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 | We
have to take a moment and distinguish the fact that at least a third of
Attention deficit hyperactive disorder, particularly in males is not of
the genetic variety, it is acquired. This set of ADHD individuals, the
acquired ADHD cases may be somewhat different from the genetic cases. At
the moment research is not so overwhelming that we can make
extraordinary, numerous and definitive statements. Let me give you a few
of the things that we have found so far to distinguish these two
groups. |
Acquired vs Genetic
The acquired groups seems to be more severe. We find that with all acquired injuries. It may be that the acquired group is much less responsive to medications for ADHD. the difference being about 70-90% of genetic ADHD is drug sensitive. But 50% or less of acquired ADHD is so. But this makes sense. in the developmental case the area of the brain where the medication can work is not damaged or destroyed There is a place for drugs to function. in the acquired ADHD cases, they may well be damaged, liaisons, scarring which will interfere with the capacity of the drug to interact in that region. and therefore would predict that there would be mark ably lower drug response.It may also be besides this difference in drug response, that there may be differences in response to psychosocial treatments. Noone has examined this. But if we look elsewhere in neuro psychology, for instance, the field of the appeases that are acquired, say from a stroke versus developmental disorders language disorders. If we look at that particular disorder, the language disorders, we find that the acquired group are more responsive to rehabilitation, particularly if it occurs in the months following the injury.
Stroke vs Language Disorder
Where as the likelihood of developmental language disorders is quite low. Indeed the success of language interventions for developmental language disorder is rather sporadic and nowhere near as convincing as is language therapy for the acquired language disorders. People treat them as if they were synonymous. They are not. So that doesn't mean that developmental language disorders don't respond at all to linguistic interventions, to speech interventions. They do, but they don't respond to anywhere near as dramatically as the acquired cases.
We don't know that this extends into adult ADHD or child ADHD, but we do know that in other areas where we compare acquired vs developmental disorders we do see differences in treatment responses in them. There may be difference in life course we don't know that yet. There are other differences as well such as an impairment. Suffice to say in the future, researchers will be able to distinguish the types of ADHD based on its ideology, the type of genetic and non-genetic distinction appears to be a crude one, but a useful one at the moment.
