ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a common childhood problem affecting as much as 3-5% of the school-age population. The core symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Children with ADHD exhibit functional impairment across multiple settings and engage in disruptive behaviors, thus inviting criticism from adults and peer rejection. Psycho stimulant medication has been shown to be reasonably successful, but may produce significant side effects in a school-age child. A multi-component model of intervention consisting of pharmacological treatment in consonance with contingency management and cognitive behavior modification techniques seems to be the answer for this very baffling problem. For practitioners to have confidence in the expected outcomes, specific procedures to implement behavioral management in school classrooms must be scientifically replicated.
Chapter 1
Introduction
What is ADHD?
Impact of ADHD
Diagnostic Standards
Related Disorders and Comorbidity
Chapter 2
Review of literature
Multi-component Intervention
Comorbidity
Pharmacological Intervention
Chapter 3
Methodology
Chapter 4
Findings and results
Chapter 5
Conclusions and summary
Overview of ADHD
Introduction
What is ADHD? ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a common childhood problem. It is estimated that ADHD affects 3-5% of the school-age population, which means that as many as 3.5 million children could be affected nationwide.
ADHD is not a defined biological entity, but a collection of related symptoms and behaviors that interfere with an individual's capacity to regulate activity level (hyperactivity), inhibit behavior (impulsivity), and attend to tasks (inattention) in ways that are developmentally appropriate. The core symptoms of ADHD include a proneness to being easily distracted, an inability to sustain attention and concentration, inappropriate levels of activity, and impulsivity.
Children with ADHD often fail to pay close attention to details or make careless mistakes in schoolwork. They are unable to follow through on instructions and fail to complete tasks on time, do not seem to listen when spoken to directly, and have difficulty organizing tasks and activities. They often avoid tasks that require sustained mental effort. Further, a child with ADHD often loses things needed for home or school, is easily distracted, and is often forgetful. Hyperactive behavior includes inability to sit still, and thereby fidgeting or squirming when sitting, talking out of turn, and the like. Thus, children having ADHD
Overview of ADHD exhibit functional impairment across multiple settings, which include the home, the school, and peer relationships.
According to Barkley (1997), behavioral inhibition is the main underlying component of ADHD. This impairment negatively influences nonverbal working memory, internalization of speech, self-regulation of affect/motivation / arousal, and analysis-synthesis processes.
Impact of ADHD. Besides long-term adverse effects on academic and vocational performance, ADHD has been observed to negatively impact social-emotional development. The academic and social difficulties experienced by individuals with ADHD have far-reaching consequences. Interestingly, the core symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are traits also seen in children unaffected by ADHD. Such a study can however be meaningful only when comparison is made between children at the same developmental level. For example, while it is perfectly normal for an active three-year to be impulsive or to interrupt others, similar behavior by an eight-year-old would be a cause for concern.
Diagnostic standards. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition; DSM-IV (1997), American Psychological Association, lists the essential steps in diagnosing ADHD. The diagnosis of ADHD must be based on a number of observations
Overview of ADHD since no validated diagnostic text exists to confirm the clinical diagnosis of the disorder. Typically, parents and teachers complete questionnaires, children are observed at home and at school, psychological tests are administered, and a clinical interview of the child and the family is conducted.
The Conners Teacher's Rating Scale (CTRS), developed in 1969, is a behavioral rating scale that has been used extensively as an assessment tool in the identification of ADHD.
ADHD is also exhibited in forms where all the components of attention-deficit or hyperactive behavior may not be present. In the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III; American Psychological Association, 1980), two distinct diagnostic categories were used to distinguish inattentive behavior that occurred on its own (Attention Deficit Disorder without Hyperactivity; ADD/WO) from such behavior that occurred with overactivity (Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; ADD/H).
The distinction between the two disorders was dropped in next revision of the manual, the DSM-III-R (APA, 1987), in which all three symptoms were subsumed into one category of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A residual category, Undifferentiated Attention Deficit Disorder (UADD), was included in the DSM-III-R for children who exhibit pure inattentive behavior.
Overview of ADHD
Clinicians typically report that boys are referred for AD/HD assessment nine times more often than girls. Studies using a broader population base generally indicate that the ratio of boys to girls with the disorder is closer to 3:1." "In people with AD/HD, the brain areas that control attention have been observed to use less glucose, indicating that they are less active." 4. Strength related to the student with an exceptionality. Individuals with
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become a relatively common diagnosis. Most young people know someone with the diagnosis, if they have not themselves been diagnosed. The article "More Diagnoses of A.D.H.D. Causing Concern," published in The New York Times, highlights the growing concerns with the increase in diagnoses of ADHD in children and teens. While there are certainly kids that legitimately have ADHD, some doctors are rushing through the
Scientists have not yet figured out what causes ADHD, even though many studies propose that genes play a large part. Like a lot of other sicknesses, ADHD almost certainly can be contributed to a mixture of factors. In addition to genetics, researchers are looking at probable environmental factors, and are examining how brain injuries, nutrition, and the social environment might add to ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (2010). Most
He must have a reasonable amount of stick-to-itiveness and patience to tolerate difficult tasks; if he gives up immediately, learning will obviously be impaired. And... The ADHD child is both inattentive and readily frustrated. The learning problems are further complicated because they tend to move in vicious circles; they often snowball. (Wender, 2000, p. 22) Another related aspect is that unless the problems that the student is experiencing are related
In addition, a number of anti-depressants may be prescribed, such as Norpramin, Elavil and Wellbutrin. The side effects of these medications also vary, but for the most part, they cause a slower heart rate, possible seizures, dry mouth, and constipation. Yet overall, the side effects are usually minor and when the child responds favorably to the medication, it obviously outweighs the side effects. The effectiveness of these medications produce positive
The right medication stimulates these under-operating chemicals to make added neurotransmitters, thereby enhancing the child's potential to concentrate, have a check on the impulses, and lessen hyperactivity. Medication required to attain this usually needs a number of doses in the course of the day, since a single dose of medication remains effective for a short interval up to 4 hours. but, slow or timed-release types of medication for instance,
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