November 13th, 2007
See the mind in action for good or ill
ADHD is a very complex thing. It can be active or passive, and be identified through either mood swings or dyslexia.
Diagnosis is tough, and a vital first step in dealing with the symptoms. There remain people who don’t believe it exists. There are also people who see it everywhere.
Now a new study using brain images shows the classic case, which includes oppositional behavior and mood disorders, could be diagnosed reliably in a few years.
The secret, scientists at NIMH say, is that areas of the brain dealing with socialization, everything you learned in kindergarten, develop late in ADHD kids. But they usually do develop, which is why some are said to “outgrow” the condition.
This may not just lead to better diagnosis, but could lead to better treatment. Give young ADHD’ers intensive academic work early, and save the social graces for when they can handle them.
The scientists are quick to say this is far from ready for commercial use. All they can really say for sure, now, is that kids with ADHD aren’t making it up.
This is personally gratifying, since I was diagnosed with ADHD in the mid 1960s, and both my kids have it. My son, who is 16, still gets in trouble for missing social cues from peers and teachers.
Turns out that when we covered that in kindergarten, we just weren’t ready for it.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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