Attention Deficit Disorder: Practical Coping Methods - part 3 pot

because the frontal processes that work closely with the emotional system of
the brain are not functional. So they get mad at little things and their anger is
exaggerated. The punishment does not fit the crime. There is no tolerance.
There is no hook to get them back. When things are overwhelming they leave
and that is that. They don’t care about the consequences or the impact of their
behavior on those around them. They are not aware of their behavior nor able
to process what it will mean in the future.
5.3 The ADHD Brain is Different
Research has shown that the ADHD brain is different from that of non-
ADHD brains. The presence of this disorder has been found to be highly
associated with what is called structural changes in the brain. This means that
the sizes of certain brain structures are different from what has been seen in
individuals without this disorder. Changes are in certain areas of the brain
and can result in the presence of learning disabilities, dyslexia in particular.
These specific areas are smaller in size, which has been thought to mean that
there are fewer cells, thus fewer connections and a decreased ability for think-
ing. Areas targeted are the parietal area, parts of the frontal processes, and a
watershed area where the primary lobes meet, entitled the angular gyrus. The
presence of brain abnormalities also supports the notion that this disorder is
more severe in nature.
5.4 General Problem Areas for the ADHD Individual
5.4.1 Time Sense is a Problem
With ADHD there is a skewed time sense. They cannot see that what they do
now will impact the future of others and/or themselves at a later date. There
is no delay of gratification due to disabled frontal processes and so they want
it now. There is no time sense to allow any sort of wait. They therefore can’t
wait in lines and so on. This is the individual likely to cause a problem if wait-
ing in a line for a long period of time. They blow up and explode. Due to a
complete lack of time sense they can be late for appointments or miscalculate
how long things will take. They justify tardiness, for example, by saying that
the show won’t start until they get there, or everyone will just have to wait.

They are attempting to make sense of their experience for themselves.
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6
Comorbid, Associated Physical Disorders
6.1 Differential Diagnosis The Importance of
Having an attentional disorder or ADD alone is usually not the case. If you
think about the idea of disturbing the biochemical balance in the brain and
creating an imbalance, then it would stand to reason that such an imbalance
could result in other disorders besides ADD. ADD, being a biochemical
imbalance, involves two neurotransmitters or brain messengers, dopamine
and norepinephrine. The job of these two brain messengers is arousal and
alertness. They arouse and alert the brain structures in specific areas so
those areas function as they should. Given the decreased amount or capac-
ity of these neurotransmitters, and that they specifically impact the parietal
and frontal processes, it would stand to reason that those areas do not func-
tion as they should. Once you disturb the brain’s biochemical balance with
ADD, further difficulties will ensue. Neurotransmitters are like dominoes.
Some excite and some inhibit, but they all constantly impact each other.
Once this system has interference, other systems have interference. Further,
the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are the
same neurotransmitters involved in just about any existing emotional or
psychological disorder. It makes sense that the imbalance would not just
create ADD but other disorders as well.
This is exactly what occurs. More often than not, ADD is not seen by itself
but with a whole host of other disorders. Therefore, the diagnosis of ADD
is often just the beginning, but certainly not the whole story. There are other
diagnoses that accompany this disorder, both physical and emotional. This
chapter addresses physical disorders that are commonly seen and some

that are rarely seen in conjunction with the attentional disorders. Some dis-
orders will look like ADD but in fact are the result of another disorder
instead. Symptoms overlap and can easily confuse the diagnosis of the true
disorder. There are often accompanying, unexplained behaviors that cannot
be understood merely from the standpoint of ADD. The presence of these
disorders can make the ADD person look demented or out of balance.
Instead of seeing this behavior as due to the presence of some other disor-
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