Add Adhd Essay, Research Paper
ADD/ADHD
ADHD is one of the most common mental disorder, affecting 3-5% of children, or about one in every classroom. Once it was thought that only boys are affected by ADHD but it is now knows that the ratio affected boys to affected girls is about 3-1. For me many people ADHD continues for their entire life. Scientists have recently made advances in the field of ADHD and variety, of options are available to those who live with it. The advances involve medications – education – alternatives, and be havior changing therapies. Scientists hope to help those with ADHD build self-esteem, and focus their attention. Scientist are currently looking for ways to pinpoint the exact cause of ADHD and learn how to treat and prevent it.
People who have ADHD have no physical signs of it, and their behavior can vary from person to person. To be diagnosed with ADHD, a person must display characteristic behavior consistently over a period of time. Most of the behaviors fall into tree major categories. Tinaltensron, Hyperactivity, and Impassivity.
Those with ADHD usually have a hard time keeping their mind on one task. They are inattentive and get board after a few minutes of doing some tasks. While they may be able to give proper attention to favorite activities, organizing and deliberately finishing something, or learning something new can be an extremely laborious task.
Often children with ADHD seem to be in fast forward. They cannot seem to sit still. They will roam around, fidget, and shift from one uncompleted task to another.
Children with ADHD are often impulsive and will not think about doing on act, or even be able to control their reactions to do something. They will have a hard time waiting for things, may have a short temper, and will blurt things out.
Not all people who do these things have ADHD. Most everyone will at some time leave a task unfinished, blurt something out he or she do not want to say or be forgetful. The specialists will asses someone by determining weather the behaviors are a common problem and appear everywhere. The specialists will also set the person s behavior against a list of set characteristics of people with ADHD. The list of characteristics appears in the DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental Disorders. The DSM says that people who show signs of being inattentive, impulsitivity and are hyperactive may be ADHD if the behavior stands out before age seven and last for more than six months. The behaviors must also create a handicap in two areas of the person s life. These areas may include places like school or home or social settings. Children with ADHD will often be distracted with outside things like a window, an air conditioner; body distractions like a itch from a wool sweater, other thoughts like plans for the weekend, and daydreams (Levine 22). The signs of being inattentive are:
-Becoming easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds.
-Failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes.
-Rarely following carefully and completely
-Losing or forgetting things like toys, pencils, books and tools needed for a task
Some signs of hyperactivity and inpulesitivity are:
-Feeling restless, often squirming or fidgeting with hands or feet
-Running, climbing or leaving a seat, in situations where siting or quiet behavior is expected
-Blurting out answers before hearing the whole question
-Having difficulty waiting in line for a turn
(National, online)
Distractions such as seizures, fears, and middle ear infections may create the same characteristics as above in a person. Also, if work is too easy or too hard, a child can become board and restless, that can appear to be ADHD. Therefore, phycologisits are very careful in labeling someone ADHD. It is considered a serious diagnosis, and often requires long term concealing and medication.
Other disorders often go hand in hand with ADHD. Those with learning disorders may find that ADHD makes everything twice as hard because as the student is having trouble mastering an academic skill, they also have to wrestle with the ADHD making it hard for the student to stay on track.
About half of the people with ADHD also have opposition defiant disorder. This means that they over react I response to low self-esteem. It is very important that care be given to these children because they may end up in serious trouble. They take unsafe risks and break the law.
Many of the children with ADHD also have emotional disorders. About twenty five percent feel anxious, tension and uneasiness. The strong feeling can affect the way the child thinks and behaves. Many other children experience depression. This is when they feel persistently sad and hopeless. It can affect a child s sleep, eating and thinking patters. With help, many of these additional disorders can be helped.
Another disorder that can be helped is Tourette s Syndrome. A small percentage of people with ADHD have Tourette s Syndrome. It causes involuntary bodily movement such as blinks and facial twitches. While not everyone who has ADHD has another disorder, it is important to watch people with ADHD carefully for development of additional disorders.
(Causes of ADHD?)
The people who diagnose ADHD and other disorders are usually a school psychologist or team of school psychologists and other professionals. If a family wants a second opinion, which they usually do, they may go to see a specialist with a private practice.
Once a diagnosis is made, parents have several options. Student have a right to free education, but often parents will choose alliterative schools such as the Fraser Academy in Vancouver, and New Way School of Phoenix. Another choice to make is either or not the child should be put on medication. The use of stimulant drugs for ADHD generates a lot of debate. There are many myths surrounding the drugs used and many people choose to seek natural alternatives. Yet another option to consider is the many forms o therapy available for both the individual with ADHD, the family, and peers who have to deal with the individual.
A few children with ADHD have problems too severe to function in a regular classroom. Medication and behavior control tactics do not help either.these children will often be placed in a special program were special education teacher could provide for tier unique needs. Usually children are able to stay mainstream. This is the preferred method of helping students because they learned along with their peers and develop techniques to help them leard that will follow into their adult life. Sometime how ever, on extra boost is needed to help a child reach their potential.
There are many strategies that can be used in the classroom help both teacher and students. Extra time on test and assignments can be given and point system can reward the student for achievements. Little picture cards can be placed on desks to remind student what is to be expected, and giving written instructions as well as oral ones can help as well.
The law gives most children the right to free education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantee s education to all people with disabilities from ages 3-21. Those involved write an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for the ADHD child after assessing the child s strengths and weaknesses. Those involved are usually the special education teacher, the parents, the school psychologist, the classroom teacher, and the school administration. After figuring out the initial, parents should attend regular meetings to stay up to date with their child s progress.
The use of stimulant drugs is a common tool used to treat ADHD. The most commonly used are Ritalin, Cylert and Dexedrine. When a doctor prescribes medicine properly and used properly as well, it is safe and nine out of ten children improve. Medication is available in different forms. Cylert is available in five to ten hour tablets, and Ritalin and Dexedrine comes in short term three hour tablets as well as long term tablets that last the duration of the school day. Doctors sometimes recommend that children refrain from taking drugs during the school day. Some children only take tablets when proper behavior is necessary, for example during the school day or during church.
Despite all the benefits of medication, the use of drugs on children is a great debate among doctors. Some claim that the use of drugs should stop because of the potential side effects. Some children experience a loss in appetite and lose weight. Others have problems falling asleep at night because of the stimulating effects of the drugs. Another debate going on is whether Ritalin is too heavily prescribed. Some claim that many children who do not have ADHD take drugs merely to control disruptive behavior.
When using drugs properly, the quality of the child s behavior ad schoolwork will drastically alter. It is the child s own strengths and natural abilities coming out from behind a cloud that are being seen, not the drugs. This is important to point out to the ADHD child who may feel that the good in them is actually the drug. This knowledge can help raise self-esteem. Other medications are in use for the high percentage of people who also have other disorders. Doctors will prescribe an antidepressant to help with anxiety or depression. Clonidine helps people with Tourette s syndrome and ADHD.
Several myths exist about stimulant drug therapy. One is that the use of stimulants led to drug addiction in the future. The truth is that in helping the child to concentrate and fell better about him, positive experiences happen which may actually prevent future addictions. Another myth is that medication should stop when a child reaches puberty. In factuality, eighty percent of the people on medication still use it at teenagers, and fifty percent use it as adults. Finally, some people believe that if a person responds well to a stimulant drug, the person must have ADHD. In reality, stimulants allow most people to feel focused and pay attention better. It is just that improvements are more noticeable when people have ADHD.
Several types of therapy are available to families with members who are ADHD. It is sometimes necessary because of problems brought by a cycle of frustration, blame and anger. Siblings often feel neglected because much of their parent s attention is on the brother or sister who has ADHD. Parents feel that the usual methods of discipline do not work for the ADHD child. This can give parents a feeling of hopelessness. The child with ADHD may feel abnormal and stupid and could benefit from therapy. One type of therapy that deals with the person who is ADHD is psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy works with people with ADHD to (help) like and accept themselves despite their disorder cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people work on immediate issues (and) supports them directly in changing their behavior social skills training can help children learn new behaviors support groups connect people who have common concerns parenting skills training offered by therapists or in special classes, give parents tools for managing their child s behavior.
There are also other controversial treatments like special diets and colored paper and lenses. Although there are a few success stories, there is no substitute for scientific evidence.
People with ADHD do not outgrow it. They can, however, develop ways to suppress their hyperactivity and channel it into more socially acceptable behaviors such as physical exercise. The combinations of medicine, skills and academic and emotional support that works for children also help adults. There is no cure for ADHD in sight, but advances happen in the field every day. Now scientists can actually observe the brain working, which has provided huge amounts of new information. They are beginning to understand the true nature of ADHD, and perhaps soon there will be an effective treatment for it, not just the symptoms.