It was originally thought that kids with ADD/ADHD had suffered some sort of injury before birth or at birth. The original name for the disorder was Minimal Brain Dysfunction.
There was, of course, never any proof of this "minimal injury" as being the cause of ADD. We now know that birth injury has nothing to do with ADD or ADHD.
It appears that heredity is a very large factor in the development of ADD/ADHD. This was determined by observation and by twin studies. Identical twins, raised by separate families from birth, have a very high chance of both having ADHD if either twin has it.
Rather than being determined by a single gene, ADHD requires changes in several genes.
A lot of research is currently in progress to further determine the exact cause of ADHD. In addition to heredity, researchers are looking at neurophysiology and environment as possible causes.
As new research develops, it will be discussed in our Blog and Forum. Also additional articles will be developed, as more information becomes available.
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