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Author:
Angie Dixon

When my son was first diagnosed with ADHD and started medication, I was so caught up in the ADHD diagnosis and the treatment that I forgot to talk to him about what was going on. I started giving him medicine, and my precious, 7-year-old ADHD son said, "Is something really bad wrong with me?" We sat down right there on the edge of the tub and had The Talk.

The "You Have ADHD And It's An Illness and Not Something You Can Help" talk.

Here are some things to focus on during the talk.

1. Do a Lot of Kids Have ADHD?

On average, about 5% of kids, or 5 out of 100, have ADHD. That means, for instance, out of my son's fifth grade year at school, probably 5 kids have ADHD.

Boys usually have ADHD more than girls--boys are two to three times more likely to have ADHD than girls, but doctors have no real idea why.

2. Did I Get ADHD From One of My Parents?

It's possible. ADHD does tend to run in families, and if Mom or Dad has it, at least one kid is likely to have it. But the fact is, no one knows what causes ADHD and no one knows how to cure it.

3. Does ADHD Have Symptoms, Like a Cold?

Yes. Symptoms of ADHD include having trouble paying attention, getting distracted easily, not being able to sit still, and doing things like interrupting people when they're talking. ADHD kids lose things and forget things.

4. If I Have ADHD, What Will We Do About It?

The first step is a visit to the doctor to find out if you really have ADHD and make sure nothing else is wrong. From there, we'll talk with the doctor about treatment plans and medication and therapy.

These are some basic questions you can start with for "The Talk." Of course, you'll need to adapt the questions and answers to your particular situation, but hopefully this will help you get started.

Angie Dixon is a writer and ADHD mom of an ADHD son, Jack. For a free report on helping your ADHD son, see Angie's site "That's My Son!" at http://www.Raising-the-ADHD-boy.com

| Article Keywords: ADHD News

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to ADHD News... How Do You Get ADHD? There has been a lot of research done on how exactly you get ADHD, and it is now known that genetics is at least part of the reason. Currently, research shows that at least 30%-40% of individuals with ADHD have a family member that deals with the same kinds of issues. But this does not mean that the whole family will be affected by these issues. It appears through findings that only one member of a family will be affected by ADHD. There are still many different theories as to what exactly causes ADHD. For many years, it was thought that ADHD was caused by some kind of brain damage. It is now thought that it is caused by brain chemistry. Researchers have been looking specifically at neurotransmitters as the cause of ADHD. Examples of neurotransmitters that could be affected by this disorder are dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Because people in families tend to have similar brain wirings, it makes sense that ADHD would be at least partly genetic. Other theories that have been investigated are that ADHD could also be caused by some sort of illness or accident that caused damage to the brain. This could include complications that occur during pregnancy such as drugs used to prevent infectious diseases, overexposure to radiation or a complicated delivery. Other causes could be the use of alcohol during pregnancy. Many have questioned whether nutritional deficiencies have any link to ADHD. While it has not been ruled out, I highly doubt that a particular deficiency would cause this disorder. While it is true that certain nutritional deficiencies will cause symptoms that are similar to ADHD, there is no proof or scientific evidence that a link exists. Research experts in autism and other behavior...