ebook_ADHD2019

120 Rohde, Buitelaar, Gerlach & Faraone CHILDREN WITH ADHD ARE LESS INTELLIGENT This is a stigma frequently shown to people affected by the disorder. Due to the interference of ADHD symptoms in academic achievements, affected individuals frequently have a perception that they are not intelligent! See below an essay writ- ten by a 10-year-old boy with ADHD that had never been diagnosed. The teacher requested students to write an essay the describing themselves. Hello, I am Peter (fictitious name) and I will tell my story. I am stupid, more or less ugly and I don’t know how I am in the 4th grade. My mother even says that I’m not good at all, she does not know why I came to this world. I am an idiot, do not have ideas, only waste others’ money, and the only thing I know how to do is play soccer. In sum, I suck, I did not have to born. There is no evidence that ADHD is related to intelligence. Since assessment of executive functions and working memory is part of some IQ batteries and these neuropsychological functions are affected by ADHD, results from these batteries might be flawed in the sense of estimating a lower potential IQ than real. Persons with ADHD can have cognitive problems, an average IQ and high cognitive abi- lities. 22 See other potential stigmas associated with ADHD in this link. CHILDREN WHO TAKE ADHD MEDICATION ARE MORE LIKELY TO ABUSE DRUGS WHEN THEY BECOME TEENAGERS. Currently, it is not clear if ADHD by itself increases the risk of abuse/dependence on substances or the risk is associated with some disorders that tend to travel with ADHD like conduct disorder. 23,24 Link in this https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ji0hg1LduU8&t=14s