There are a whole lot of ideas floating around out there about ADHD. It can be difficult to discern what is fact from what is fiction. Do you think you know a lot about ADHD? How well can you separate the myths from the facts? Read and consider the following ideas, and decide if they are true, or false.
ADHD is caused by bad parenting. True, or false?
False. This may be the most widely believed myth about ADHD that exists. Any child who has parents who are inconsistent, neglectful, who are too harsh, or who are too lenient will very likely exhibit some behaviors in response to the type of care that the child has received.
Children who already have ADHD and also have ineffective parents may exhibit more noticeable behaviors as a result of that parent’s lack of care. However, bad parenting is not actually a causal factor for ADHD. Conversely, one cannot conclude that the fact that a particular child has ADHD automatically means that his or her parents are “bad”.
Eating too much sugar causes ADHD. True, or false?
False. There have been many studies regarding hyperactivity and sugar. A study in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that moms who thought their child consumed sugar rated their kid’s behaviors as much more hyperactive than moms who were told their child consumed a sugar substitute. This was the result whether or not the child in question had actually eaten anything with sugar in it. People have this perception that ADHD is caused when a child eats too much sugar, but this simply isn’t true.
ADHD is something that a person will outgrow. True or false?
This one is both true and false, depending on the person. Around 70% of children who have ADHD will continue to experience symptoms of ADHD through their teen years. About half of kids who are diagnosed with ADHD as a child will continue to experience symptoms of ADHD through their adult life. In other words, you shouldn’t expect that all children who have ADHD will suddenly grow out of it. However, there are a few who are lucky enough to have that happen, statistically speaking.
Kids have ADHD because of their genetics. True or false?
True. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that ADHD is a genetically heritable disease. Kids who have ADHD are four times as likely to have relatives who also have ADHD than are kids who do not have this particular psychiatric disorder. There are ongoing studies that seem to indicate that children who have ADHD are more likely to have missing or duplicated pieces of DNA than the average population would have. Genetic inheritance really does play a big part in the potential of a child to have ADHD.
Image by Uwe Hermann on Flickr