Some would argue, and perhaps rightfully so, that the most dangerous time for an individual with ADHD is in their teenage years when raging hormones, sexuality, and peer pressure rule the day. This toxic soup of emotions and hormones has produced a mountain of troubling statistics, a few of which we will cover later in this article.
The teenager with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder not only is struggling with the primary symptoms of ADHD; which are inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity or restlessness but likely is facing a number of the secondary symptoms as well, such as depression and low self esteem.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordes
A few recent studies seem to back up the idea that depression is a major player in ADHD and teenagers with one out of every four ADHD teens exhibiting a unique form of depression that manifests itself through societal withdrawal, self rejection, and self belittlement.
Some other disturbing fact about ADHD and teenagers is that they tend to be self destructive engaging in self destructive behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse, cutting rituals, sexual permissiveness, unsafe driving, and dropping out of school.
ADHD and Teenagers what is brain scan technology telling us?
Harvard University is quickly becoming one of the leaders in the study of ADHD teens and college aged ADHD individuals. In one recent Harvard study MRIs were used to scan the brains of teenagers as they identified the emotions displayed by faces shown on computer screens. In young teenagers who performed poorly in the task, the amygdala - a brain center that manages fear and other instinctive reactions - was activated more fully than the frontal lobe which is responsible for self regulation. As teenagers in the study grew older their brain activity started to shift more into the frontal lobe, resulting in more reasoned perceptions. The researchers also noticed a similar shift in activation during language skills tasks.
ADHD and Teenagers - Facts that might scare the parents of ADHD teens
*Teenagers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are ten times more likely to get pregnant or cause pregnancy, than those without ADHD.
*Teens with impulsivity as one of their symptoms are 400 percent more likely to be involved in a traffic accident or receive a speeding ticket than those without the disorder.
*About half of all teens in juvenile detention centers have attention deficit disorder but were either undiagnosed or unsuccessfully treated.
*Twice as many ADHD teens run away from home than do teens without ADHD.
*ADHD teens are three times more likely to be arrested for arson than those without the condition.
In conclusion, for those teenagers struggling to establish their identities while battling ADHD symptoms finding an effective treatment option is a very important first step.
The most common form of prescription medications are stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall. While effective about 70 percent of the time all stimulant medications do come with a number of serious label warnings.
This fact has prompted many parents of ADHD teens to investigate other side effect free alternatives. A couple examples are behavior modification therapy and/or natural homeopathic or herbal remedies. Natural remedies for ADHD are a side effect free way to address such problematic symptoms as inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, erratic behavior and hyperactivity and can be used both as a standalone treatment or as a compliment to other nonprescription alternatives.
ADHD and Teenagers - Interesting Facts, Sobering Statistics
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