Does having ADHD mean that something is fundamentally wrong with my child’s brain?

ADHD is a biological, brain-based problem, but that’s not the same as saying that something is wrong with your child’s brain. There’s a big difference between damage and dysfunction. Damage causes problems with the “hardware” or the basic brain structures. That’s not what happens in ADHD. Although research data show that some brain structures, particularly the caudate, the corpus callosum (which allows the two hemispheres to “talk” to each other), and the cerebellum may be smaller in children with ADHD, but there is no indication that damage per se is present. In ADHD the primary problem is with the “software”: the wiring or the connections in the brain. The problem with the connections most likely can be traced to atypical amounts of specific neurotransmitters, either individually or in relation to one another.

One recent imaging study showed that children with
ADHD have relative cortical thinning in regions important
for attention. Children with persistent ADHD had
“fixed” thinning of areas of the frontal cortex, which may
compromise the maturation of attentional systems. On
the other hand, cortical thickness normalized in children
who “outgrow” their ADHD.


Famous people who have or have had ADHD

Most certainly ADHD has affected the lives of all
kinds of people including authors, inventors, military
leaders, statesmen, composers, athletes, and actors and
actresses. The following list includes individuals who
may or may not have had diagnosed ADHD but who
most certainly exhibited behavior that indicates the
possible presence of ADHD or other learning disabilities.
For example, Danny Glover, Bill Cosby,Tom Cruise, Jim
Carrey, Robin Williams, Nolan Ryan, Jason Kidd, and
Magic Johnson are all individuals who have been
described as having ADHD symptoms. Many very successful
entrepreneurs, such as Walt Disney and Malcolm
Forbes, have also proved that their ability to “think
outside the box” was perhaps a more positive consequence
of ADHD. In fact, many individuals who have
excelled at multitasking may have been using features
of their ADHD in a positive way; their difficulties in
focusing on a single task improved their ability to handle
many tasks at once.
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