"For professor Ryan" adhd research paper editing and revising

The second factor which causes ADHD is the dissimilarities in brain chemistry. For many of us, to focus on a task, and have a power on our impulses, our brain needs to have two main chemicals: norepinephrine and dopamine. Those two chemicals helps us to regulate mood, movement and attention. If the individual have ADHD, your brain is sending either too much or

too little of norepinephrine. Some research and writings in recent years have strongly condemned many of the diagnoses for ADHD, especially for boys. These experts include (Camille Anna Paglia, currently a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And Mona Charen), not technically an expert, but a writer. As a matter of fact, environmental factors and brain injuries are the other main causes of ADHD too.

Symptoms

According to Russell, “some of the symptoms may be existing in all cases of the disorder, while others may happen in many different combinations or may not be present at all.” The main symptoms that are related to ADHD are, lack of focus, organization, restlessness, forgetfulness and difficulty finishing projects. Previously some kids with learning disabilities were simply considered stupid or slow learners, as these disorders had rarely, if ever, been diagnosed previously. Many believed or hoped the key to being admitted to a university with a high academic reputation was to treat their child for what was a learning disorder. According to a National Center for Learning Disabilities website. These disorders include dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dysgraphia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. (1) Now among the most common of the ostensible childhood disorders, ADHD can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Reputed experts believe these learning disabilities are caused by neurological disorders. All or most of them can make it difficult of acquire particular academic or social skills. Those with ADHD often have either all or some combination of disorders, including difficulty focusing on specific tasks, uncontrollable behavior and hyperactivity. Since these behaviors typically vary in frequency by age and level of development for those deemed normal, for one to be considered as having ADHD, the symptoms must exceed the normal range of activity. A few of the symptoms may include inattention, forgetfulness, does not seem to listen when spoken to, having trouble doing quiet tasks, such as; reading and writing.

Another category includes those who are predominantly inattentive. This subtype includes at least six inattention symptoms, and fewer than six indications of ADHD are considered hyperactivity or impulsivity. Children with this form of ADHD generally act out less frequently and are more sociable with other children. Since they may sit quietly, but are still not paying attention to anything specific, their disorder may not be noticed and consequently not treated. According to a National Institute of Mental Health (NIDD) website, symptoms of inattention include the following: (2) Easily distracted, miss details and often switch from one detail to another. Second, difficulty focusing, especially when needing to complete a task, learn something or organizing. Quickly gets bored with a task after just a few seconds later, unless it is enjoyable to them. If it’s a enjoyable task then the individual may hyper focus on a task and can stay focused for many hours. Moreover, they are having difficulties on completing or turning in homework assignments, and following instructions. They mostly every time lose items, such as cell phones, papers, money. Also, they tend to not listen when spoken to, they often don’t seem to listen. They often daydream and they are easily confused and move slowly. The third major category of ADHD and the most common is hyperactivity and impulsive behavior with being inattentive. At least six symptoms of inattention, and hyperactivity-impulsivity are usually manifest. According to the NIDD, symptoms of hyperactive children include: (Russell A. Barkley, PhD)

1. Often fidgeting and squirming in their classroom seats (boys, including male boys deemed normal, do this more often than girls).

2. Talk when not supposed to.

3. Move around quickly, playing and touching with everything and anything they can (once again, normal boys often do this more than girls do).

4. They often refuse to sit still, at school or home. (to repeat once more, normal boys often win on that one).

5. They are often continually in motion.

6. Difficulty performing quiet activities or tasks.

And the NIDD also states that impulsive children often: Tend to be impatient, blurt out inappropriate comments, become unrestrained emotionally, and act without regard to consequences. Indeed, they are impatient waiting for something they want or for their turn in games and frequently interrupt activities or conversations.

Diagnosis.

ADHD diagnosis can be successfully achieved by using different techniques and diagnostic processes. The diagnosis should be made by a certified mental health provider. The diagnosis is based on comprehensive psychosocial and clinical assessment of the impacts of the symptoms on the subject’s development, functioning and review of rating scales. Contrary to the popular belief, rating scales alone cannot be enough to make a final diagnosis on ADHD condition.

The diagnostic approach involves several steps that include: assessing clinical and psychosocial status of the patient to review their behavioral and symptomatic concerns in their lives. In this step, the developmental history of ADHD is documented. The childhood history is then established. And in the process the symptoms are assessed. These symptoms can then be confirmed to check if they have clinically significant impact on social and occupational

functioning. The next diagnostic step is the use of the rating scale. An 18 item adult self-report scale (ASRS-v1.1, Appendix 2) is used to determine the likelihood of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Comorbid psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, drug abuse and even alcoholism can be assessed using the available tests. Tests for bipolar disorder can be done. The last step that’s however not compulsory is the psychological testing. Most patients with ADHD develop difficulties with executive functions that includes organization, planning, attention spans, working memory and even impulse control. To achieve accurate results, further interviews and observations can be conducted to determine the extent of severity of the developed difficulties. It also helps to establish the extent of comorbid disorders and how they influence the symptoms presented.

The DSM-IV diagnostic procedure can also be used to establish if a patient has ADHD. The procedure has several symptoms which are used for the diagnosis problem. When the technique was introduced in 2013, several changes in the ADHD diagnosis were introduced. The ADHD condition was classified into 3 subsets which included hyperactivity, impulsivity and other added criteria’s. The DSM-IV procedure also extended the ADHD onset years to 12 and reduced the symptom threshold for diagnosis from six to four.

Learning styles

The learning styles of most ADHD patients are greatly affected. The most commonly known learning styles include the auditory learning, visual learning and the tactile or the telekinetic learning. Children affected by ADHD show little or no change during their learning curve. Persistent ADHD since childhood leads to development of difficulties in academic performance especially in adolescents. Also, other problems however are linked to an increase in disciplinary actions that includes suspensions and even expulsions from learning institutions. Lower academic achievements and greater grade retentions is evident in adolescents affected by ADHD. Further follow up studies into adult hood shoed that the affected students had less education and achieved lower grades compared to others. According to the Milwaukee Study (Barkely, Fischer, et al., 2006) it was established that at the age 21 follow up, more than three times as many hyperactive control groups had retained in grade during their schooling as compared to the community control group members. The established ratio was found to be (42%:13%) In limited cases, ADHD students develop dysgraphia. It is a learning disability that affects writing, It requires a complex set of motor and information processing skills. In the disability, there are problems in spelling, poor handwriting and transferring thoughts to paper. People with the condition might have difficulties organizing letters, words and numbers on a page or on a given line.

Treatment.

In ADHD treatment, the primary goal is to minimize the manifestations of the ADHD symptoms on patient functioning while at the same time maximizing on the patients ability to cope with the remaining difficulties. In cases where comorbid conditions are presented, the more severe disorders are to be treated first. A classic example is in a patient suffering from ADHD and depression. The recommended treatment regimen is the treating the ADHD first. Once the disorder is treated, its vital to continue treatment of the remaining comorbid conditions. Pharmacological approach can be considered to address psychological, occupational and even educational needs among patients. Treatment can be successfully achieved using two broad ways. (1) Non pharmacologic/lifestyle modification techniques or (2) the pharmacologic technique.

The non-pharmacologic technique of ADHD treatment majorly involves psychosocial interventions. Though the cure of ADHD doesn’t currently exist, psychosocial interventions will help the patients to cope or manage the symptoms. Another widely used non pharmacologic treatment is the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It is a short term therapy that includes agenda setting, monitoring progress towards goals, skill development, assignments and homework reviewing. It specifically focusses on Behavioral skills training, addressing dysfunctional patterns of thought especially those associated with procrastination, attentional shifts and avoidance. This technique has specifically been found to be effective in adults who receive the therapy in a group setting. However, certain non-pharmacological approaches have been discouraged since they do not have tangible proof of effectiveness. They include elimination of sugar from the patients diet, anti-motion sickness treatment, Antifungal treatment especially for Candida albicans, Optometric vision training, Metronome training and even Neuro-feedback techniques

The pharmacologic techniques involve using of drugs to control ADHD and comorbidity condition among patients. Since pharmacologic treatment involves infusion of stimulants, The patients cardiac history must be taken to ensure safety in the process. The patients have to be informed of the long-term effects of stimulant use which can include dysphoria. Other risks involved in the pharmacologic response include elevation in blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, insomnias, anorexia, mood and even behavioral disturbances. Known Stimulants that are used to treat ADHD include Ritalin and Adderall. They are sometimes called cognitive enhancers since they have shown improvement in attention spans, concentration and in certain cases, short term memory. A study was conducted in June and it looked at medication usage and educational outcomes of nearly 4,000 students in Quebec over an average of 11 years and found that boys who took ADHD drugs actually performed worse in school than those with a similar number of symptoms who didn't. Girls taking the medicine reported more emotional problems, according to a working paper published on the website of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit economics research firm.

As an antidote, according to an April 27, 2009 article titled, ADHD Medication Can Improve Math and Reading Scores, Study Suggests, and published by a University of California at Berkeley website, states the medications do improve academic performance. (5) It states, “Pediatricians and educators have long known that psycho-stimulant medications can help children with … (ADHD) concentrate on learning for short periods of time. But a new study from (UC Berkeley), has found evidence that grade scholars with ADHD who take medications can actually improve their long-term academic achievement, and make greater gains in standardized math and reading scores than students with ADHD who do not take medications. "Our study found that the children with ADHD who used the medication were several months ahead of their non-medicated peers in reading and math, which is significant because early progress in school is critical to ongoing academic success," said Richard Scheffler, professor of health economics and public policy at UC Berkeley.”

Who knows whom you are supposed to believe? So are taking these medications, such as Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine, Focalin-XR, Concerta and Vyvanse generally a good thing? As always, it depends on whom you talk to. With the proliferation of information on the internet, one can now get any opinion on any subject. But surely, success or help by the medication does depend on the particular child and which specific drug he takes.

But there is no doubt the majority of experts, or at least the ones in the most prestigious positions, along with the greatest influence over the decisions of lay people, believe and argue these drugs mostly have a positive effect on children who are failing to learn to their potential due to their behavior. And plenty of teachers argue these medicated kids learn more once the treatment starts. According to a website published by Helpguide.Org, “medication can help reduce symptoms of hyperactivity, inattentiveness, and impulsivity in children and adults with ADD/ADHD.”

“However, medications come with side effects and risks—and are not the only treatment option. Whether you’re the parent or the patient, it’s important to learn the facts about ADD/ADHD medication so you can make an informed decision about what’s best for you or your child.” Side effects and risks? Sounds ominous. The site states side effects can include loss of appetite, insomnia, upset stomach or headaches, dizziness and mood changes. “The long-term effects of ADD/ADHD medication on the youthful, developing brain is not yet known. Some researchers are concerned that the use of drugs such as Ritalin in children and teens might interfere with normal brain development.” (6)

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may affect children in cases where they show slower learning abilities and cannot keep up with the normal child’s development. ADHD also affects children because they are more predisposed to hurting themselves. ADHD will also affect students because they present with lower learning abilities. This can also pose a psychological problem of victimization of the student. If the condition is not diagnosed in and early condition, the child might face harsh treatment from fellow normal students. Parents are among the most affected group because they are tasked with the work of looking after their affected children. To afford medication for Attention deficit hyper activity disorder is not cheap and thus it costs parents so much money. Furthermore, ADHD has been associated with increased healthcare costs for patients and their family members. ( Arch Dis Child 2005;90)

I believe the most efficient strategy to control ADHD Is the joint effort from the parents, teachers, physicians and even the patients themselves. Education and psychotherapy should be used I conjunction with medication to ensure success in the process. Since patients with ADHD present with slowed learning, Parents and even teachers should exercise patience while working with them.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurological disorder. It presents with an inability to focus, being overactive and in most cases not being able to control ones behavior. The most cost effective technique in managing ADHD is the use of education and psychotherapy. If these measures fail to control the condition, other measures such as medication can be used as an intervention. ADHD patients are people like us. If we join forces, we’ll be able to extricate the complexities of its symptoms and even comorbidities involved.

REFERENCES

“Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale-V1.1” (ASRS-V1.1) Symptoms Checklist. Retrieved from WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview

DuPaul, G. J., & Stoner, G. D. (1994). ADHD in the schools: Assessment and intervention strategies. Guilford Press.

Russell A burkely, Kevin R murphy, Mariellen Fischer, ADHD in Adults “What the science says, Newyork, The Guilford press.