Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or what’s more generally referred to as ADD, or ADHD and is one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed diseases in the world.

The fact is that most people do not understand ADD signs symptoms and would not recognize someone with it.

I hope that this article and the series to follow will educate you about ADD signs symptoms, what it is, and how it’s diagnosed, how it’s treated and several other topics that hopefully will aid in your awareness and understanding of this disease.

ADD is a condition where the person with it is unable to maintain attention for an extended period of time.

Other symptoms of ADD are impulsive behavior and motor restlessness. It is said that about 4.4% of all adults have ADD.

ADD is classified as a neurobiological disorder caused by problems in the dopamine neurotransmitter systems in the brain.

IMost cases of ADD are inherited. If a parent or close blood relative has ADD then there’s a 30% chance that a child will have ADD.

Studies of twins show that if one twin has ADD there is a 50% chance that the other twin will also have ADD.

Poor nutrition is not the cause of ADD as it was once believed. It is also not caused by bad parenting, drugs or allergies.

Other medical conditions may cause symptoms similar to ADD such as severe head trauma, thyroid problems, foetal alcohol syndrome and lead intoxication, so it is important to do a thorough analysis in order to determine if the individual has ADD and not one of these other problems.

What happens with ADD is that when a individual doesn’t get enough neuro-chemicals, or in other words, the brain is not being properly stimulated, it tries to come up with ways to increase their release.

Things such as movement, physical activity, focusing on things that are stimulating or doing anything that causes stimulation are various ways that people with ADD stimulate their brains.

In a sense this is more a reflex to their not getting the right neuro-chemicals and not so much a conscious act, which is the reason that people with ADD act in these ways and really can’t control their actions.

The problems this action causes is that people with ADD, when confronted with a situation that doesn’t stimulate them, such as school assignments, and then center their attention on something that does stimulate them.

When this happens the school assignment is not attended to and this results in poor performance in the classroom.

Other problems related with people who have ADD is that they have difficulty with personal relationships and staying employed.

People with ADD may do things to stimulate themselves that are actually reckless and dangerous and therefore may further complicate their lives with legal troubles.

This is the first article in the series of ADD signs symptoms next we’ll discuss how to find out if somebody has ADD and if diagnosed what measures can be followed to treat it.

If you know someone who has ADD then tell them about this article