What is ADHD/and ADD?
- ADHD - Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD is a subset of ADHD. It has the same symptoms of inattentiveness, but does not exhibit the hyperactivity common to ADHD.)
- ADHD is a very common neurological developmental disorder found in young children.
Causes
- Smoking or drinking during pregnancy has been linked to ADHD in children.
- ADHD is proven to run in families; at least one-third of all adults who had ADHD in their childhood will have children with ADHD.
Symptoms
- Inattention
- Hyperactivity and restlessness
- Problems with interpersonal relationships and employment
- Difficulty with sharing
- Being constantly forgetful.
Children with ADD/or ADHD
- ADHD may not be diagnosed until adulthood, but it will begin to develop in children before the stages of puberty.
- Estimated to affect nearly 3-5% of school aged children.
- Behaviors associated with ADD/ADHD are common in all children, but only if the behaviors persist or are exhibited more often than normal for children of that age should the child be tested for ADD/ADHD.
ADD/ADHD in the brain
![Picture](/uploads/3/8/4/6/38463849/837370_orig.jpg)
Right Brain Traits:
*Children with ADD/ADHD tend to have a smaller frontal lobe (located in brain cortex), which is responsible for impulse control, social skills, reasoning, and judgement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u82nzTzL7To
- having little awareness of time
- learns through exploration
- sees things as a whole or in overall patterns
- responds to tones, music, body language, touch
- thinks in terms of sequence
- keeps track of time
- pays close attention to detail
- learns through structured plans
*Children with ADD/ADHD tend to have a smaller frontal lobe (located in brain cortex), which is responsible for impulse control, social skills, reasoning, and judgement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u82nzTzL7To
Music creates structure for children with ADD and ADHD
- Music is rhythm, which is soothing to children with ADD/ADHD
- Music is kept in time through a clear beginning, middle, and end
- The structure helps children with ADD/ADHD plan, anticipate, and react
The Fix
- Music shares neural networks with other cognitive processes
- The goal of music therapy is to build build up these activated brain muscles over time to help overall function
Music helps people with ADD and ADHD focus
- Music helps people with ADD/ADHD focus on their current task.
- Rhythms that change slightly in tempo have been proven to get attention, while the changes in tempo maintain focus.
Sources
"WebMD ADD and ADHD Guide - Better Information for Better Health."WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.
Rogers, Anni. "Weebly Is the Easiest Way to Create a Website, Store or Blog. "Weebly.com, New Hope Media, 6 June 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2015
"The Intuitive Brain and ADD." The Intuitive Brain and ADD. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://borntoexplore.org/addint.htm>.
Rogers, Anni. "Weebly Is the Easiest Way to Create a Website, Store or Blog. "Weebly.com, New Hope Media, 6 June 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2015
"The Intuitive Brain and ADD." The Intuitive Brain and ADD. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://borntoexplore.org/addint.htm>.