by James Lynne

Created on: August 04, 2008   Last Updated: January 04, 2009

ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, creates a danger zone for all those who come in contact with its victims. With their antisocial behaviors, on the journey from Kindergarten to prison, some ADHD victims inflict collateral damage on others. ADHD can be mild or it can be severe. At its severest level it can be fatal, not only putting the child with the syndrome at risk, but endangering associates and bystanders as well.

The fact that the phone was ringing in the middle of the night prepared me that it would be bad news. The voice on the line was my older brother. "Jim, Ted is in the hospital in critical condition. He is not expected to live." Ted was my nineteen-year-old nephew, whose impulsivity and rebelliousness over the last several years had kept the entire family in turmoil. "He was out with a group of his friends, drinking, and a fight developed. One of his drunken friends stabbed him through the temple. Temporarily he is being kept alive so his organs can be harvested for transplant. Please, come to the hospital. I need your support." Ted was diagnosed with ADHD as a young child. His life was a roller coaster ride for everyone in the family.

Well-meaning critics would have us believe that ADHD is nothing more than the "malady du-jour" for a generation of parents and teachers who want an easy route with "high strung" youngsters. This may be true in some cases; however, ADHD is a serious problem for many others. It can be fatal.

Numerous prison studies have reported an extremely high incidence of ADHD among inmates. This is not coincidental. The inability to benefit appropriately from social skills development, the inability to benefit from subtle behavioral cues, the inability to delay gratification, the inability to appropriately understand cause and effect adequately enough to make wise choices are the very behaviors that bring ADHD victims into the legal system. Along that path, they often collect victims much like a gunslinger in the old west would acquire notches on his gun handle.

Prevailing medical theory supports that brain chemistry is different in children with ADHD from that of children who are not affected with the disorder. As a result, ADHD children behave, learn, and react differently from their peers. Life for them is problematic. As a result they are often perceived as troublemakers and problem children. Due to their diminished ability to perceive innuendo, suggestion, and subtlety effectively, they can develop more severe conduct

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