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ADD Essay

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Attention Deficit Disorder, widely known as ADD, is a brain disorder which many people suffer from daily. The symptoms described by three authors all go hand in hand, but ADD varies greatly from person to person and some may have completely different symptoms than others. The diagnosis of ADD varies in each author with their own technique. ADD treatment is a long debated and very rough subject, as the authors have different views. The authors express their outlook on the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
There are eight common symptoms of ADD. The carriers of ADD mostly have varying symptoms thus causing need for a different diagnosis’ and treatments. The best known symptom of ADD is inattention or …show more content…

Fifth, psychological testing for IQ and learning disabilities are sometimes done. Finally, a recent physical exam is used. (Phelan, 1993, p63) Daniel G. Amen, M.D. has a different approach at diagnosing ADD. Amen uses an imaging technique called SPECT to measure brain blood-flow and activity patterns in the brain. He has found that the ADD brain is different, and depending on his findings, he can give appropriate treatments for ADD patients that were not helped by former treatments. (Amen, 2001, p72) Dale R. Jordan, author of Attention Deficit Syndrome, diagnoses simply by the symptoms after close evaluation of the patient in and out of the office (Jordan, 1988). The three doctors all vary slightly in their diagnosing of ADD.
Like diagnoses, treatment for ADD varies from author to author as well. Phelan believes unless there are contraindications for using stimulants, they should be tried for all ADD patients. The medication he has used is Ritalin, Dexedrine, Cylert, Tofranil, Norpramin, Clonidine, Tegretol, Lithium, and Mellaril. Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Cylert are all stimulants used to calm down patients in hopes to be more focused and more organized. Tofranil and Norpramin are antidepressants Phelan uses in most cases where stimulants are not successful, when the parent does not want to use stimulants, or when stimulant’s benefits do not last long and need to be prolonged with

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