Approximately 5 to 10% of children between the ages of 6 and 18 years are affected by Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Boys are 3 to 4 times more affected than girls. For a long time people believed that ADHD occurs solely during childhood. But in 30% of the affected children the symptoms persist – possibly in a milder form -, frequently combined with additional psychiatric disorders as depressions, anxiety disorders or dependencies. Adults with ADHD are often not diagnosed until a diagnosis has been made for one of their children.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder is a neurobiological brain function disorder, which often causes significant implications for the affected person’s professional and private life. It is presumed that this condition is caused by an imbalance between individual neurotransmitters leading to disturbed information processing between different areas of the brain, which are responsible for concentration, conception, and impulse control.
Hence new information can be less well filtered and the persons affected become constantly over-stimulated. They are struggling to distinguish what is important from what is unimportant and is hard for them to focus on main points. Due to the high rate of occurrence within families a genetic predisposition does probably exist, but birth asphyxia and other environmental influences are said to be contributing elements, too.