Does ADD Really Exist?
Some people question whether ADD really exists. A lot of people are forgetful or disorganized or distractible. Does this mean that they all have ADD? Perhaps ADD is just a faddish diagnosis of the month or an excuse for irresponsibility or laziness.
It’s true that everyone exhibits a few ADD symptoms from time to time. It’s also true that everyone sometimes has symptoms of pneumonia – like cough, fever, and headache. But pneumonia is different from a cold in a number of ways.
- its symptoms are much more severe and numerous than those of a cold
- its effect on a person’s life is much greater than that of a cold
- patients with pneumonia respond to treatment designed to treat pneumonia
In addition, ADD starts in childhood and get more troublesome whenever demands on the person get greater, like in high school, college, work, or child care. They can also add to the burden of life in older age if mental functions weaken for other reasons.
ADD Symptoms Are More Numerous and Severe
The symptoms of ADD include
- procrastination
- memory problems
- distractibility
- reading problems
- a tendency to interrupt others when they are talking
- poor organization
- lateness and missing appointments
- difficulties prioritizing
- problems with focusing and maintaining concentration
- trouble following a conversation
- difficulty completing tasks
Having a few of these symptoms is like having a cold. Living with six or seven symptoms like these all the time is like having walking pneumonia.
The Effects of ADD Symptoms on People’s Lives Is Greater
But it is not just the number of symptoms that makes ADD different. For a person to qualify for the diagnosis, the symptoms should be so severe that they cause significant impairment in functioning in work, schooling, social life, and/or family life. This impairment can lead to
- failures at work despite good intelligence and good intention
- relationship problems
- problems with the law including multiple speeding tickets and fender-benders
- school grades much lower than should be expected in relationship to the person’s intelligence and hours of studying
Specific Medications Reduce or Eliminate the Symptoms of ADD
Hundreds of published research studies have clearly shown that there are a few medications that can virtually eliminate or significantly help elimiate ADD symptoms. These medications only rarely have a beneficial effect on people whose symptoms are caused by laziness or irresponsibility.
Other Reasons to Believe that ADD Exists
Certain genes are found much more often among people with ADD. Studies of identical twins and family members have also given strong evidence that ADD symptoms result from a specific biological disorder and not from a voluntary choice to be forgetful or irresponsible or inefficient. Brain scans have also found consistent differences between people with ADD and those without it.
So, Does ADD Really Exist?
People with ADD have a specific set of symptoms that are more numerous and severe than those of most other people. Heredity studies, brain scans, and hundreds of carefully designed and published research studies that found a positive response of people with ADD to treatment with stimulants. These findings all support the idea that ADD is a real and treatable disorder. What’s more, it is generally agreed that no psychological disorder responds to treatment as well and as quickly.
It is time to move past the issue of whether ADD exists and instead focus on how to make sure that people who suffer with it can get the help they need to make their lives more productive, successful, and enjoyable.
