Other factors which effect ADHD behavior:

Video games and excessive television watching may have adverse effects. Studies suggest children who watch violence on TV or in video games tend to imitate the actions they see, don't sleep well at night and have difficulty concentrating on less stimulating content. Many parents dismiss ADHD in their children saying, "He can sit in his room playing video games (or watching TV) for hours!" That child may not be relaxing. He may be in a trance. TV and computer monitors scan at 30 frames/second, a rate known to be hypnotic to human brains and may use up brain chemicals necessary for relaxation and impulse control.

What about the role models for acceptable behaviors we're allowing into our homes? Children in controlled studies who watched video tapes with violent content began mimicking that violence with each other within a matter of minutes. Male characters in TV, movies and video games usually achieve their goals through power and aggression, or being sarcastic and funny. If boys can't be cool by acting "big and bad" or being "the jock," then acting the "clown," getting a laugh from or pissing off authority in front of the class, is the next best thing. The boys who can't do one or the other just kind of disappear.

What are we teaching our girls about girls? More and more we're showing them they're choices are between: helpless, submissive sexual accessories, selfless caretakers, or the female equivalent of the male action-hero. Sexual activity in middle school is common; vicious attacks between school-age girls goes up every year. And, again, those girls who can't meet one or all of those ideals usually disappear, too.

School itself is becoming more demanding each year. Kids are expected to learn more earlier than past generations. With less time for individual attention in the classroom coupled with the new emphasis on testing, many children are running just to keep up and others simply collapse.

The point? Stress. Even if a child doesn't have ADHD, there's more and more stressors for our children everywhere. And, they're going to act out or internalize their stress, sometimes making it difficult to concentrate, other times making hard to manage emotions and impulses. With ADHD, stressors make things a whole lot worse.

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