ADHD
...atically. It became most noticeable after World War I when there was an outbreak of encephalitis. Doctors noticed that patients had developed post encephalitic syndrome. This disorder impaired memory and attention, produced poor motor control, irritability, untidiness, and general hyperactivity (Thomas Armstrong 6). In the 1930’s doctors began to experiment with psychoactive drugs to control the hyperactivity. Charles Bradley discovered that if a doctor used a stimulant called Benzedrine it would help calm the hyperactive behavior down. This was different than what the doctors had originally believed. They thought that by using a stimulant it would enhance the hyperactive behavior. In the 1960’s Ritalin became a household name after it was used to treat for hyperactivity. In the 1970’s Canadian researcher Virginia Douglas said that attention was a bigger problem than the hyperactivity. She helped produce and publish around 2000 studies on ADHD. In 1980 the APA officially listed attention deficit disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Thomas Armstrong 7). In 1990 some people wanted to give those that suffered from ADHD a handicap condition under the federal laws, but Congress refused to pass it. The following year, 3 stimulations were given to students to receive special education, and once again Congress stopped them (Thomas Armstrong 9). Time magazine officially made Americans become aware of the disorder when they published “Driven to Distraction” in 1994. After this time it was rumored that President Bill Clinton even suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Thomas Armstrong 7). The name of attention deficit hyperactive disorder has gone through approximately 25 different names. It was officially given the name attention deficit disorder in 1980 by the APA. Since then it has been renamed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to focus more on the hyperactivity of the disorder. The names have gone through such changes as: organic driveness, restlessness syndrome, postencephalitc behavior disorder, Strauss syndrome, brain injured child, minimal brain dysfunction or damage, hyperactive child syndrome, hyperkinetic reaction of childhood, developmental hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Thomas Armstrong 8). There are three main features of ADHD: hyperactivity, impulsity and inattention (Thomas Armstrong 4). Some characteristics of hyperactivity would include: constant motion, highly energetic, unnecessary movement, restlessness, always needs something in hands, fidgets and squirms, roams, difficulty being quiet and can’t stay in own boundaries. The impuslity characteristics are: talks excessively, blurts out verbally, difficulty being patient, interrupts, can’t wait for turn or keep hands or feet to self, makes same mistakes, can’t stop and think about actions, trouble standing in lines, fearless or engages in dangerous activities, hurries through things, doesn’t correct work and disturbs others (Sandra Rief 9-10). The inattention part has four main kinds: Caught, focused, sustained and selective. When a child or adult suffers from ADHD each of these are affected (Jean McBeen Knox 30). The background is very important in learning about ADHD, but one needs to learn about its symptoms and their causes. Like the definition of ADHD there are no real known causes. Psychologists have been able to come up with a few ideas that they believe contribute to it. The disorder could be heredity, if an individual has a parent, brother or sister, of anyone directly related they are at an increased rate of having ADHD (Julie Williams 29). There is also a chance that a child could suffer prebirth or postbirth trauma or injury. This could relate from tobacco or alcohol use, high levels of lead and birth complications. Some may have medical conditions that contribute to it such as hyperthyroidism, or certain illnesses such as encephalitis (Sandra Rief 14-15). The brain is a main contributor to the causes of ADHD. If there is a deficiency in the brain chemicals, particularly the neurotransmitters it’s an increased risk. Brain injuries caused by actions or infections, or any types of brain disorders also cause problems. The environment that an individual is in can also have an affect on the risk for ADHD. The family, school, community and person’s actions contribute a lot to personality and self-view (Julie Williams 29). The symptoms in ADHD range dramatically and it is hard to pinpoint just one or two of them. The two main characteristics of symptoms are defect in attention and concentration and overactive behavior (Richard Suinn 462). Dealing with attention and concentration a child with ADHD may have problems focusing on a single task or focusing for long periods of time, screening out distracting information, can’t finish project, can’t seem to listen, and have trouble sitting still. A child may have overactive behavior if they show signs of short attention span, careless or impulsive errors, can’t follow simple requests, lack of planning or organization in activities, and aggressive behavior (Jean McBeen Knox 30). They may show sings of incapability of more than one speed of response, can’t have self control, high levels of inappropriate behavior and their activities are often abnormal. Normal children can show signs of hyperactivity but the difference is that normal children can act appropriately at occasion (Richard Suinn 462). Children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder often suffer from other problems emotionally, socially or physically. They seem to have lower self-esteem, difficulty relating to peers, problems following rules, learning disabilities, conduct disorders, Tourette’s syndrome, mood disorders and anxiety (Thomas Armstrong 5). They may be easily angered, moody, easily frustrated, irritable, annoyed quickly, and may lose their temper easily (Sandra Rief 10-11). There are many different kinds of treatments for those that suffer from ADHD. They can go through behavior modification, family, parent or individual counseling, psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, social skills training, school interventions, special services and support, teacher awareness, physical outlet, medical intervention, involvement with other activities, parent education and ongoing teamwork (Sandra Rief 28-29). The three most used ways of treatment are: school intervention, psychological treatment and the use of medication (Richard Suinn 463). The school becomes a very important role in the diagnostic of ADHD. The hyperactive behavior becomes more visible through behaviors and actions at school. A child cannot outgrown ADHD and therefore should not be taken out of their classroom, should just be kept in a regular one. The classroom should be controlled and should work in skills such as individual planning, flexibility and high encouragement. The Medical College School Program is a controlled classroom that offers behavior lessons for students and parents, and group therapy. They often times will take severe cases and treat them, so they can b...