Patients feel as if they aren't able to stay in control of their lives and they often get singled out because of it. Seventy percent of ADD and ADHD diagnosed children carry the symptoms throughout their entire adolescence. Fifteen to fifty percent of these children will never rid of the disorder and the annoying symptoms will affect them all through adulthood (Booth 3). .
Since the cause of ADD and ADHD is still unknown, even though millions of dollars are being used yearly to research it, trying to diagnose someone with it is normally a clinical decision. Psychiatrists have relied on observations from friends, family, teachers, or bosses of a patient to help determine the diagnoses. Psychiatrists will inform families about the symptoms of ADD and ADHD and tell them to be on the look out for certain behaviors that go along with the disorders. Most mental illnesses are observed like this in order to diagnose a patient since "there is no good blood test, no EEG or CT scan or MRI of the brain to diagnose these disorders in children (Szegedy 2)." A problem with this method is that relying on observations can lead to over or under diagnosing the severity of the disorder. ADD and ADHD has been a known disease and it's been studied for decades now. Fine guidelines and specific diagnostic criteria have been established from research that is used to diagnose a patient (Booth 3). .
The most common treatment of ADD and ADHD is stimulant drugs. Stimulant drugs help a patient become more in control of his own body by allowing him to concentrate better and keep calm instead of always being hyperactive ("National" 1). The stimulants do this by allowing the brain to produce more of the neurotransmitter chemicals called dopamine and norephinephrine. Some of the more popular stimulant drugs are Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Aderall ("National" 1). These drugs are effective as long as they are prescribed in the correct dosages but they only work for about three hours.