What is ADHD?

A June 2005 report released by the Center for Disease Control indicated that about five percent of children in the United States suffer from difficulties with emotions, concentration, behavior, and getting along with others. These children and their parents and caregivers are often upset and distressed by these difficulties and require support and services. Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) make up a significant proportion of this group.

Hardly a day goes by that there isn't an article published in a local newspaper, national magazine, or on the Internet about ADHD. Television talk show hosts have addressed the topic and professional journals and texts in psychology and medicine contain numerous research papers on this disorder. Parent support groups have been forming since the mid-1980's throughout the world to assist families of inattentive and hyperactive children and provide a forum by which parents could exchange information and experiences about raising a child affected by ADHD. In the past ten years, interest in ADHD in adulthood has skyrocketed as we have become aware that this is not just a childhood disorder, but one that can significantly impact the lives of adults as well.

Some of the fervor about ADHD has to do with the medication controversy surrounding the treatment of ADHD. Perhaps interest in the disorder is being generated by parents advocating on behalf of their children to ensure their rights to quality education. Perhaps more attention is being paid to ADHD because we've come to realize that it has very important long-range consequences as we learn that it can have a serious impact on the educational achievement, career attainment, mental health, and overall quality of life of sufferers. No matter the reason for all this interest, it can only do some good. It's hard enough to raise children these days, let alone children with ADHD. Both the parents of children with ADHD, and the children themselves, need help.

Most parents of children with ADHD feel alone. As awareness of ADHD grew, parents found information and support in books, articles, and on the Internet. They realized that the problems they and their child experienced were not unique. Mothers, in particular, and especially mothers of young children with ADHD who are hyperactive and impulsive, frequently feel estranged from other parents. Feelings of parental self-doubt, despondency, and loneliness can easily develop. When these parents meet other parents of children with ADHD, an immediate bond is formed by virtue of a common understanding. The loneliness begins to lessen. Many of these parents describe very similar experiences.

"Whenever we go out to a restaurant, my husband and I spend most of our time reminding Jessica to sit still. She's just impossible to take anywhere. She's always going ninety miles an