Autism, ADHD and ADD Information and Facts

This series of articles covers Autism, ADHD, and ADD facts and information including guides for parents with autistic children.

What is the difference between ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder - Inattentive) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity)?

ADD - is Attention Deficit Disorder Inattentive Type without hyperactivity.

ADHD - is Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity. Adults are usually classified as ADD due to symptoms of hyperactivity diminishing with age. There are two main types of ADHD - Inattentive and Hyperactive.

A person or child can be withdrawn, shy and quiet. Children with symptoms of both inattentive and hyperactive type are diagnosed as "combined type" ADHD. ADD technically is ADHD and vice versa.

ADHD and Autism Articles

Causes of ADD or ADHD
While many people consider ADD or ADHD to be caused by many social factors, i.e. bad parenting, video games, poor schools, etc., research is clear that the social causes have no merit with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

ADD What Should I ask the Doctor
Even within the medical profession there is some debate as to the actual causes of ADD in children and adults. Some say that the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine is the culprit. This particular brain chemical control the cognitive functions of the brain and can greatly affect awareness, judgment memory and the ability to concentrate on tasks.

Lack of Eye Contact May Predict Level of Disability in Children with Autism
By age 2, children with autism show unusual patterns of eye contact compared with typically developing children. This symptom appears to be related to a child's level of impairment and may be a useful biomarker for diagnosing autism at an earlier age.

ADHD Diagnosis In Crisis
Parents and natural health practitioners across the United States are beginning to question the number of ADD/ADHD diagnoses that are occurring.

Autism and Body Language
Body language is the second form of communication that humans use to express their wants and emotions. As with speech, the autistic child has difficulty or no skill at all deciphering what a person is saying with facial expressions or body language.

Financial Burden of an Autistic Child
After you get over the shock of an autistic diagnosis you and your spouse will probably be overwhelmed with all the information and misinformation there is about the disorder.

Alternative Treatments for Autism
If you are a parent of an autistic child, you might want to check into alternative treatments. If there is any chance of success or improvement in your child's ability to communicate better or to have better social skills there is no harm in giving it a try.

ADHD Children and the Effects of Sleep Disorders
In this excerpt, Dr. Michael Breus shares on children and sleep disorders, including ADD and ADHD.

Coping with Aggression in your Autistic Child
One of the common symptoms in children with autism is aggressive behavior. Aggression can occur in many different ways. Physical aggression can be directed toward you, other children, the child him or herself, or even toward inanimate objects.

Early Indicators: High Functioning Autism and Aspergers Syndrome
Children with high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome are often misdiagnosed and underserved in our country. The difficulty in understanding and acknowledging autism, primarily high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, by the medical, psychological, and psychiatric community, can lead to misdiagnosis and even failure to provide the services needed for students (Autism Today, 2007).

Life and Health: Developmental Disorders
In 2007 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 1 in 150 eight-year-old children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This shocking life and health statistic spurred a barrage of debates: are the elevated numbers simply the result of improved diagnosis or is something else"perhaps something society is doing"causing an increase in ASDs?

Neurofeedback in ADHD
There are many leading ADHD researchers who come out very strongly against Neurofeedback as a treatment for ADHD. Their main complaint against Neurofeedback is that the research is not well done.

Famous People with Aspergers Syndrome
The difficulty in understanding and acknowledging autism, primarily high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, by the medical, psychological, and psychiatric community, can lead to misdiagnosis and even failure to provide the services needed for students (Autism Today, 2007).

ADHD Non-Drug Treatments
Although medications are commonly used to treat ADHD, there are a range of non-drug treatments that can manage the symptoms. Some of these treatments are used in conjunction with medications.

ADHD Parenting Tips
Parenting ADHD children can be stressful, frustrating and overwhelming. ADHD children have a shorter attention span than other kids and they often anger easily when they don't get their way. Parenting through these difficulties will help raise a happy, healthy child. Here are 9 ADHD parenting tips to help you cope with and support your ADHD child.

Toxic Anti Perspirant Deodorants
In the last two years I have lost three friends to breast cancer and have had my own personal mammogram scare. Fortunately the biopsy was benign but even so it was a pretty traumatic experience and I began to wonder what on earth is going on.

What is Autism?
Autism, which is sometimes also referred to Childhood Autism, Early Infantile Autism, or Kanner's Autism, is caused by some neurological malfunction that causes marked delays in the development in the areas of communication and social interaction.

Ritalins Better Side
I don't think that stimulants are being pushed too hard, but I do think that they are not being used properly. The main advantage of stimulants, like Ritalin, is that they help control the child's symptoms so that other interventions will be more effective. For the most part, this is not how stimulants are being used.

The Role of Essential Fatty Acids in ADHD
Since fatty acid deficiency plays a significant role in other psychiatric conditions, it was thought that it might be involved in ADHD. There is good reason to suspect this. Symptoms of fatty acid deficiency include eczema, dry skin, asthma, thirst, frequent urination, and allergies. It just so happens that all of these symptoms are common in ADHD children.

Treating ADHD and Reading Disorders
About 30% of children with ADHD also have some form of reading disorder, such as dyslexia. Recently, a study was done to examine whether or not ADHD treatment helped these children with their reading problems.

Autism ADHA and DTP Vaccines
Medical experts argue that only several hundred of the thousands of babies inoculated had adverse reactions, but the DTP vaccine is only the tip of the iceberg.

How to Win the ADHD Battle
ADHD most frequently is first initially addressed through the school system. Educators and psychologists recognize that the diagnosis of disorders such as ADHD is usually subjective, that is, it depends upon the interpretation of the one who is diagnosing the child and there is no accurate physical test such as a blood test or brain scan that can determine if a child has a disorder such as ADHD.

Autism and Aspergers Syndrome
Aspergers syndrome is a form of autism that was defined by an Austrian pediatrician over 50 years ago. People with Aspergers syndrome are usually at this more 'able' end of the spectrum.

Should I put my Autistic child on Risperdal?
Risperdal has just recently in October 2006 been FDA approved for the treatment of irritability in Autism

Is there a Cure for Autism?
I believe that we are on the brink of a cure for autism, infact, the organization Cure Autism Now who has committed $35 million for research grants and scientific resources, states on their website that " We believe that a cure will be found for this generation of children with autism."

Sensory Overload in Spectrum and Executive Functioning Disorders
We are almost constantly at the mercy of our ever-fluctuating sensory reactions, with our emotional valve systems either fully open, or fully closed.  We are rarely at an emotional calm, within our own person.  We tend to have delayed response times, while we process information, and can have some difficulty organizing and retrieving thoughts, words, answers, or responses.

ADHD - Marriage and Relationship
This is another look at a different aspect of ADHD/ADD which is the effect it can have on relationships. Now, my marriage broke down but this was nothing to do with Jack although it had an enormous effect on his life.

Autism Can be a Reason to Worry
Most autistic individuals like routine so if you show them how to do something properly from the start then they are likely to do it that way forever.

Love Is The Best ADHD Treatment Not Ritalin

Understanding Tantrums with Autism Spectrum Disorders
It is no wonder that many adults diagnosed with Attention Deficits or Asperger’s Syndrome are first diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders.

Teaching Organizational Skills
Been there?  Done that?  Lost dozens?  Using a day planner is one of the most essential coping skills that a student with attentional issues or disorganization struggles can develop; however, it is also a skill that they must practice and develop over time.  Actually, using a day planner is not a single skill, but involves a set of skills that can be worked on one-by-one.

Experience Attention Deficits Through the Eyes of a Child
Author Michelle Fattig will be interviewed on Chicago radio station, Autism One Radio, August 14, 2007 by author and host Rhonda Brunett. The Annie Books are a must read for parents, educators, students, and professionals experiencing the challenges of Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficit Disorders.

Assessing ADHD
Assessing whether a certain individual is suffering from Attention Deficit with HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER or not is far harder than it appears to laymen like ourselves.

ADHD Treatment: Adderall Side Effects
Adderall is commonly used to treat ADHD symptoms. In the beginning, Adderall was sold under another name as 'Obetrol'. It was prescribed to help people in weight and dietary control.

Developmental Disability - Delay
I have been working with children with developmental problems for a few years. I use the term developmental problems to encompass everything from Developmental Disability to Developmental Delay and even more. Developmental Disability includes Autism, Asperger's, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and other diagnoses.

Aspergers Syndrome - Is there a Cure
If you know of a child who is having a greater degree of language impairment than other children or has diminished communication skills and also exhibits a restrictive pattern of thought and behavior, they may have Asperger's syndrome.

Website Lists Best Places to Live for Autism Support and Services
According to study results released earlier this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism now affects one in every 150 children in the United States.

TV Implicated in Autism Rise in US
In an interesting and unorthodox study, researchers have determined that television viewing might be one cause of the dramatic rise in autism cases in the United States.

Detecting Signs of Autism in Your Child
As parents we are on constant lookout for any sign of abnormal development such as autism in our children and of course it is so easy to jump to the wrong conclusions. A child will go through many phases and being able to spot anything abnormal is very difficult.

Are ADD Drugs Addictive?
It is one of the biggest issues in the world of science today. ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders among children, although it also occurs in adults. It leads to symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control, and distractibility.

ADHD and Nutrition
The U.S. Surgeon General has defined ADHD as a metabolic form of encephalopathy. The disease weakens the release and homeostasis of neurological chemicals, reducing the function of the limbic system.

Autism Research and Education
Most researchers believe that there are no definite reasons for autism to develop. It is more often than not genetically inherited. Also this disorder can be caused due to inappropriate before and after birth conditions. Any kind of damage caused to the brain can lead to autism.

Signs and Symptoms of ADD
The first step is understanding that hyperactivity is not synonymous with Attention Deficit Disorder. While a child may exhibit an increased level of activity with this disorder, it is not an inherent factor of ADD.