It should come as no surprise that Monroe A. Gross, M.D. is NOT a Psychiatrist.

By medical training and clinical experience, Dr. Gross is an Internist/Endocrinologist with a long-time special interest in neuroendocrinology, now a part of what is called neuroscience. As such, Dr. Gross approaches the understanding and treatment of ADD/ADHD as a kind of brain chemistry which, for the present, can be appreciated only as brain behaviors.

These brain behaviors predispose ADD/ADHD individuals to develop psychological dysfunctions including serious problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, compulsive gambling, binge eating, bulimia, anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others.

The scientific under-structure for this approach to the diagnosis and treatment of ADD/ADHD comes from what is now a long-term awareness by physicians and other scientists of what are called "somatopsychic" disorders, that is, disturbances of cognition and emotion due to abnormal body chemistry. Common examples of somatopsychic disorders are memory loss and anxiety associated with abnormally low blood sugar levels, severe depression from very high blood calcium levels, and reduced sexual interest because of low testosterone (male hormone) levels.

Keep in mind that chemistry is a key factor influencing the behavior of ADD/ADHD individuals of all ages even though the source of the trouble-making chemistry happens to be the brain itself, not the body below it.

For completeness, be aware that somatopsychic disorders are the conceptual opposite of "psychosomatic" illness, mental stress causing changes in body chemistry and function. For example, a frightening experience can cause the stomach to secrete excessive volumes of acid. The concept of psychosomatic illness originated with Psychiatrists, not Neuroendocrinologists.

Too often, even today, ADD/ADHD people are thought of by many including professionals as willfully lazy or just plain stupid rather than brain-chemically different and in need of medical help. Let's hope this ignorance of what the ADD/ADHD disorder really is will rapidly diminish as we move further into the 21st century.