Every year three million children are prescribed drugs to help them focus. These drugs increase concentration at the time, which is why they are so widely used by college students, but what a lot of studies fail to mention are the long term affect drugs such as Adderall, and Ritalin will have on an individual. ADHD- Involves inattention, impulsivity, and excessive motor activity resulting in academic and social problems. (Berk) Children with ADHD cannot focus on tasks that require mental effort for more than a few minutes. What does this mean in everyday terms? They often act impulsively, and lash out with hostility when frustrated. (Berk) Children with ADHD have trouble concentrating and so they score seven to fifteen points lower than students who do not have ADHD on intelligence tests. Children who have been diagnosed with ADHD show abnormal brain functioning, including reduced electrical and blood-flow activity and structural abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. (Berk) Although I do not personally know an individual who has ADHD, an old classmate, (who shall be further addressed as Larry for privacy reasons) in an english class back in high school did.
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Speaking personally, before witnessing it first-hand I did not know what ADHD was. The young man at that time would always come to class late, be very disorganized, have trouble focusing on the content, be very restless, have numerous angry outbursts, and had trouble keeping relationships with fellow peers. Together all of the above signs are very important in diagnosing someone with ADHD. Both the Berk textbook and the article Ritalin Gone Wrong listed these signs in their research. Focusing on the young man, each sign is briefly discussed below. 1) Always late- "Larry" would always come in late to class which would take attention away from the class. Upon entering the classroom he would make his way to his seat and begin taking out his materials only for him to realize he forgot a pencil. 2) Disorganized- Forgetting materials for class was not anything new for Larry. He would then begin asking classmates around him for pencils, and then paper. 3) Focusing on content- It was very impressive the teacher knew exactly how to handle someone like Larry. Larry could not focus on content being taught at the time. 4) Restless- If an individual was asked to describe Larry, restless would be at the top of the list. Larry would always fidget and squirm. 5) Angry outbursts- Larry was the king of angry outbursts. One specific event that comes to mind is when the class was working on practice HSA tests and Larry 's computer would not log in he had a huge outburst, flipped two desks over, and walked out (true story). 6) Relationships- Larry never had any friends despite his friendly attitude. Anybody who he would try to befriend would think of his character negatively and so he would not be successful in trying. A lot of parents who have just been told their child has ADHD may not react in such positive manners. In the Berk textbook, we learn ADHD runs in families and his highly heritable. Children with ADHD are more likely to come from homes in which marriages are unhappy, and family stress is high. (Bernier & Siegel) The article Ritalin Gone Wrong teaches us that many affluent children are sometimes diagnosed with ADHD for behavior problems. Some of the possible sources of stress could include "domestic violence, or lack of social support from family and friends" (Ritalin Gone Wrong) After a parent learns their child has been diagnosed with ADHD they should really look back at their own household. Are there stresses in the household that may cause behavior outbursts? Am I (the parent) pushing my child too hard? How are my living arrangements? Or parental intrusiveness that involves a stimulation for which a baby may not be ready for.Two great examples given by Sroufe, a 6-month old baby is playing, and the parent picks it up quickly from behind and plunges it in the bath. Or a 3-year old is becoming frustrated while
Speaking personally, before witnessing it first-hand I did not know what ADHD was. The young man at that time would always come to class late, be very disorganized, have trouble focusing on the content, be very restless, have numerous angry outbursts, and had trouble keeping relationships with fellow peers. Together all of the above signs are very important in diagnosing someone with ADHD. Both the Berk textbook and the article Ritalin Gone Wrong listed these signs in their research. Focusing on the young man, each sign is briefly discussed below. 1) Always late- "Larry" would always come in late to class which would take attention away from the class. Upon entering the classroom he would make his way to his seat and begin taking out his materials only for him to realize he forgot a pencil. 2) Disorganized- Forgetting materials for class was not anything new for Larry. He would then begin asking classmates around him for pencils, and then paper. 3) Focusing on content- It was very impressive the teacher knew exactly how to handle someone like Larry. Larry could not focus on content being taught at the time. 4) Restless- If an individual was asked to describe Larry, restless would be at the top of the list. Larry would always fidget and squirm. 5) Angry outbursts- Larry was the king of angry outbursts. One specific event that comes to mind is when the class was working on practice HSA tests and Larry 's computer would not log in he had a huge outburst, flipped two desks over, and walked out (true story). 6) Relationships- Larry never had any friends despite his friendly attitude. Anybody who he would try to befriend would think of his character negatively and so he would not be successful in trying. A lot of parents who have just been told their child has ADHD may not react in such positive manners. In the Berk textbook, we learn ADHD runs in families and his highly heritable. Children with ADHD are more likely to come from homes in which marriages are unhappy, and family stress is high. (Bernier & Siegel) The article Ritalin Gone Wrong teaches us that many affluent children are sometimes diagnosed with ADHD for behavior problems. Some of the possible sources of stress could include "domestic violence, or lack of social support from family and friends" (Ritalin Gone Wrong) After a parent learns their child has been diagnosed with ADHD they should really look back at their own household. Are there stresses in the household that may cause behavior outbursts? Am I (the parent) pushing my child too hard? How are my living arrangements? Or parental intrusiveness that involves a stimulation for which a baby may not be ready for.Two great examples given by Sroufe, a 6-month old baby is playing, and the parent picks it up quickly from behind and plunges it in the bath. Or a 3-year old is becoming frustrated while