In order to define the concept more clearly, we must understand in advance what the deficit is. The term deficit refers to the lack or the absolute absence of what is considered necessary in a given context. With regard to psychology, it is linked to abilities and skills, that is, there is a deficit when a person cannot perform a certain action or a group of actions that, with normal functioning, they could carry out. Deficit is generally found attached to words such as insufficiency, disability, deficiency, and limitation.
That said, when defining attention deficit, we can say that it is a disorder that is diagnosed when a child does not have the ability to concentrate on one thing; the lack in the selection and maintenance of attention and the consequences that this attitude can have on a psychological level. That is, it is a person who has difficulty staying still, acts without thinking first or starts to do something but never finishes it, among other situations. Specialists speak of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (whose acronym is ADHD ), a behavioral syndrome that has its origin in the genes and cells of the nervous system.
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This neurological disorder that affects behavior has as main characteristics the difficulty to maintain attention, emotional imbalance, recurrent distraction and movements generated by restlessness, among other behaviors.
From the perspective of neurology, attention deficit is caused by a dysfunction of the brain that children and adults suffer from and that can be diagnosed by presenting unusual behavioral symptoms, such as: hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity.
The authors Ardila and Rosselli assure that this disorder is closely related to a lack of ability to pay attention, which is linked to brain injuries and must be treated with some urgency. Therefore, anyone who presents symptoms such as fluctuations in attention, inability to concentrate, motor difficulties should be treated urgently because they may suffer from some pathology related to the frontal lobes; They assure that these types of symptoms also tend to occur in people who have previously suffered from cranioencephalic disorders.
For its part, the American Psychiatric Association ensures that attention deficit can be diagnosed in patients with the following characteristics:
*They make mistakes because they can’t pay attention to details;
*They cannot keep their mind on one thing for a long time, for example in games and similar tasks;
*They appear not to be listening when someone speaks directly to them;
*They cannot complete their tasks and obligations;
* They avoid those activities that may require a mental effort that they do not believe they can perform;
*Be easily distracted by stimuli that are not relevant;
* Not even being able to perform daily activities.
With all this we can affirm that attention deficit is manifested through physiological, cognitive, and motor symptoms and is extremely harmful to the good performance of a person, their individuality, and their performance within a certain circle (family, school, work, community ).
Treatment for attention deficit
People with attention deficit should receive the help of a therapist, who must determine the causes of such behavior and establish which areas of the individual’s functioning are related to this disability. For this, a psychological examination is carried out, inquiring about those aspects of the patient’s life that may be revealing of the cause of the disorder. The treatment is carried out jointly by various specialists, where each one analyzes the disorder and proposes a certain way of treating it, from the area of their competence.
The causes of ADHD are usually genetic, with factors being inherited in eight out of ten cases. There are, however, certain factors that are not hereditary, such as exposing the uterus to nicotine during pregnancy.
In daily life, attention deficit usually leads to behavior that tends towards conflicts and that produces problems when it comes to integration and inclusion in groups. This deficit also favors unsatisfactory academic results, depression and a greater predisposition to the consumption of addictive substances.
Being mostly biological, the symptoms of ADHD are usually treated with drugs. Dexamfetamine (part of the drug marketed as Dexedrine ), d,l-amphetamine (found in Adderall ), and methylphenidate ( Ritalin ) are some of the most widely prescribed drugs.
Nicotine and caffeine, on the other hand, are two legally available stimulants that people often use when they want to treat themselves.
It is noteworthy that some of the brightest personalities in history suffered from ADHD, such as Thomas Alva Edison, Leonardo Da Vinci and Albert Einstein.