ADHD can lead to life threatening risks

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - An estimated eight to ten percent of all children and adults are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

A study by Education World reported the rate of prescriptions written to treat the neuro-developmental disorder has increased by 500 percent since 1991.

According to medical experts, that dramatic climb reflects increased awareness of the mental disorder.

People dealing with ADHD experience difficulty in focusing on everyday tasks in the home, workplace and at school along with other socially and organizationally debilitating behaviors.

“What you end up with is a child who seems impulsive; who seems distracted; who seems to have all the skills to solve problems they need to in their day but it never occurs to them to use any of them,” Dr. Peter Dodzik a pediatric neuropsychologist with the Fort Wayne Neurological Center said.

Diagnoses of ADHD can be categorized in three areas of criteria:
Type 1 - Inattentive
Type 2 - Hyperactive-Impulsive
Type 3 - Combination of 1 & 2 (most common)

ADHD can be treated in several ways. The most popular approach is with stimulant medications. Alternatives to prescriptions include behavioral interventions such as routine and organizational strategies.

Medical professionals like Dr. Gladys Beale a child psychiatrist with Parkview Behavioral Health says ADHD is linked to dangerous risks if not given proper attention.

"The risks are endless in terms of what can happen," Beale said. "What you see in adulthood is more severe and frequent traffic accidents, divorce, job loss, more drug use, more substance use."

With more than four million children diagnosed, ADHD is known as the most common childhood mental disorder.

"There's going to be one or two of those kids in every classroom," Beale said.

Although it is common, the disorder is also complicated. Each person diagnosed with ADHD is different from the next, meaning treatment also varies.

Last year, doctors diagnosed 8-year-old Dalton Brenneke of Albion with ADHD. The first grader at the time had trouble reading, finishing homework and staying still in class.

"When my brain gets going too fast, I jump around and all kinds of stuff," Brenneke said.

Brenneke also struggled outside of school.

"It's not just academics, it's all life," Brenneke's mother Kelli Brenneke said. "[He struggled with] eating meals, taking showers even playing video games!"

Doctors prescribed Vyvanse to treat the ADHD. Soon afterward, Brenneke's grades improved significantly and he caught up with the rest of his classmates.

Brenneke's parents say the medication was life changing. That was not the case for another northeast Indiana student.

Southern Wells High School student Austin Hampton, 17, found out he had ADHD in eighth grade.

"I was pretty jittery," Hampton said. "I bounced my knee a lot. I looked down at my books a lot [and] just kind of dazed away."

Hampton also tried to treat his disorder with medication which made him feel more than just focused.

"I was kind of sick and dizzy. I just wasn't feeling that great," Hampton said.

For Hampton, the side effects outweighed any benefits. He was home-schooled for two years. With a little more structure in life these days, Hampton is back in public school managing his ADHD on his own.

Both Hampton and Brenneke provide examples for medical professionals that treatment for this mental disorder should be considered case by case.