Effects of ADHD in children

Children with ADHD face many behavioral challenges that may affect the way they live
their daily lives. Past treatments and diagnoses of the disorders that have been done should be
seen differently because it is becoming more of an issue in young children than ever before.
The best ways to approach the issues are by getting to the source that is causing the red flags,
make sure that the children who are having constant problems in classrooms are being taken
care of by the teacher and make sure that the parents of the children who are showing
symptoms are aware of what is going on in the classroom. This will not only help the parent
out but the child because the symptoms will have less of an effect on the behavior of the child
due to the time the child was evaluated.
According to the author Cook, M.D, of the article, Focus on Exceptional Children
(2005), explains the top three disorders that school age students go through. ADHD or
Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder is a chronic condition of lacking attention into
one subject, and the inability to sit still for a period of time. ADHD can also come from the
family background of the children. Cook also explains how the different types of behavioral
issues that children have that are similar to ADHD; School aged children also suffer a lot from
is ODD or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. This disorder causes children to be disobedient to
authority figures. ODD is also associated with ADHD. The only difference is that ODD
causes children to act with anxiety that may later cause them to lash out in class. It may also
cause depression. The final disorder that causes children to not be able to focus in class is,
Conduct Disorder. This causes children to act in a violent way toward others and animals.
There are other types of Conduct Disorder; a child with Aggressive Conduct causes threats or
harm to others. A child with Nonaggressive Conduct causes damage of property, theft, and
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Effects of ADHD in children

serious violation of rules and laws. This disorder also causes children to bully, fight, and run
away.
It is very important that the teachers of the classroom notice the symptoms that occur
within the children who show signs of these different disorders. It is also important that
school nurses get involved in knowing what the symptoms of the different disorders are so
that they are able to differentiate what is the best treatment for the disorders. Having great
communication skills between parents, teachers, and school psychologists is the best way to
understand what will be the best treatment to be prescribed the child. Having multiple views
looked upon at the situations could be very beneficial to the children who are showing signs
of the different disorders. The teacher would be able to focus on better ways the classroom
structure should be set up in order to help the children with the disorder to follow what is
going on in the classroom.
More children than ever before are in need of attention because of the different types of
disorders that they suffer from. These disorders are being unnoticed in the classroom because
the teachers are not aware of what they should look for if a child are to have shown
symptoms of the disorders. In the article, Psychological Treatments for Preschool- Aged
Children with Attention Deficient Disorder, Scott, LaForett, and Murray (2008), discuss
how young children from ages of two and up should be looked at closely by their parents and
teachers. It may be harder to diagnose and prescribe medication to children who are very
young because it may not be necessarily ADHD or any other disorders but instead a stage in
the children lives when they decide to act out in class. The authors also discuss how some
preschoolers who show symptoms of ADHD show symptoms of other disorders include
ODD, Anxiety Disorders, and Communication Disorders. Children under the age six who are
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Effects of ADHD in children

prescribed the medications methylphenidate and amphetamine causes a lot of concerns due to
the dosage they are given and combinations of other types of medication they are given along
with the medicine for ADHD. It is important that the child is being monitored while on the
medication because it can cause triggers in other areas later in life.
In the school systems, there are more teachers and faculty members who are now able
to approach ADHD and other disorders in ways that will be beneficial to the students who are
suffering in the classroom. Teachers now show interest in helping direct children with ADHD.
Teachers are taking that extra step into learning the symptoms of ADHD so they are more
aware of what they should do when they see that something is wrong with the child. They are
also able to construct the classroom in a way that will be beneficial to the childs ability to
learn in a more constructive way. A child with ADHD, are now able to better adjust to what is
going on while they are learning in the classroom. In the article, Education Leadership
Approaches to Improve School Preparedness of Children with Attention-Defiant/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD), Lindford A. Pierson explains how teachers are taking leadership roles by
interacting with the parents or caregivers at the schools so they can be informed about the
ways they are able to help better assist their child and be able to show them exactly what they
are doing to help the children in the classroom setting. As a result, the child is now able to be
more focus at home with their parents and be more focus in the classroom with their teachers.
Other approaches to figuring out a way to better the disorders are to find out what
triggers the symptoms of ADHD. ADHD is linked to many other issues that children have
while being young school age children. Some of the triggers include lack of sleep, food and
additives, stress, over use of technology and over stimulation. In the article, Effective
Intervention Strategies (DuPual, Janusis, Weyandt, 2011), teachers use techniques called
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Effects of ADHD in children

antecedent and consequence-based strategies. The antecedents the teachers are using in the
classroom are posting classroom rules that are set up in a way that is easy for all students
including the ones with ADHD. In order for the students to have a positive academic year,
teachers explain the rules that they should follow not only at the beginning of the school year
but throughout the school year so they are being constantly reminded about what is expected
of them. The children with ADHD will have rules posted in close range to them like on their
desk so that it will be a constant reminder to them what they are to do in class.
The next best ways to reduce the negative effects of ADHD in the classroom are by
trying the technique called consequence-based. According to DePual, Janusis, Weyandt
(2011), the most common behavioral intervention for ADHD in research literature, is the use
of contingent positive reinforcement in the form of teacher praise or token reinforcement.
Teachers will use this technique when the student does great work in class. If the student
complete the assigned work they were given to do by the teacher, that child will receive some
type of praise or token. Some types of token reinforcers are things like stickers, poker chips,
or points. This will allow for the student to continue to be successful in the classroom. The
child with ADHD should be aware of what is going on within them and evaluate their
behavior. According to DePaul, Janusis, Weyandt (2011), self-management intervention
encourages students with ADHD to monitor, evaluate, and/or reinforce their own behaviors.
ADHD is a universal issue that children all over the world are suffering from. In Britain,
at the Royal Holloway University of London a study was done on children who suffer from
ADHD, depression, and learning disabilities. In the article, Childrens attitudes towards
ADHD, depression and learning disabilities (Bellanca, Pote, 2013), they discuss a study that
was done with children who have ADHD and other disorders. The cause of this was because
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Effects of ADHD in children

in the British primary school system, characteristics that are linked to attitudes and stigma
from the children are causing problems with peer relationships. As a result of the study, it
showed that children who have negative attitudes had mental problems such as ADHD and
depression. In the study, the British study results also shows that children with the disorders
that were previously said earlier are also associated with the way that children interact with
other children. It is hard for them to build a relationship with other peers. Children who have a
difficult time having a social life tend to become very depressive and have even more
difficulty functioning in the classroom. The children also tend to develop a lot of behavioral
issues that will later lead them into acting out in class or at home.
Children who have ADHD are also linked to having Dyslexia. This disorder causes
many problems in the school setting such as the classroom. Dyslexia causes children to have
problems with reading and spelling errors, speech problems, and stress. In the article,
Psychological Principles of Learning Language in Children with ADHD and Dyslexia
(Konicarova, 2013), the author discuss how children with Dyslexia are associated with having
ADHD. Dyslexia in children affects the way children learn in the classroom because it is hard
for them to focus on their school work. This causes the children to have difficulty writing
words or sentences because Dyslexia causes spelling errors so children lose hope in doing the
work they are to do. The best way to help a child focus while having this disorder is to put the
child in a setting where they are able to focus on their classwork so they are able to get it done
and comprehend what they are actually doing. According to Konicarova, (2013), it is also said
children who suffers from ADHD and Dyslexia have a problem with language. It is hard for
some children to speak correctly when they talk. Children who have a speech impediment
tend to have a hard time managing their time in class and focus on their homework and get it
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Effects of ADHD in children

done in a timely manner, but since the child have a hard time reading and have a lot of
spelling errors; they cant sit still enough to get it done.
Children between the ages 6-14 years old completed a study that dealt with intelligence
and academic performance. During the study, 62 children with ADHD took a test that measured
their reading and spelling skills in a Brazilian school district. In the article, ADHD inattentive
symptoms mediate the relationship between intelligence and academic performance in children
aged 6-14(Costa, S. de. D., Diniz, S. D., Diniz, Malloy, F. L., Junior, Saores-Alvim. M. Antonio.,
Paula, de. J. Jonas., Miranda, de, M. Debora., Silva,-Romano A. Marco, 2014), discuss the result
and conclusion of the study that was done on the students which were that fluid intelligence had
a major impact on academic test through inattention. This means the students who took this test
had a lot of issues with focusing on their school work and had trouble with comprehension while
taking the test.
In the conclusion of the study that was done on the students in Brazil school system, fluid
intelligence is very much so linked to the influence of ADHD academic performance. As a result
of the test, it was found that the students who scored the lowest had a hard time taking the test
because they could not focus on what was in front of them. Although the study had its limitation
which was the information came from the parents of the child of the study and not directly from
the child themselves. The results of the study would not be any different because the student still
could have took the test on their own.