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Editorial Are of importance for parents to know our

children and when they suffer from

psychological disorders, many of them do not

realize ignore the symptoms, since they are less

clear and more in children, when it comes to

hyperactivity disorders and attention deficit,

because it is very normal for a child to behave

inappropriately but not on all occasions. so we

as parents have a duty to educate and

desarrolarles his attention at an early age. for

that reason we will present you here the

disorder and its causes poibles.

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Is your child

hyperactive?

Many children are labelled as 'hyperactive' but the disorder is rarely

explained fully. Psychotherapist Frances Campbell takes us through some of

the symptoms and treatments of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in

pre-teen children

Spotting the signs

We often hear children described as hyperactive, but what exactly does this

mean? Most happy, normal children have a lot of energy, so how do you

distinguish between an excited child and someone suffering from ADHD

(Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)? The answer is that it can be

difficult.

This disorder can vary in intensity and most children will express some of

the symptoms some of the time. Unfortunately, there are no specific tests

for ADHD, so a diagnosis is based on the child's behaviour.

Below are some of the symptoms exhibited by children suffering from

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. It should be stressed though, that

the condition is revealed differently in each child.

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Lack of concentration

The name of this disorder gives us an obvious clue as to one of the major

symptoms. Children suffering from an Attention Deficit Hyperactive

Disorder find it difficult to concentrate and tend to be extremely restless.

They won't be able to stay seated for long and can't settle down to tasks or

play. Of course, anyone who's worked with pre-teens would rightly say that

this description covers a lot of the kids they deal with, so how else can we

spot something is wrong?

Unusually aggressive

One of the best ways to tell if a child is hyperactive is to watch how he or

she behaves with contemporaries. Children with ADHD find it difficult to

relate accurately to those around them. For example, if they come up

against one of the normal frustrations in playing a game, they can become

unduly irritable or aggressive with their playmates. So fighting often, for

little apparent reason, would be a possible indication of ADHD.

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Dopamine is believed to play a major role in the manifestation

of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which

affects 3-6% of school-age children and shows evidence of

familiarity. The dopamine D4 receptor, which is preferentially

distributed in cortical and limbic regions of the brain, is

currently of major interest because of the high degree of

functionally relevant variability in its gene (DRD4), and the

association of this gene with Novelty Seeking behavior. We

examined the variability in the length of a region of DRD4 that

contains a 48-bp repeat sequence in children with ADHD and

controls matched for ethnicity.ADHD children differed from

controls in that the 7-fold repeat form of DRD4 occurred

significantly more frequently than in the control sample. This

form of the receptor has previously been shown to mediate a

blunted intracellular response to dopamine. Although ADHD is

likely to be multifactorial in its etiology and its heritability is

likely to be polygenetic, the present findings suggest that

polymorphic variation in the gene encoding the D4 dopamine

receptor may be a contributing factor in the expression of

symptoms associated with ADHD.

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The Hyperactive Children's Support Group (HCSG) is an

organisation with over 70 branches in Britain devoted to

helping such children and their families. We have carried out a

detailed survey of the characteristics of many of our children

and their families and have studied the literature in detail. We

have come to the conclusion that many of these children have

a deficiency of essential fatty acids (EFAs) either because they

cannot metabolise linoleic acid normally, or because they

cannot absorb EFAs normall from the gut, or because their EFA

requirements are higher than normal. The main pieces of

evidence are: 1. Most of the food constituents which cause

trouble in these children are weak inhibitors of the conversion

of EFAs to prostaglandins (PGs). 2. Boys are much more

commonly affected than girls and males are known to have

much higher requirements for EFAs than females. 3. A high

proportion of our children have abnormal thirst and thirst is

one of the cardinal signs of EFA deficiency. 4. Many of our

children have allergies and asthma which some reports

suggest can be alleviated by EFAs. 5. Many of our children are

deficient in zinc which is required for conversion of EFAs to

PGs. 6. Some of our children are badly affected by wheat and

milk which are known to give rise to exorphins in the gut

which can block conversion of EFAs to PGEl. A preliminary

study of EFA supplementation in a number of our children has

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Parents may blame themselves when a child is diagnosed

with ADHD, but the causes likely have more to do with

inherited traits than parenting choices. At the same time,

certain environmental factors may contribute to or worsen a

child's behavior. Although there's still a lot that isn't known

about ADHD, several factors may cause it:

Altered brain function and anatomy: While the exact cause

of ADHD remains a mystery, brain scans have revealed

important differences in the structure and brain activity of

people with ADHD. For example, there appears to be less

activity in the areas of the brain that control activity levels

and attention.

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Heredity: ADHD tends to run in families. Several genes that

may be associated with ADHD are currently being studied.

Maternal smoking, drug use and exposure to toxins:

Pregnant women who smoke are at increased risk of having

children with ADHD. Alcohol or drug abuse during

pregnancy may reduce activity of the nerve cells (neurons)

that produce neurotransmitters. Pregnant women who are

exposed to environmental poisons also may be more likely to

have children with symptoms of ADHD.

Childhood exposure to environmental toxins: Preschool

children exposed to certain toxins are at increased risk of

developmental and behavioral problems. Exposure to lead,

which is found mainly in paint and pipes in older buildings,

has been linked to disruptive and even violent behavior and

to a short attention span.

Food additives: Substances added to food, such as artificial

coloring or food preservatives, may contribute to hyperactive

behavior. Although sugar is a popular suspect in causing

hyperactivity, there's no reliable proof of this.

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http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/ds00275/dsection=causes

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/complete-

index.shtml

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0306987781900141

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