Children and ADHD Essay

ADHD is a very common neurodevelopment disorder of childhood. It is usually diagnosed in late childhood, around the age of seven by the teachers. The symptoms are typical during ages 3-6 and if not treated properly becomes chronic and persists even after entering adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, staying organized and controlling impulsive behaviors. It is very difficult to diagnose and when undiagnosed the children can grow to be mislabeled as trouble makers in their adulthood.

According to Dr. Rosemary Hutchinson, ADHD is one of the most difficult conditions to diagnose and at least three evaluations with the family should be done before making a diagnosis. It is important for a doctor to have knowledge of the child’s illnesses, developmental milestones, and family life. ADD/ADHD have the symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity are common to a number of other conditions that can be mistaken for ADD/ADHD. Children may show signs of these behaviors due to family and social problems. (Hutchinson)

ADHD children have trouble in school with reading, handwriting and paying attention to what is important. They constantly fidget and squirm and can't express their thoughts into words. Detecting ADHD is a complicated matter since there are no blood tests or evident genetic tests to confirm this syndrome.

ADHD Research Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disability in which children consistently show one or more of the following characteristics over a period of time. (1) Inattention, (2) hyperactivity, and (3) impulsivity (Kirst-Ashman, Zastrow 2004). Children who are inattentive have difficulty focusing on any one thing and may get bored with a task after only a few minutes. Children who are hyperactive show high levels of physical activity, almost always seeming to be in motion. Children who are impulsive have difficulty curbing their reactions and don’t do a good job of thinking before they act.

One controversial area of pediatric (children's) medicine is in the treatment of condition called Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Symptoms of ADHD often include: hyperactivity, impulsive behavior and the inability to concentrate. In some instances, the symptoms extend beyond that into areas such as anti-social activities and even aggression.

The symptoms can often start during the early ages of a child’s life and continue on into adulthood, but symptoms do not always show at a young age(“Treatment”). Some symptoms for inattention include not being able to keep focus during conversations, lectures, or lengthy reading, not listening when one is directly spoken to, not following through with tasks such as school work, getting easily sidetracked, forgetting things throughout the day, and having problems organizing things(“NIMH”). Some signs of hyperactivity could include fidgeting in their seats, talking non stop, blurting out randomly, interrupting in conversations, and constantly being on the go(“NIMH”). Some people could show more symptoms of inattention, and some could show more of hyperactivity, it just depends. ADHD can be mistaken for emotional or disciplinary problems, and also for other disorders that have similar

According to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) there are three main types of ADHD. These types are Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with predominance in inattentiveness, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with predominance in hyperactivity and impulsiveness, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with a combination of both hyperactivity and inattentiveness. There are certain criteria that must be met before a diagnosis can be made to attribute ADHD to the behavior of anyone.

Not being able to keep still, talking out of turn, and not being able to resist temptation are many traits of a child under the age of twelve; also, the symptoms of a child diagnosed with ADHD. Though there isn’t a test to determine whether or not a child has ADHD many psychiatrists are quick to incline that the child may have this behavioral disorder even though they could just be acting like children. Not only are psychiatrists too quick to diagnose they’re also quick to prescribe medications that have high risks of causing behavioral changes and disruption of the chemical balance within the brain. Children under the age of twelve should never be diagnosed and/or prescribed medication for attention deficit hyperactivity

Although so many kids are getting diagnosed with adhd; There is a 1 out of 5 percent of children who are being misdiagnosed with the disorder. Studies show that not all kids that are overly hyperactive, or can’t stand still have adhd. However some kids you can tell just from a glance right away, and others it may require a lot more work than what the human eye can see. The official definition of adhd is “ A chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness”. It is based on subjective criteria so you can’t just say you think your kid has adhd.

Families who have children with ADHD often experience much higher anxiety and stress levels. A large number of children, almost half, will exhibit signs of ADHD by the age of four. However, most children are not diagnosed until he or she reaches elementary school. The behaviors that are associated with ADHD in children put them at risk for a host of other problems and complications such as completing their education, alcohol and other drug abuse, and an increased risk for delinquency. There has been much research on ADHD in recent years and many different types of medications and interventions have proven to be quite helpful. With the proper diagnosis and treatment, children with ADHD can learn to cope with the daily demands of the classroom, social situations, family interactions, and life in general.

The American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) Guidelines and Evaluation for the Child with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder are tools used in conjunction with American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV (DSM-IV). The criterion used is specific to appropriately diagnose ADHD ensuring a national standard. During the medical practitioners evaluation the following are measured against the DSM-IV criteria [but are not limited to], age symptoms began, length of symptoms, occurrence of symptoms in multiple settings etc (cdc.gov).

ADHD is not just an ordinary disorder. It is also hard to diagnose someone because it has the same symptoms like the other disorders. This really affects many domains in the life of a person having this disorder. There’s no difference in adult ADHD and child ADHD. Only the way their symptoms manifest in their lives. It takes a long process so it can be treated. Medications, counselling and other treatments is not enough to treat this disorder. Support of the family and friends may help to treat this condition. Maybe it’s not that grave like the other disorder, but there’s still a need of further study and focus.

In order to properly diagnose a child with ADHD the symptoms have to be persuasive. The child has to exhibit the symptoms in the home as well as outside of the home. Interference of a child’s social life, quality of life and academics must be apparent. ADHD disorder stand alone or only can be present without other mental disorders.

There is no medical, physical or genetic test for ADHD, in order to be diagnosed with ADHD the individual would need to be seen by a doctor. Typically, doctors check for behavior that is not typical for the person’s age or behavior that has a negative impact

The different causes, symptoms, rick factors, complications and ways to prepare for your appointment. ADHD was first mention in 1902 a man by the name of Sir George. ADHD was at one point known as ADD Attention-deficit disorder but in today’s world it is now ADHD. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic condition that affects children and adults. ADHD includes different types of problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Children with ADHD struggle with low self-esteem, troubled relationships and poor performance in school. I’m also going to give examples on how parents can help their child that has Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Just to give you some information about how ADHD affects adults some of their symptoms are trouble focusing, difficulty completing tasks, disorganization, and low frustration tolerance, mood swings, hot temper, trouble coping with stress, unstable relationships. ADHD in children sometimes get confused with normal behavior. Most healthy children are active and have troubles focusing and it normal for them to have short attention spans and not be able to work on one project for a long period of time for those kids who are preschool age. For older and preteen their attention spans is based on level of interest. Today most doctors will not test a child for ADHA until they are school age (5-6 years old).