Attention- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder affecting people under the age of 19 years. It is characterized by continued patterns of inattention and Hyperactivity. ADHD presents itself during early childhood to school going children. There is no medical cure currently available hence it is classified as chronic or persistent medical condition. ADHD spears to be a hereditary neurobehavioral disorder and most children diagnosed with it retain it through adulthood.
It becomes very hard for school going children with ADHD to concentrate in class room as they are not able to complete assignments and task, focusing is also an issue they have to contend with. These children are easily frustrated, angered, defeated and stressed making it hard for them to associate with other children in school. There are more complicated problems related to ADHD and it is for this reason that early testing of ADHD is very important.
For a long time there have be no particular diagnostic test for ADHD. The combined contribution of professionals like speech therapist, psychologists, health advisor and teachers helps to determine if a person is suffering from ADHD. It is against this background that the new Biological ADHD testing has been received by many players in this field with much enthusiasm.
The research, leading to the discovery of the Biological testing for ADHD was conducted in Thessaloniki, Greece with 65 children volunteering for the research. The research was based on close examination of the eye movement. According to the data presented by the researcher, the results for Biological testing are 93% accurate. The best part of the research is that the biological testing can be used to detect early cases of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children, leading to early treatment and management of the condition.
In Biological Testing of ADHD, a child sits in front of a computer screen wearing special kind of spectacles for monitoring the eye movement of the child. During the 10 minutes test, the child is asked to look and lock his /her eye on a spot of light traversing the screen.
There is a large difference in the eye movement of a child with ADHD compared to a normal child. A normal child follows the light for between 60 seconds to five minutes while a child with ADHD will follow the light for less than five seconds. Additional testing using different criteria like fixed light, smooth pursuit and light cascading also give very accurate results.
This Biological ADHD Testing will greatly benefit children from the age of three years as it will reliably identify children who have ADHD, ensuring that early effective intervention are put in place, reducing loss of confidence and other psychological problems.
Besides early detection of ADHD, those who suffer from ADHD will have more confidence in the Biological diagnosis as opposed to just talking to some professional. Besides, the test takes only ten minutes, making it easier for those who are suffering from ADHD to concentrate easily as opposed to sitting down with a speech therapist or a psychologist for more than one hour while undergoing examination.
Reference:
Joel T. Nigg (2006) ADHD: Understanding What Goes wrong and Why, Guilford Publishers, United Kingdom.
Michael I. Reiff (2004) ADHD: A Complete and Authoritative Guide, Alex Letourneau publishers, United States.