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Pathfinder: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Introduction

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is one of the most common behavioral disorders in children. It is estimated that from from 3 to 5 percent of the school age population (between 1.46 and 2.44 million children) suffer from various degrees of this condition. The symptoms of ADHD continue into adolescence for 50-80 percent of the children that have it. Between 30-50 percent of them will continue to have these symptoms as adults. Coping with the problems associated with ADHD can be difficult and frustrating for the affected individuals, their families and also other people who they come in contact with: teachers, coworkers, peers. Successful management of ADHD largely depends on the access to quality information about this condition and various ways of its treatment. This pathfinder was designed to be a useful starting point for anyone interested in finding reliable print and Internet resources about ADHD and/or many of the issues related to it.

General information || Medical issues || Legal issues || Parenting ADHD children || Teaching ADHD children || Living with ADHD ||

General information

There are many good books that provide a general overview of ADHD. Here are some of the titles that are recognized as the most authoritative:

You might also be interested in reading journals about ADHD. The two journals listed below publish materials on all aspects of ADHD written for affected people and those who work with them.

You can find additional recommendations of books and magazines about ADHD at these sites:

Your local Public library may own some of the books about ADHD. The following Library of Congress subject headings and Dewey Decimal Classification numbers may be helpful in locating books about ADHD:

There is a large amount of materials on ADHD available on the Internet and their quality varies greatly. For this pathfinder, we selected a sample of quality resources for each of several types of material: online reviews and FAQs, resource collections, online magazines and support groups.

Reviews of the main medical issues related to ADHD such as getting diagnosed, selecting a mode of treatment, possible use of medications, occurrence of other coexisting conditions can be found in various printed and online sources. For this pathfinder we selected a sample of such sources that are both current and authoritative.

Suggested books about the medical issues of ADHD:

You can find bibliographies of books and articles about medical issues of ADHD at these sites:

Suggested online publications and collections of resources about the medical issues of ADHD:

Persons who have ADHD and their families may be faced with legal issues concerning education and employment. This section lists selected resources that might be helpful in addressing those issues.

Suggested books on legal aspects of ADHD:

Online publications and collections of resources:

The experience of parenting an ADHD child can be quite different from parenting unaffected children. The approaches to parenting that work well with children who do not have ADHD do not work as well with children who have this condition. The parents of an ADHD child often have to become their child's advocate, tutor, manage their medical needs. In this section we collected printed and online resources that might help in accomplishing these tasks.

Suggested books about parenting ADHD children:

Suggested online publications and collections of resources:

Helpful online support forums for parents of ADHD children:

Teaching ADHD children

The effectiveness of managing ADHD at school to a large degree depends upon the knowledge and the persistence of the teacher. This section contains a selection of resources targeted specifically at teacher working with ADHD students.

Suggested books about teaching ADHD children:

Additional books and articles can be found through the databases and Clearinghouses maintained by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) (http://ericec.org/)

Selected online articles and collections of resources:

Helpful online forums :

Living with ADHD

Approximately one-half to two-thirds of children diagnosed with ADHD will grow up to be ADHD adults. The symptoms of this condition may create problems that impact their academic, professional, family and social activities. At the same time, many personality traits of persons with ADHD such as creativity, sensitivity and intuitiveness can become valuable assets in their lives if they are recognized and used properly. This section lists some of the resources that might be helpful for adults with ADHD in overcoming its negative sides and enjoying the positive.

Suggested printed resources about living with ADHD:

Suggested online resources about living with ADHD:

Helpful online forums for adults living with ADHD:

This pathfinder was created by Helen V.Koustova

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Last Updated Feb 8, 2001