Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Title Page:
ADHD
(Attention Deficient/Hyperactivity Disorder)

By: Ryan Ritze

Authors Note:

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ABSTRACT:

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects millions of people

across the world, and the majority of these people are diagnosed with ADHD at a very
young age. ADHD is a mental illness in which you are not able to focus for long periods
of time, being overactive and having lots of excess energy, and not being in control of
your behavior. ADHD can usually be detected at a very young age, but if treated early on,
can be a very slight distraction throughout their life.
When I was first searching for a culture to talk about for this paper, I never knew
how in depth and how many people are affected with ADHD. It made me very interested
to learn more about this topic and the stereotypes surrounding this mental disease. After
researching this topic, people with ADHD can affect people through their behavior, the
way they learn and retain new information. It can also affect their lifestyles and
relationships.
Behavior
The average age to be diagnosed with ADHD is around the age of six years old.
Being diagnosed with ADHD is a very serious process because there are many common
symptoms of this mental disease that can be overlooked by doctors when diagnosing
someone with ADHD. Its more common that younger children will show strong
symptoms of ADHD because, during this time in their lives they are very active, learning
new things and always causing trouble which are all common symptoms of ADHD. But
what makes this much more serious are if there is a constant in all of these symptoms. Its
very common for children to act out every once in a while, but to do this constantly and
in a school setting is when this diagnosis becomes a reality to parents.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD is a disorder that usually appears early on in a childs life. About 5.1
million children worldwide are affected with this disease or 1 and 11 children between
the ages of 4 and 17 (Segal 2014). By the time the child is around five years old, they
have already observed how other children play, when to raise their hands during class,
and when to sit down when told too. But by the time the child is in a typical school
setting with lots of different students and friends, it becomes much harder to hide the
symptoms of ADHD. There are three distinctive behaviors in a child that can conclude
the diagnosis if the child has ADHD. Inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are
all common behaviors in a typical child with this mental disease. Inattentiveness is a
behavior in which a childs actions can be overlooked, and not properly looked into as a
mental problem and something that needs to be looked at more closely. Some symptoms
of this behavior include: overlooked mistakes, the child becomes extremely distracted,
doesnt listen to directions or their peers, and has a very difficult time staying organized
with their school work. Hyperactivity is another behavior that psychologists look for in a
child with ADHD because it is very hard for the child to participate in class and to pay
attention to their parents when there is so much excess energy in exhibited in the child. It
is hard for them to sit still, they need a calm and quiet environment to do their homework,
they are constantly fidgeting, cannot remember things, and they are easily bored and
distracted with things they arent interested in. Lastly, impulsivity is another type of
behavior doctors look for in children. This behavior shows the impulsive side of ADHD.
Some symptoms of this include: saying the first thing on the childs mind, acts without
thinking, is constantly interrupting people, doesnt fully answer the problems that are

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

given to the child in school and is constantly guessing on homework assignments, and its
hard for them to keep their emotions in check (NCLD).
While its very common for symptoms in children, its also common for adults
with ADHD to show these types of symptoms as well. If an adult is diagnosed with
ADHD its probably because earlier in life, their symptoms were overlooked by doctors
and psychologists because the symptoms are very similar with a child growing in age. Its
common to see a child lash out, or do poorly on a couple homework assignments. Thats
why its very hard to diagnose people with this illness.
ADHD back then, was thought to be a disorder that only occurred in younger
children, and slowly fade away as the child becomes older. But today, we realize that this
symptom doesnt just simply fade away over time, but follows you into adulthood. Some
common symptoms with adults and ADHD is they have a much harder time focusing on
the task at hand, they cannot easily remember information, and they are making
overlooked mistakes.
Dr. Russell Barkleys theory that he proposed in 1997 on the core impairment of
ADHD is still supported today. He believes that there are four specific areas of
malfunctioning in the brain that can lead an adult to the diagnosis of ADHD. Working
memory, internalization of self-directed speech, the self-regulation affect, motivation and
level of arousal, and the ability to break down observed behaviors (Whitbourne 2007).
Learning
One of the many misconceptions of ADHD is how it relates to different learning
disabilities. Learning disabilities and ADHD are two entirely different things. Sure, there
are some aspects of ADHD that can cause some trouble with a students learning, but

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

having a learning disability is a different diagnosis. About one-third of patients that have
a learning disability, also have ADHD, which can cause some confusion with parents and
teachers.
It is still unclear to researchers the cause of ADHD, but what they have found so
far is that it is the cause of a chemical imbalance in the brain concerning the
neurotransmitters: dopamine and serotonin. This can lead to problems with organization,
and causing students to lash-out and not being able to pay attention. Which can cause a
students inability to learn efficiently in a classroom with others.
There are many different types of symptoms to lead up to the diagnosis of
someone having a learning disability. It usually involves problems in all areas of learning
such as: spelling, reading, writing, math and listening. While ADHD is much more of a
mental problem, while a learning disability is the specific area in learning that students
have trouble with.
An interview I conducted with a University of Kentucky student, Maddie
Mackey, who is diagnosed with ADHD and has always had a difficult time with
homework and completing assignments on her own, It would take me 3 hours to do
homework that should have taken 30 minutes because I got so distracted. I also would
study for a test for hours and feel like I knew the material really well, but when I went to
take the test I completely forgot everything I studied the night before. These are some of
the symptoms that can be brought up with a learning disability. But Maddie had other
symptoms that led to the diagnosis of ADHD so its important to look at every scenario to
find the correct treatment.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Having a young child with ADHD can be very challenging for not just the
parents, but for the teachers at school as well. Teachers have a lot on their plate already
with having a full class, and then to change their lesson plans for specific students can be
very stressful. Growing up, one of my best friends from elementary school couldnt keep
up in school and had to go to a different school to get more one on one help because she
had a severe case of ADHD. It can definably be challenging for students to get adjusted
to new learning habits and different ways to take homework. But its definitely worth it to
find the right treatment for each case of ADHD for a young child, because these habits
cannot continue into high school and college to finish both successfully. Some steps to
help with students who need extra attention to succeed successfully in school would be to
plan ahead. Parents can arrange meetings with teachers and officials from school to figure
out the best way to help the student learn more efficiently so they can remember the
information and learn from it (National Institute of Mental Health 2003).
Also communication is key between parents and their child when they are
struggling to keep up in school. You have to communicate on a personal level to figure
out what is causing them to not pay attention and what you can learn from it. You have to
figure this out specifically from your child, and receive help from psychiatrists and
experts on the best way to help their child continue through school.
Some symptoms that keep students from paying attention in school is that they are
distracted by a million other things going on around them and thoughts in their head.
They are thinking about what snack they are going to have after school? Why is the
girl in front of me wearing a pink shirt? I wonder what I have in my lunch today?
They arent relevant topics, but its something they cant stop thinking about. Some other

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

things that could help with this is to break out lectures into smaller chunks to give
students a chance to take a small break and too be moving a little bit to help shake off the
tiredness and too get some energy out of the students. Teachers can also try and break
down larger assignments into mini-assignments to lead up to the larger project, and
whenever possible try to add physical activity into each lesson to help engage the
students more.
Another problem students with ADHD have is interrupting during unnecessary
times. Acting out on impulses is a very common theme with this mental illness so its
important to keep them on track. Group activities usually work best with keeping a
childs attention because they can participate and keep active and interested when
working with their peers instead of listening to their teacher talk all day. I know my
friends and other classmates can agree with this type of exercise. You need a break every
now and then and I think working with your friends and other classmates can help keep
your attention with almost anything.
Because keeping a childs attention is hard enough as it is, with our without this
mental illness, its very important that we are always up to date with children and their
style of learning. Every child has very different styles of learning and its important that
we are making sure we meet the needs of every child.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder