Attention Deficit Disorder is a mild brain disorder that is passed down from parent to child.

If one parent has Adult ADHD, then their child has a 50% chance of inheriting it. If both parents have it, a child is almost 90% likely to have attention deficit disorder. This means there may be more than one ADHD child in a family.

What this means is that attention deficit disorder hyperactive children who have trouble concentrating and sitting still are born to hyperactive ADHD adults who have trouble organizing their day and staying focused on tasks.

This is a real problem, because the ADHD child does best in a very structured environment. They function best when there is a definite routine followed hour by hour...day by day.

Yet they are born to parents who are unorganized and unstructured - this is where the family problems start. That is why most ADD ADHD specialists recommend that the family go into counseling as a group, or that the parents get trained in how to handle children who tend to be difficult.

If you cannot afford a therapist trained in attention deficit disorder or if your insurance does not cover this service, you may want to join a support group through CHADD.

Here are some things ADD ADHD coaches and counselors typically recommend. This kind of advice is the hardest for someone with attention deficit disorder to follow, because they prefer to "live on the edge" and find well- organized houses "boring" and "uptight."

1. Set up a soothing, calm physical environment. Keep the house neat. Paint rooms in soothing colors like light blue and beige. Don't put up a lot of posters and artwork, clocks, and other decorations. If you DO put up artwork, buy soothing pictures of nature and landscapes, not violent pictures with bright colors.

2. Buy simple furniture and aim for an uncluttered look. Don't put up a lot of knickknacks or use busy patterns for draperies and rugs. Think simple, minimal and "less is more."

3. Organize supplies in an orderly way. The mentality is "Everything in its place and a place for everything." Store things like forks and spoons, pencils and stationery, and all other household supplies in an orderly way. Put things away after you use them. Clutter is very distracting to the ADD ADHD mind.

4. Keep televisions, computers and other "screens" covered or enclosed in cabinets. Otherwise they will "call" to you to use them. The ADHD child and adult ADHD have problems controlling the impulse to turn these machines on when they pass them. Keep televisions, radios, CD players and everything else that makes noise turned off and shut away, unless you are going to sit down and use them for at least a half-hour.