Does anyone else think ADHD and ADD really arn't real?

ok. well my bf and his brother both claim they have ADHD and ADD. i looked at what the definition of it is, and its just children who act immature for their age and have a trouble concentrating! i mean who doesnt have a problem with that? i think the whole thing is just made up so parents dont have to deal with their kids. anyone else agree?

ADHD can seem not real when you just look at the symptoms but there is a lot more to it than that. ADHD is not just something someone can say they have, this is a serious medical condition that can only be diagnosed by a doctor. Have those who are telling you they have the condition been properly diagnosed by a doctor?

It is not just children who act immature for their age. This is a condition that effects not just children but adults as well.

The problem is that there is a part of your brain that is responsible for self control and focus, if you have ADHD then this part of the brain is not functioning properly and it is much harder to behave well and concentrate than for most people.

Yes, everyone does have a problem with this from time to time, but those with true ADHD have constant and severe problems in this area.

Any part of the body can dysfunction. When the eyes dysfunction you struggle to see, when the ears dysfunction you struggle to hear. The brain is also a part of the body and any part of the brain can dysfunction as well. Like when the learning part of the brain dysfunctions you have learning problems. This is exactly the same for the behavior part of the brain, it can dysfunction too. And when it does there is ADHD.

It is certainly not made up so parents dont have to deal with their kids because the opposite is true. Once a child is diagnosed with ADHD the parent will find they have to do much, much more work than before. It is also not a way to excuse bad behavior because parents of an ADHD child have to be much stricter on their kids than normal kids because of the condition.

I know its real. My brother was diagnosed as a child with it, and he is 31, so this was some time ago, before it even became well known. He was on a special diet, he had to avoid things like tomatoes and chocolate, it made it worse. In the summer he attended special programs at the NI-MH(National Institute for Mental Health). He was also on special medication. He is very smart, he was even in a magnet school for TAG(talented and gifted) children, but his attention span was so short he was kicked out of the school, and went back to regular school.

The good thing is that by the time his teen years came, he no longer needed medication, and he finished school and now is happily married and holds down a pretty good job. These conditions are real, if children get the proper help early enough, they can be helped, and avoid needing this assistance as adults. However, I have noticed that some people are quick to medicate without finding out the root cause, which sometimes are discipline problems.

My daughter is in the process of being diagnosed.

If you spent a day with her you would know what it is like to have to deal with such disorders. Believe you me, I wish she was like other children. My daughter has to go through life wondering why she annoys people, why they do not want to be with her for very long and why she will find it difficult to sustain a meaningful relationship with someone when she is older. I really did not want this, and I hope she is not diagnosed with this condition.

I have five children, she is the only one with extreme behaviour.

Yes and no. It definitely is real and perhaps might suddenly have become a problem due to something such as immunizations. However, a home that is not functional can make this problem much worse and without the disfunction many of these kids could do much better. My daughter had a strong case of it but I refused to let them put a label on her because I knew that we were dealing with abuse in our home and I wasn't sure how much of the problem was that. Now that we are out she is doing great in school and with other people her age BUT I do still see the traits in her. But not enough to warrent a label.

it's real...."its just children who act immature for their age and have a trouble concentrating" what you said is partially true, but it's to the extreme where it gets in the way of their personal lives...if they really want to be sure it's adhd or add, then go to a certified doctor.

I am also skeptical about this one. I mean with other diseases you can do a blood test or something and know without a doubt that the person has it.

With ADD and ADHD it comes down to the opinion of a doctor who may be right or wrong.

No, my little sister and my mother both have ADD and of course they'd never want something like that. Some people claim they do for that excuse, but no, people really do have it.

I think ADD and ADHD are real but not as common as we think. I think due to the lack of attention span that children have today doctors confuse ADD and ADHD with people who just have a short attention span.

Although i have seen the differences in my nephew on and off his medication., I still sometimes wonder, he can be very manipulative for a 13 yr old.

I think they are real but not all children who are diagnosed have them people have children and expect them to behave a certain way and when they don't look for something to blame.

No...I think it's real. I had an ex-boyfriend who had it and refused to take medication....my God....so annoying.