i!
             ngs, easily distracted, and forgetting things (Werner).
             There are between six and twenty million men, women, and children in the United States who suffer from ADD. Millions more possess the characteristics even though they may have learned to cope so well that they don't think of themselves as people with attention-related problems (Hartmann xxiii). It seems everyone knows someone whose child is on a prescription for ADD or who is being advised to consider it (Anderson, Peiper 7).
             Significantly more boys appear to have this disorder than girls, although girls who have evaded detection for years are increasingly being identified (Armstrong 5). Until recent years, it was believed that children outgrew ADD in adolescence. It is now known that many symptoms continue into adulthood (Chadd).
             There is no known cause of ADD, but current thinking sees it as an involving biochemical imbalances in areas of the brain that are responsible for attention, planning, and motor activity (Armstrong 5). These children with non-compliant behavior have no obvious cause of disease to be found by physical examination or laboratory tests (Anderson, Peiper 5). Assessment methods include parent, child, and teacher interviews, a thorough medical examination, and the use of specially designed behavior rating scales and performance tests (Armstrong 5). These tests usually involve repetitive actions that require the examinee to remain alert and attentive throughout the test. One of the most popular of the current continuous performance tasks instruments is the Gordon Diagnostic Systems. This devise consists of a plastic box with a large button on the front and an electronic display above it that flashes a series of random digits. The child is told to press the button every time a "!
             1" is followed by a "9." The box then records the number of "hits" and "misses" made by the child. More complex ...