Some people have a better genetic disposition to being able to stay still and concentrate on one thing. It's not just a skill. Further, I couldn't stay still even if my life depended on it. I've been thru multiple MRIs and I have to be mildly sedated for them. It's always a fun exercise when I have been in those things and trying to keep my body still lol. It is completely foreign to me how people can stay still for that long.
One factor that often gets pushed to way side is diet. school lunches are so bad these days. They are loaded with processed grains and hydronaided oils and sugar filled juices. The body turns all that stuff in to sugar almost instantly. If you give kids better food that the body does not almost instantly turn in to sugar then focusing and not bouncing off the wall becomes much easier.
I've felt this was potentially a part of the problem as well. Do diagnosed cases of ADD/ADHD and changes in food supply go hand in hand? Maybe hard to prove but I'm suspicious.
Although it was not called ADD at the time, the first reported diagnoses were n the 1960s. So it has been around through any and all changes in the food supply for 50 years. The US has a broader definition of the disorder. For this reason, 10% of children in the US are believed to have the disorder. In the UK, it is closer to 1% to 1.5%. It is a real disorder, but over diagnosed in the US.
I think the issue is not so much that it is . . not a real thing as much as it is overly diagnosed Right about now . .. just about ANY behavior is a symptom of some disorder There is no NORMAL behavior . . .so how can you have so many abnormal people. I say this to say . . . if you gave a description of NORMAL behavior . . .someone else will disagree with it [even psychologist] and would find some 'issue' in the behavior you describe as some sort of syndrome or some such. You muddy the waters enough . .. the picture becomes a Rorschach You basically can see anything you want. Rocket River
Agree with those saying it's genetic to be able to concentrate and sit still. I also think it's related to the way your body processes sugar, for example a type 1 diabetic doesn't get any energy at all when they eat sugar, where as someone on the opposite end of the spectrum bounces off the walls after a small amount of sugar.
Inability to concentrate and sit still are only two of the many symptoms scientists currently associate with ADHD, yet it seems that whenever this matter is discussed those are the only ones most people, particularly the "it's not real crowd", know about. While not the only speculated "cause" of ADHD, deficiencies in the brain's dopamine system are still indicated by most studies on pathophysiology of ADHD. Take a look of all the functions dopamine is believed to have in the brain. This effectively also shoots down the "it's a skill" argument since most of these are as "involuntary as breathing": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine#Functions_in_the_brain After reading that you can probably understand why there is no clear cut definition of the disorder and debate of its cause, symptoms, and treatment will continue until we actually know more precisely what's going on inside the brain. And yes, it's real. Or at least the symptoms are. Yes, it's probably overdiagnosed in US (but also underdiagnosed in many parts of the world, particularly in adults who didn't show the most obvious symptoms (i.e. hyperactivity) enough in their childhood.) Yes, it's difficult to correctly diagnose (partly because it's connected to many other disorders and diseases which become often co-morbid). And yes, stimulants are effective in its treatment, particularly if the patient is of the "hyperactive, can't sit still" subtype.
