Attention Defecit Disorder Essay Research Paper IntroductionThere

Attention Defecit Disorder Essay, Research Paper

Introduction

There are at least two million children and adolescents with attention deficit disorders in the United States. This large number of people which are affected by this disorder makes it something which we as a society must take seriously. In the following essay I will explore many facets of this disorder. These include: An overview of ADD/ADHD, the history of understanding this disorder, common symptoms, theories about why it occurs, how to diagnose it, medical treatments, non-medical treatments, and finally how it affects those who are afflicted with this problem.

Overview

It is estimated that between two and three percent of all student age children have an attention deficit disorder. This number is most likely only a partial counting of the children who struggle with this disorder, as almost half of all cases go undiagnosed. Boys are diagnosed with this disorder between five to nine times more frequently than girls. It is believed that many girls have this disorder but don t display the disruptive behavior which people often tie to ADD/ADHD. But what exactly is this disorder that I am talking about. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This is the official term used to describe all attention deficit disorders. These include; the predominantly inattentive type (ADD), the predominantly hyperactive and impulsive type, and the combined type. These used to all be classified under the ADD title, but for

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many children hyperactivity was the larger symptom than a lack of attention. Yet there are all kinds of children who exhibit different combinations of the symptoms which make up ADHD. ADHD is a, Developmental disorder characterized by inappropriate degrees of inattention, over activity, and impulsivity. (Rief, Checklist for Basic Information on ADD/ADHD) Yet ADHD is a disorder on many different levels. ADHD is A production disorder. It is not a problem of learning per se. A person with ADHD may know the information or material well; but it is a problem of being able to perform or output that information and to do so consistency. (Rief, Checklist for Basic Information on ADD/ADHD) ADHD is also a Physiological disorder causing difficulty with inhibiting one s behavior and impulses. self-control, and goal-directed behavior. (Rief, Checklist for Basic Information on ADD/ADHD) With ADHD the attention center of the brain is not working properly, which leads to these types of problems in performance and production. A common misconception about this type of disorder is that it only effects children. This is not true. ADHD is a lifelong disorder. Its symptoms persist into adolescents, and up to seventy percent of those afflicted continue to exhibit symptoms into adulthood. The hyperactive symptoms seen in children often translates into fidgetiness or other nervous behaviors in adults. Yet this much has not always been known about the disorder now referred to as ADHD.

History

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ADHD has not always been so clearly understood. In the early nineteen hundreds, children were noted who were excessively active and distractible, impulsive, unruly, and difficult to deal with both at home and in school. Even though some of these children were of average intelligence, with no detectable physical problems, their symptoms were associated with brain damage. This link between hyperactivity and brain damage was strengthened during the nineteen-eighteen encephalitis epidemic when scientists noticed that children recovering from encephalitis displayed this type of behavior. Research involving animals and children with epilepsy and other central nervous system disorders strongly supported the link between hyperactivity and brain damage. In order to try to explain this type of behavior in children without any physical symptoms, scientists coined the terms minimal brain damage or minimal brain dysfunction . These people reasoned that these children were suffering from brain damage which was not detectable by medical tests. These terms were used to describe children who were hyperactive deep into the fifties. Doctors of the time recommended classrooms with little or no stimulation and though that the children would outgrow these problems. As early as nineteen thirty-seven, doctors found that by prescribing stimulant s, hyperactive children could be calmed. These reports received little interest from mainstream society. It wasn t until the nineteen fifties that the idea of medicating children of this nature became a viable alternative to simply waiting for the child to grow out of it .

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During this period, research was also being done into the causes of this disorder and past myths were beginning to be challenged. The idea that this disorder was caused by brain damage was about to be replaced. Scientists saw that these children did not have brain damage, but that this had been falsely inferred based on their behavior. They noticed that, there was excessive motor activity, which brought the child into conflict with their environment. The new term for what we now know as ADHD became hyperkinesis, which means excessive motion . By the early nineteen seventies, however, scientists focused less on motor activity. Led by psychologist Virginia Douglas, scientists changed their focus to the attention span of children who exhibited this disorder.