Attention Deficit Disorder Essay, Research Paper

Growing Transitions

3

I

Introduction

In the United States of America, one to three percent of the school age population have the full attention deficit (hyperactivity) Disorder syndrome (Internet site 1). This numerical figure may not seem to convey a need for enlightenment on this disability. As an attention deficit disorder child (and adult), I feel that it is important for the public to be aware. It could happen to your child just as easily as it did me.

Definition

The definition of attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of the American Psychiatric Association is: ADHD is a disorder that can include a list of nine specific symptoms of inattention and nine symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity:

1. An individual experiencing at least six of the following characteristics defines ADHD Inattentive type:

a. Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes

b. Difficulty sustaining attention

c. Does not appear to listen

d. Struggles to follow through on instructions

e. Difficulty with organization

f. Avoids or dislikes requiring sustained mental effort

g. Often loses things necessary for tasks

h. Easily distracted

i. Forgetful in daily activities

2. An individual experiencing six of the following characteristics defines ADHD hyperactive/impulsive type:

a. Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat

b. Difficulty remaining seated

c. Runs about or climbs excessively (in adults may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness)

d. Difficulty engaging in activities quietly

e. Acts as if driven by a motor

f. Talks excessively

g. Blurts out answers before questions have been completed

h. Difficulty waiting in turn taking situations

i. Interrupts or intrudes upon others

(Internet site 1)

Abstract definition of attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder: Imagine living in

a fast-moving kaleidoscope, where sounds, images, and thoughts are constantly shifting.

Feeling easily bored, yet helpless to keep your mind on tasks you need to complete.

Distracted by unimportant sights and sounds, your mind drives you from one thought or

activity to the next. Perhaps you are so wrapped up in a collage of thoughts and images that you don’t notice when someone speaks to you.

Goal

Within this paper, I plan on explaining what attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder really is, how it affects the child/adult emotionally and socially, and what treatments and management techniques are available for it.

Brain scan images produced by positron emision tomography (PET) show differences between an adult with Attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (right) and an adult free of the disease (left). (Internet site 2).

II

History

Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder is a rather new diagnosis. Like many disabilities, it took time to evolve into an issue serious enough to study. Up until the 1940 s, if children had difficulty learning, they were either mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, socially or culturally disadvantaged, or had a nervous system Disorder. Children with these symptoms were thought to have the same learning problems as children with brain damage. The distinction between the two was that children with the listed symptoms looked normal. Researchers than deemed children within those guidelines had minimal brain damage as the official term.

Around this time, another group of researchers speculated that children that fit within the guidelines did not have brain damage. The explanation of this was due to Faulty wiring inside the brain. This was the cause of nerve pathways not functioning correctly. This concept was accepted and became the mainstream view. minimal brain damage was now called minimal brain dysfunction (MBD). In 1968, minimal brain

dysfunction was changed to attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (AD(H)D). There were two categories to attention deficit disorder: attention deficit disorder with

hyperactivity (ADHD), and attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (ADD). The distinction is that of unimportance within this paper, hyperactivity is an addition to the main focus attention deficit disorder.

III

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder is based on the set of observed symptoms outlined within the introduction of this paper. It is very hard to diagnose a child with attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder while in a professional sitting. The child tends to know that they are expected to act calm and attentive while in an enviorment that is not well known. To diagnos a child, it is neccesary to observe the child in a structured and unstructured setting.