To reserve your seat at any of these lectures, call the Health Awareness Program at 6319. Attention deficit disorder, or ADD, is typically thought of as a childhood problem that disappears with age, but kids with the condition most often continue to show symptoms into adulthood. We do know that ADD is two or three times more common in males and that it always begins in childhood and continues into adulthood. There is strong evidence that ADD has a hereditary link, too. People with ADD are easily distracted, have difficulty staying focused on one task or thought, are impulsive, and sometimes hyperactive or restless.
Hyperactivity is less prevalent among girls, who instead often seem quietly distracted or spacey.
When they grow up, they often leave a trail of unfinished chores and tasks around the house and move from job to job. While there is no cure for ADD, treatment for adults includes medication, counseling and behavior therapy, or a combination of all three. Counseling can involve educating adults about their condition, teaching them coping skills and aiding them in dealing with the anger and grief that is often associated with a diagnosis of ADD in adulthood. They feel they should have been able to do something about their condition sooner, in order to spare themselves and their loved ones years of pain and worry. Counseling can help them get past these feelings.