Should ADHD be considered a more serious disorder?
Mental illness is considered a taboo topic in most societies, and as expected with every other "taboo", it is greatly misunderstood and stigmatized. Due to that, misconceptions about how mentally ill people behave and how their disorders affect them are prevalent. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, is an example of a disorder with much stigma surrounding it, albeit the stigma it faces is quite different than most other disorders. ADHD is a prime example of a disorder which does not receive the deserving amount of attention and seriousness that it exceedingly needs. Many people assume it is a rather trivial disorder, as they believe it is not as severe a disorder as schizophrenia or depression. ADHD hinders learning experience, it impairs social interactions, and increases the likeliness of engaging in unhealthy behaviours which is why it should be considered a serious disorder.
Students diagnosed with ADHD frequently face adacemic
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44-50% of adolescents diagnosed with ADHD are also comorbid with conduct disorder. The Ministry of Health in New Zealand released data in 2001 to reveal that adolescents with both ADHD and conduct disorder were up to 2-5 times more likely to suffer from substance abuse. There are a multitude of reasons as to why they behave in this manner. Beth, a 27 year old elementary teacher, told Addidtude Magazine that her reason for abusing alcohol was due to the constant "boredom" caused by ADHD. Many different studies have come to the conclusion that there is a higher chance of experiementation with drugs and alcohol in teenagers with ADHD. Science Daily has found that around 35% of teenagers with ADHD have experimented with at least one or more type of substance, while the amount of teenagers without ADHD who have used one or more type of substance is