A.D.H.D.

Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder - That's what it stands for. It's a mouthful! I had no clue what this was until some years ago when I started reading about it. There was a period when there was a lot of focus on A.D.H.D. in movies, talk shows, articles, you name it. Then, I began to think maybe I have ADHD and possibly almost everyone in my family has this neurological disorder.

After talking to parents and other friends, I felt every kid in a school had it and ADHD was being used as an excuse possibly by both parents, teachers and family members. So even if the kid did not actually have it he/she was getting away from being disciplined for the tantrums and bratishness.

With more reading and understanding of A.D.H.D., I’ve come to realize that we are using attention (or its lack) as a marker and a metaphor for something larger in society — for the multitasking, the electronic distractions, the sense that the nature of concentration may be changing, that people feel nibbled at, overscheduled, distracted, irritable. However, all these things are not A.D.H.D.

The actual disorder is very complex and has a lot of elements to it. There is a broad spectrum of this disorder and experts treat each patient or child differently. It is tough especially for parents who deal with children having extreme symptoms of this disorder.

I now understand how misled I was by several things I read or saw. A.D.H.D. is actually a serious issue but can be controlled by medication and other types of treatments.