Attention Deficit Disorder - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD/ADD

ADHD is attention deficit disorder accompanied by impassivity and over activity. Medical scientists think ADHD is caused by a chemical problem in the brain. The front part of the brain helps you pay attention, concentrate, organize things, and put breaks on impulsive or unacceptable behavior. People's brains with ADHD may not be able to use the brain's main signal senders, neurotransmitters, the way it is suppose to. The front part of the brain has very little to do with intelligence, so it is possible to be very smart and still have ADHD.

When I first heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), I thought, "C'mon. This psycho-babble has gone too far." I saw psychologists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, parents, all talking seriously about this claimed disorder. But what I didn't think about was where this information was coming from. Many talk shows have featured ADHD, where self-righteous citizens cheer, boo, and hiss like a jury at some medieval witch trial. A writer for the reputable publication New York magazine wrote: "[ADHD] is certainly a fitting disorder for the Nintendo and MTV generations--children who seem more at home playing computer games than having a quiet dinner conversation with their parents," which sounds like it was written by a disgruntled "parent" rather than an unbiased reporter (Blau 45). And an article in Time ran quotes from erudite psychologists like Robert Reid, who said that ADHD is just an ego-preserving excuse, merely "a label of forgiveness" (Wallis 42). Newspapers ran these argumentative headlines: "Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Deficit Diagnoses" and "Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder" (Perkins A1, Vatz 82). And before I began learning about ADHD, I too was a media-driven skeptic. But, as with most things, knowledge begets understanding. "3-5% of school-age children are affected by ADHD. Hyperactivity is easy to spot, and more boys than girls tend to be hyperactivity. If one person in a family has ADHD, there is a good chance that someone else in the family had or has it too." (Beal 10) It is best to get evaluated for ADHD as early as possible. In most cases, someone at school, a teacher, counselor, or principal suggest a student be tested for ADHD. The evaluations usually take time and are done in two parts.

First a student takes one or more of the following tests: Intelligence - to help evaluate the students IQ and reasoning abilities. Achievement - to find the actual grade level the student is working at. Fine motor skills - to see if there are problems with the student's hand-eye coordination and/or writing skills.

Then the student is evaluated. Parents are asked to describe their child's behavior over a long period of time. The student's teachers are asked to rate the student's behavior using standardized forms, and to give their personal opinion of the student's schoolwork and behavior. The student is asked what they think their problem is what their thoughts and feelings are and, what they do at home and school.

When all the information from the test, evaluations, and observations has been combined, a medical diagnosis is made. "A diagnosis of ADHD is given only if the child has a life long history of these symptoms'': being easily distracted, difficulty listing, paying attention, and organizing, constant fidgeting, inability to participate in quite activities, and talking excessively.

"Treatment for ADHD is multimodal." That means it uses a combination of things to help a person with ADHD focus attention and concentration, to minimize impulsive and hyperactive behavior; and to deal with the emotional, social, behavioral, and educational problems that are symptoms of ADHD.

Recent media coverage might lead one to believe that ADHD is something new, a nineties thing, some vogue malady that somehow explains our disaffected modern youth. Yet the hyperactive child has always been around. He was class clown, the kid in the back row who never shut up. He was the kid whom the teacher constantly sent out of the room or to the office. In the past, these were the children who fell through the proverbial cracks in education.

Throughout the seventies and eighties, these hyperactive children were commonly treated with prescription drugs such as Ritalin, the drug that seems to be such a hot topic of debate today. (I can almost hear Geraldo asking his audience, "Today's topic: Are we drugging our children?") According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, between 1987 and 1989, "major national television talks show hosts (e.g., Oprah Winfrey, Geraldo Rivera, Phil Donahue, and Morton Downey, Jr.) . . . allowed anecdotal and unsubstantiated critical allegations concerning Ritalin use and side effects to be aired" (Safer 1004). To make matters worse, a Washington lawyer initiated nearly twenty lawsuits contending that Ritalin was being indiscriminately prescribed, as children suffered damaging side effects. At the time, "the attorney was treated in the media as an expert on methylphenidate" (Safer 1004). Later, it was discovered that the lawyer had ties to the Church of Scientology, an organization notorious for media manipulation and opposition to established psychological practices.

Treatment usually starts with medication. "Two major medications that are used are stimulants and antidepressants." Medication will not control emotional or behavioral problems. Medication can improve your ability to concentrate and calm down. "Medication seems to work for more than 90% of people who try them." Of the stimulants, Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Cylert seem to be the medications that work the best for people. "Between 70 and 75% of people with ADHD have success with these three medications." The most common stimulants used to treat ADHD are Ritalin and Dexedrine.

Because Ritalin--methylphenidate hydrochloride--is a psycho stimulant, there were concerns that children could become dependent on the drug (yes, Geraldo, they do give these kids "speed"). However, Ritalin is a mild stimulant prescribed in doses of 5, 10, and 20 milligrams, depending on the severity of the problem--not enough to get them high or hooked. In ADHD in Schools, George J. DuPaul, a researcher and specialist on ADHD, says that possible side effects of Ritalin--drug addiction, depression, and "other emotional difficulties"--have been proposed "primarily in the popular media. These claims have no basis in the empirical literature and should not be considered actual treatment risks" (152). Of the children treated with Ritalin, seventy percent respond positively