Attention Deficit Disorder in Child Development - Essay Example

You're 25 November 2006 Attention Deficit Disorder in Child Development Introduction Attention Deficit Disorder is a neurological syndrome that is usually genetically transmitted. It is characterized by distractibility, impulsivity, and restlessness. Children with ADD tend to think quickly and creatively. They are usually smart, intuitive, and full of new ideas and plans. Sometimes they procrastinate, have trouble staying on task, completing projects, or following through on ideas. Sometimes they underachieve in school or unintentionally disrupt social occasions. All these problems relate to their brain having trouble focusing attention and regulating impulses (Hallowell & Ratey 1994, pg. 3). There have been many case studies that have been carried out throughout the years and many of them have given very clear and precise ways to teach and care for an ADD or ADHD child. Firstly, some good ways to deal with this disorder initially is to define expectations in measurable, single, and short-term goals. This helps break jobs into smaller parts so that you can focus, the more specific the better. Build daily evaluation systems. Have a daily sheet to fill out. See if the child can meet his expectations by making the report. Offer short-term, rather than long term rewards. Short-term rewards are more relevant than long-term. Create systems-driven, rather than people-driven, work, home, and school environments. Keep organized and make a properly structured work system. In the classroom create a weekly performance template and check it daily. Encourage special projects for extra credit and give them something different so they won't be bored (Hartmann 1993, pg. 61). These are some of the more common sense methods that have been devised to work with a child with this disorder. Of course, as this research will show and as the included case study will give evidence to, every child is different so there will be variations in the strategies that would need to be utilized to bring about positive changes and a good quality of learning and living for the child involved in the process. The Adversities that ADD Promotes in Life for Children Attention Deficit Disorder is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. There appears to be a deficiency in the brains ability to produce or use certain chemicals called transmitter substances or neurotransmitters. The theory is that a shortage of certain neurotransmitters results in the brain being under-stimulated; therefore it's deficient in regulating its own activities such as attention. It is formerly characterized by a number of common symptoms with some having been addressed in the introduction of this research. The symptoms are short attention span or distractibility, impulsiveness, and hyperactive. These result in social problems and disorganization. As ADD kids get older they feel stupid and are often accused of being lazy. Many kids with Attention Deficit Disorder tend to daydream alot more than others which is something else that promotes adversity for them because teachers see this as a lack of interest or avoidance to studying their school work. Furthermore, young people with ADD are easily distracted and have limited attention spans. They can sit for a while and pay attention if the topic is interesting to them. They usually listen while they are doing other activities such as watching TV, playing Nintendo, and during sporting events. Many ADD children will tell you how annoying it is when someone around them is talking, yet their behavior patterns are annoying to others who interact with each other differently from them. Without consistent structure and clearly defined expectations and limits, children with ADD can become quite confused about the behaviors that are expected of them. Making and keeping friends is a difficult task for children with ADD. A variety of behavioral excesses and deficits common to these children get in the way of friendships. They may talk too much, dominate activities, intrude in others' games, or quit a game before it's done. They may be unable to pay attention to what another child is saying, not respond when someone else tries too initiate an activity, or exhibit inappropriate behavior. Parents often feel helpless, frustrated and exhausted. Too often, family members become angry and withdraw from each other. If untreated, the situation only worsens. Parent training can be one of the most important and effective interventions for a child with ADD. Effective training will teach parents how to apply strategies to manage their child's behavior and improve their relationship with their child. The difficulties that these children encounter, especially those with their peers, can continue into adolescence, but not quite as bad as when they were younger. Isolation, however is frequently a problem, or the teen may go through a series of short-term relationships that hardly ever last. They may have friends with peers but their parents will think that they can do better. People with ADD are not choosing to act the way they do. They would like to sit still and do what they are supposed to. He or she would like to make good grades. They would like to pay attention to the teacher's lecture all the way through class and take good notes. But they just can't seem to do it. Treatments for ADD All the drugs used to treat ADD have the same goal: to provide the brain with the raw materials it needs to concentrate over a sustained period of time, control impulses, and regulate motor activity (MacLean 1995, pg. 11). Ritalin is the most widely prescribed drug used to treat ADD in both children and adults. Ritalin appears to work by stimulating the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The benefits of Ritalin include improved concentration and reduced distractibility and disorganization. The drug or combination of drugs that work best for a child depends on the individual's brain chemistry and constellation of symptoms (MacLean 1995, pg. 11). The process of finding the right drug can be tricky for each individual. Also, physicians are not able to accurately predict how any one individual will respond to various doses or types of Attention Deficit Disorder medication. Research has also proven that medication is rarely enough for the patient. Most Attention Deficit Disorder patients require therapy to give guidance. The patient then needs help with the relief of disappointment, frustration, and nagging sense of self-doubt that often weighs upon them. Some ADD patients suffer from low-grade depression or anxiety as well (Hallowell & Ratley 1994). Therapy also helps the ADD child fully understand the disorder and how it controls their lives. The knowledge of ADD will make the patient and parents more capable of changing the behaviors or circumstances disliked and enhance strengths and assets. The Case Study Within this case study, the child's name of course is being kept confidential due to confidentiality purposes. This child is 9 years old and was diagnosed with the disorder of ADD at 6 years of age. The first noticeable signs of a problem began when the kindergarten teacher noticed that the child had a very difficult time staying focused and paying attention to specific subjects. The teacher found him to be extremely smart and accurate in his work that he did but he was often getting out of his seat without asking, moving about the room for no particular reason, and often messing with other students excessively when they were trying to do their work. It was also noticed that he was very impulsive with his actions and did not seemingly think them through before he actually acted. Sometimes this would create painful situations in the classroom and on the playground as well. Aggression was another noticeable symptom that this child presented with and also mood swings as well. These are all pinpointed symptoms of the disorder commonly known as ADD and ADHD as well. The difference between the two is that ADD stands for 'Attention Deficit Disorder', while ADHD stands for 'Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder' (Young 2002). Some children with ADHD tend to be far more unruly then those with ADD. This young boy however did not present with ADHD but simply ADD, a more mild variation of ADHD in actuality. Further symptoms that were documented and that helped with facilitating treatment for this child were periods of obvious depression that he would go through where he would withdraw from group activities and isolate himself from other children. Furthermore, there were instances where he struggled with certain subjects while excelling in areas of the arts and music. He was found to be a very creative youngster, always implementing new ways to work through some of his subjects on his own but he did not follow class instruction very well. This did cause confusion in the classroom as the teacher wanted all activities followed in the way she designated so that all the children could learn to follow necessary instructions. There existed these same characteristics in his home life as well as often he would not eat with the family but want to sit and listen to music while eating or draw pictures. It was very difficult in the beginning to carry on a long conversation with him or to facilitate his needs appropriately without psychological intervention. Assessment Carried out for this Case Antecedent assessment (AA) is a tool used to examine the environmental conditions under which individuals engage in aberrant behavior such as this child in the case study was exhibiting. An AA typically involves exposing a child to situations in which he or she receives high amounts or low amounts of teacher or peer attention while working on easy or difficult academic tasks. This form of intervention and assessment was carried out on this child to see how he would behave and relate to his environmental conditions once placed in them. The reason this was the chosen method is due to the fact that the research through the years has demonstrated that a relationship may exist between these two variables and the occurrence of off-task behavior in children with ADD. The purpose of an AA is to determine the extent to which the off-task or disruptive behavior occurs in the presence of these stimuli. Conditions that produce the highest rates off-task behavior are presumed to influence off-task behavior outside of the assessment context. Specific treatments are then implemented based on the results of the assessment. Future research on assessment-based treatments for children who have been diagnosed with other ADD subtypes is also warranted through this initial methodology. From this it can be conceptualized that specific interventions and / or specific components of interventions may be differentially effective for treating off-task behavior associated with the various subtypes of ADD (Purdie et al 2002, pg. 61). Through working with this child, the ten tips to help children with ADD develop longer attention spans and achieve their personal goals was brought in as well. These ten tips are listed in the following bulleted paragraph. The utilization of these tips helps ease the stress that parents of ADD children are often under and they also lessen the anxiety a child with ADD has in their learning and social environments as well. Write down the most noticeable problem that the child is struggling with Come up with remedies for each of the problem areas from mildest to most severe Make use of concrete reminders for tasks and activities such as helpful lists, schedules, alarm clocks, etc Use incentives and not bribes Make certain feedback is carried out on a regular basis Give responsibility to the child wherever it is possible Make copious use of praise and positive feedback Consider using a coach or tutor when it comes to schoolwork Provide the child with whatever devices he or she demonstrates can help Always keep in mind to negotiate to avoid struggling (Hartman 1997, pg. 63). Facilitating Treatment and Findings Again, various case studies besides just this one that is included in this research have clearly proven that over half of the children that are treated for ADD have a second psychiatric diagnosis, and polypharmacy is the rule in these patients. Mood disorders are the most common conditions that are seen. Many of these patients have chronic low- level depression. Patients with depression and ADD require both an antidepressant and a psycho stimulant to obtain full therapeutic benefit. This child required both of these drugs in order to control his symptoms of his ADD and once on them he showed drastic changes in his behaviors and attitude. Many children that are placed on both of these such drugs do react differently but for the majority the two put together controls the symptomatic characteristics of ADD very fluently. However, there have been cases of non-responsiveness by some children with ADD. One of the most common causes of antidepressant medication non-response is the failure to identify the comorbid ADD. Confronted by two conditions, the patients or child's hidden symptoms are uncovered. These findings underscore the need to screen all non-psychotic young and adult patients for ADD (Young 2002, pg. 7). If the behavioral manifestations of ADD are not conductive to learning and if the administration of stimulants such as methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine, or pemoline help children to have better attending behaviors and to be less distractible or hyperactive, then pharmacological intervention may be warranted as a first step. It is likely that the educational interventions that work with ADD students work whether the ADD students are medicated or not. If we are looking to promote educational success among students with ADD, we must use strategies that directly address their academic difficulties. Although medical interventions can help ADD children to control some of their dysfunctional behaviors in the same term and can provide relief to their families and teachers, if the improvement of educational outcomes is the aim, there is little evidence that medical intervention will succeed (Purdie et al 2002, pg. 99). Conclusion This research has discussed many of the symptoms of ADD. It has gone over the strategies and treatments that are commonly used to treat this disorder. It has also included a case study to give evidence to how children deal with such a disorder and what type of help that they receive in their lives in order to cope better. It is common knowledge that people with ADD are impulsive, meaning to act without thinking. There is one documented case where a five-year old with ADD almost drowned when he went to a pool with his father. He saw people jumping into the pool and thought it would be fun. He jumped right in without remembering that he can't swim. He was pulled from the bottom of the pool several minutes later and luckily he didn't suffer any type of adverse complications but the point being made is that all children suffer from similar symptoms due to the disorder. Their judgment about their circumstances is often off and at times they can find themselves in very tricky situations. If people continue to insist that people with ADD must reason problems the way they do and behave the way people without Attention Deficit Disorder do then people with ADD will never develop their gifts and talents. However if they are perceived positively, and others without ADD stick with them we are as Hallowell (1994) says, "on the brink of startling conclusions or surprising solutions." Works Cited Hallowell, Edward & Ratey, John. Driven to Distraction. New York: Random House Publishing, 1994. Hartman, Thom. Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception. California: Mythical Intelligence Publishing House, 1997. MacLean, Marvin. "Medications and A.D.D." The Journal of Bio-Behavioral Dynamics (1995): 11. Purdie, Nola & Hattie, John & Carroll, AnneMarie. "A Review of the Research on Interventions for ADD." Review of Educational Research 72 (2002): 61-69. Young, Joel. "ADHD in Children and Adults." Behavioral Health Management 22 (2002): 21-28. Read More