It’s a daily event: teachers find themselves frustrated with their students for not paying attention. However, some of these students cannot help themselves.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) affects kids ability to learn and their social interactions with others, according to HelpGuide.org, a non-profit informational website for family health.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, (ADHD), can affect kids’ abilities to sit still in class, their patience, or their ability to focus on something they find uninteresting.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about seven percent of school children are affected by ADHD and ADD in the US. Illinois is one of the less affected of the 50 states, with 5.6 percent to 7.9 percent of the population affected by ADHD.

According to HelpGuide.org, many parents mistake signs of taking ADD or ADHD as just being an energetic child. Eventually, when the child grows older these symptoms seem out of place for a kid their age. According to Centers for Disease and Prevention, 66.3 percent of those with a diagnosis between the ages of four and 17, receive medication for their disorder.

Many parents prescribe their children medication like Adderall and Ritalin. Ritalin is used to treat ADD and Adderall is used to treat ADHD. However, medication varies in effectiveness, and may not be the best treatment for kids according to HelpGuide.org. Spending on the necessary drugs can cost about 12,000 dollars annually for an individual, according to CDCP.

Sophomore Heather Herrmann, a student with ADHD, thinks that her medication has helped her with her learning.

“My ADHD affects me very badly,” Herrmann said. “When I’m not on my medicine, I have zero motivation. I’ve always said, without my medicine I would fail out.”

The symptoms of her ADHD were: excessive energy, inability to concentrate when bored, and acting impulsively, according to Herrmann.

ADHD is a burden on grades and work, according to Herrmann.

“School my whole life has been a pretty big struggle for me,” Hermann said. “I would get so bored in the classroom and not pay attention, so then I would fall behind the other students and eventually it just became too late for me to catch up with everyone else.”

Students with ADHD can overcome these challenges, according to Herrmann. Medicine is what helped her improve her grades and regain her focus.

“I was put on the medicine march of 2011 and at that time I had a C- in math,” Herrmann said. “I left the eighth grade with an A- all because of the help of my medicine. It was probably one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced.”