Alternative Health Blog

Half the kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) don’t have permanent deficits—their brains just need more time to develop, says a new study as seen in The Week. Given a few extra years, the brains of many children with ADHD will catch up with those of their peers’, giving them more control over their minds and actions. Using detailed, three-dimensional images from brain scans of 446 children, researchers found that kids with ADHD had less developed cortexes—the area that helps children focus, control impulses, and make connections as they learn new things. But for half the kids, the difference was only temporary. Whereas “normal” kids reached peak cortical thickness at age 7½, half the children with ADHD got there at age 10½.

Kids with attention deficits “may be 11, but their brain is 8,” Dr. F. Xavier Castellanos tells the Los Angeles Times. “They can’t act their chronological age.” The fact that half these children simply “grow out” of their attention difficulties, however, should provide some reassurance to the 4.4 million school-age children in this country with ADHD. With further study, researchers said, they may find that there are different kinds of ADHD—some temporary, and some that last into adulthood. May you always be blessed with good health.