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usually have trouble paying attention in school, but it’s not just that. They also struggle with staying organized and following instructions. They can be forgetful and fidgety. Sometimes kids with ADHD have trouble taking turns. They can’t seem to play quietly, even when they will get in trouble if they don’t. They might be pushy or silly and not notice when their friends have had enough. Having ADHD can make it extremely difficult to succeed in school, and sometimes it can really affect friendships. Unfortunately, it is one of the most common mental disorders. a doctor named Sir Alexander Crichton may have been the first to diagnose this medical problem. In a book chapter called “On Attention and its Diseases,” he wrote about a problem that involved “the incapacity of attending with a necessary degree of constancy to any one object.” Modern doctors now believe Crichton was talking about ADHD. Over the years, various names have been used to describe the problems we now call ADHD. The different names reflect changing ideas about the nature of the disorder. In the 1920s, it was called “minor brain damage,” because doctors believed that the problem was caused by some injury. We now believe that only a very tiny number of ADHD cases are related to a physical injury. (See chapter three for more about possible causes.) A Distracted History The name ADHD is fairly new. But problems with attention and focus are not. In 1798,

? DID YOU KNOW? ADHD is the most common mental disorder among kids.