts out answers.

It is important to note that everyone may experience one or a few of these symptoms. Seek out help if any of the above symptoms become debilitating and interfere with normal daily life.

Treatment options for ADD
There are various treatment options for ADD. First, is to medicate. Usually medicine is more accessible to the general population than other forms of treatment. It is also highly recommended by pediatricians because that is what they do... prescribe medication. Although medication can be a great "quick fix" there are also many side affects such as loss of appetite which leads to malnutrition, dulled personality that is often described as being like a zombie, and sleep difficulties.

A second option is neurofeedback which is a non-invasive approach that can help improve ADD permanently. It is becoming more popular due to people wanting an alternative method to medication.  Neurofeedback is a way to retrain different areas of the brain that regulate impulse control and executive functions. A benefit to neurofeedback is that there are no side affects. On the opposite side, neurofeedback does not give immediate day to day result when you first start training which can be difficult for parents to manage. 

Last, research shows that alterations to diet can improve certain behavior in those whom are diagnosed with ADD. Simply reducing certain foods such as processed sugar and red food dye and adding enzymes and vitamins can reduce or eliminate them all together. A benefit to changing your or a child's diet is that there is no harm to it!