ADHD: disorder or delay?
Children with ADHD may eventually outgrow the condition, according to new research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study suggests that the brains of kids with ADHD aren’t actually different from the brains of normal kids – they simply develop more slowly. This means that most kids with the condition may eventually catch up.
Researchers found that the brains of children suffering from ADHD develop like other children, but with a delay of up to three years. The delays are most pronounced in regions of the brain that are associated with controlling thought, attention and planning – something which won’t surprise parents of ADHD kids.
Dr Philip Shaw, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, looked at the brains of 223 children and teenagers with ADHD and 223 kids without he condition. He discovered that the cortex in the brain of a child with ADHD reached its peak of thickness on average three years later. “The sequence in which different parts of the brain matured in the kids with ADHD was exactly the same as in healthy kids,” said Dr Shaw, “It’s just that everything was delayed by a couple of years.”
Dr Shaw reckons the findings could indicate a genetic component in ADHD but stresses that it doesn’t mean parents should sit back and wait for their kids to outgrow the condition. “What I wouldn't take away from this study is ‘just sit and wait three years and your kid will be OK’. We know ADHD is a real problem for children and their families and the schools, and it does need treatment.”
It’s thought ADHD affects 3-5% of school-age children: kids with the condition have symptoms including poor impulse control and find it difficult to concentrate, and grades can suffer. The late development scenario raises questions over whether we expect too great a level of maturity from children as they enter the educational system.
Behavioral therapy has been shown to help manage ADHD and medication may be recommended to control impulsiveness and improve concentration. Some recent research suggests that kids who take medication tend to perform better at school but other research suggests drug treatment isn’t any more effective than therapy when it comes to treating ADHD.
The Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD has also suggested that long-term use of ADHD drugs may stunt children’s growth, and that the benefits of using them aren’t as clear-cut as previously thought. “We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes,” said the report’s co-author, Professor William Pelham, of the University of Buffalo. “That didn't happen to be the case. There's no indication that medication's better than nothing in the long run.”
Another recent study suggested that over a million children with ADHD aren’t getting the treatment they need, due to difficulty in diagnosing it and lack of medical insurance.