4 per cent of adult population experience Attention Deficit disorders
Although awareness has increased steadily for the past several years, there is still a lot of misinformation circulating about Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADD/ADHD).
This common disorder, which affects many school-aged children, is not only a childhood condition. While many believe it is a condition children grow out of, experience shows that many and perhaps most will continue to exhibit symptoms of it for their entire adult lives. In fact, four per cent of the adult population experiences ADD/ADHD.
Characterized by lack of concentration, distractibility and sometimes hyperactivity, ADD/ADHD can cause serious problems for the children and adults it affects.
People with this disorder often have difficulty meeting their full potential at school or in their careers – often finding it hard to hold a job. They are also at a much higher risk for alcohol and drug abuse as well as smoking and they are twice as likely to die of accidental causes as people without the disorder. Relationship troubles are also common for people with ADD/ADHD.