What Is Attention Deficit Disorder?

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), also known as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is a disorder with serious consequences. Children, adolescents and adults who have ADD exhibit significant inconsistencies and difficulties in their focus and attention to tasks and assignments, resulting in excessive frustration, stress and problems with follow-through.

Distractibility and impulsivity are typically associated with attention deficit disorders, while hyperactivity may or may not be present. In addition, learning problems and/or specific learning disabilities as well as self-esteem issues can accompany ADD. Left undiagnosed and untreated, ADD can negatively impact on an individual’s psychological/emotional well-being, sense of self-worth and overall achievement in life.

The three categories of ADD:

• Predominantly Inattentive
• Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive
• Combined Type

Symptoms between the categories often overlap. The first category emphasizes inattention without impulsivity or hyperactivity while the second category encompasses overactive, motor-driven behavior. More children fit the Hyperactive/Impulsive category, while adults are more likely to suffer from the Inattentive type.

Through proper assessment and therapy, ADD can be managed to help children and adults lead normal, productive lives.

Causes, Symptoms and Effects:

In most cases, ADD is hereditary, but it can also result from trauma, such as fetal alcohol problems, oxygen deprivation, Encephalitis, Meningitis and head injuries. ADD has a strong neurochemical basis. Research links ADD to a dopamine deficiency. Lower levels of the neurotransmitter, or chemical, known as dopamine in the frontal lobes of ADD sufferers result in reduced activity in this part of the brain as determined by studies of electrical activity (QEEG), blood flow and glucose metabolism. ADD also is characterized by increased slow brain wave activity (theta and/or alpha waves associated with inattentiveness and daydreaming)and decreased fast brain wave activity (sensorimotor (SMR) and/or beta waves associated with concentration, attention and task completion).

Typical ADD Symptoms:

• Short or Inconsistent Attention Span
• Distractibility
• Poor Organizational Skills
• Learning Difficulties
• Underachievement or "Compensatory" Overachievement
• Poor Concentration and Follow-through
• Difficulty Following Directions
• Low Frustration Tolerance
• Impulsivity
• Hyperactivity (may or may not be present)
• Restlessness
• Moodiness and Irritability
• Low Self-esteem
• Inadequate Problem-solving Skills
• Problems with Authority

Adult Attention Deficit Disorder

Adult Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, is a chronic condition starting in early childhood and persisting throughout a person's lifetime. Most children with ADD will continue to have significant ADHD-related symptoms as adults, often affecting their education, employment, and relationship experiences. However, unlike their childhood counterparts, some adults may develop a means to compensate for their condition in order to adapt to their particular environment, making the diagnosis less apparent.

Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder suffer from challenges of self-regulation and self-motivation, generally leading to problems with distractibility, procrastination, organization, and prioritization in daily life. Many adults with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder are generally aware of their condition, feeling like "something is wrong," but a formal diagnosis of ADHD by a trained professional is essential to establishing a treatment plan. Additionally, establishing a diagnosis frequently offers adults with ADHD the insight about their own behaviors and lifestyle so they can start making changes to address their condition.

However, every normal adult exhibits ADHD-like symptoms occasionally (when tired or stressed, for example). A true diagnosis of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder requires symptoms present from childhood, persistently interfering with an individual's life - work, school, and interpersonal relationships.

Testing for ADD

Proper testing and accurate evaluation is critical to an effective treatment.

Dr. Silverman’s practice, the Center for Attention Deficit and Learning Disorders, provides comprehensive multi-modal assessments to diagnose ADD, learning disorders, learning disabilities, emotional problems, and school and home difficulties.

Dr. Silverman uses Continuous Performance Tests (CPT), including the Conners' Continuous Performance Test, The Test of Variables
of Attention (T.O.V.A.) and The T.O.V.A.-A, (The Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA) and The Gordon Diagnostic Systems as well as other psychological tests.

To see if ADD or ADHD is a possibility, please try our online rating scale and test.

Testing with Brain Maps and QEEG

QEEG or Quantitative Electroencephalography is becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis of ADD and its 11 different
QEEG classifications. It is often used in diagnosis and treatment plans to determine the best and most economical protocols for Neurofeedback treatment for ADD as well as for other disorders.

Psychologists, Neurologists, and Neurotherapists are using QEEG to determine the extent of loss of function in head injuries, and to diagnose learning disabilities, depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety issues. Topographic brain maps of the entire brain are produced which show areas of depressed function and abnormalities which need to be addressed using neurofeedback treatment.

Recorded from 19-channels,the resulting EEG data are computer processed to provide a statistical analysis of brain electrical activity. In turn, these data are presented in visual forms such as "brain maps" and other images which show the ways in which different areas of the brain are functioning.

When applied to a database, a precise determination of whether the brain is functioning within a "normal" pattern
for a persons age, sex and handedness, or if there is another type of functioning which might need clinical attention.

SampleBrain Map

The most important use of the QEEG is to provide a guide, brain maps, for use in correcting abnormal brain functioning through Neurofeedback training.