ADD Attention Deficit Disorder Essay Research Paper

Basically ADD is what it looks like, and at time also pertains to hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. The disorder generally causes the subject to be inattentive to stimuli; the subjects would find themselves easily distracted from any particular activity and may cause a difficulty in learning. The disorder does not readily become apparent until a child enters challenging situations such as elementary schools. Often children affected by the disorder make careless mistakes and are rather disorganized. They often lose their schoolbooks and assignments as well as non responsive when spoken to. These children may perform poorly in school or become unpopular with their peers, because others may perceive them as being a nuisance. Although many children learn to adjust and compensate for the disorder, this disorder may in turn lead to clinical depression due to a series of social consequences.

There are many general symptoms to the disorder often appearing after the age of 4. Often symptoms of hyperactivity may also be apparent in preschoolers. Often those suffering from the disorder fail to pay close attention to details leading to careless mistakes in schoolwork, work or other tasking activities. They also often have difficulty maintaining attention on one topic as their minds begin to wander. Moreover, they avoid and dislike or at the least are reluctant to engage in any mentally tasking project such as schoolwork or homework. Instructions given to them are also often ignored whether intentionally or not; they are also forgetful in daily activities and often lose things necessary for certain tasks. Another portion to Attention Deficit Disorder is Hyperactivity. Some symptoms of hyperactivity are continuous fidgeting with hand or feet, squirming in seats, leaves in situation where remaining is expected, has difficulties in remaining silent, highly impulsive and may persistently feel restless. Some other signs of ADHD are blurting out answers before questions have been completed or difficulties in waiting their turn.

There are two basic methods of treatment for ADD/ADHD, which evolved from much research over the years. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published the parameters for clinical definition on diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. These parameters detail the recommendations for treatment for a particular case of ADHD. Pharmacological treatment as well as psychosocial treatments are the two methods for treating the disorder. Psychosocial treatments consist mainly of behavioral modification therapy as well as combination of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments. Pharmacological treatments are often in the form of psychostimulants and have been relatively highly effective for 75 to 90 percent. These medications usually improve classroom performance and allow better social interaction with teachers, parents and peers. Unfortunately these drugs seemingly are not conducive to any long-term changes of behavior. Behavioral approaches such as cognitive behavior therapy help primarily by training the subject for social and problem solving skills. However it has been shown clinically that there is not any visibly improved academic performance of children.

The exact causes of ADD/ADHD are still unknown however many neurologist, pediatricians, and child psychiatrists believe that there is a possibility that neurotransmitter deficits, genetics, and prenatal complications could be a possible cause. Because many ADHD patients respond well to treatments by stimulant therapies and since stimulants raise dopamine levels that they are interrelated. The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a key role in the transmission of synapses in the central nervous system. The neurotransmitters also help to initiate purposive movement, increasing motivation and alertness, reducing appetite and induce insomnia. There have been many theories suggesting the cause such as genetic factors however research has neither disproved nor proven the hypothesis. Other factors such as environmental conditions may contribute to the disorder.

Topic: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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