The United States Department of Education states that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has “many faces and remains one of the most talked-about and controversial subjects in education. Hanging in the balance of heated debates over medication, diagnostic methods, and treatment options are children, adolescents, and adults who must manage the condition and lead productive lives on a daily basis.”
For students with undiagnosed ADHD, the first few weeks of school may determine whether they have a successful year.
The demands of adjusting to new teachers, schedules and academic expectations can be especially challenging. Students with untreated ADHD are more likely to struggle when they are assigned to classrooms unequipped to meet their academic, emotional and social needs.
ADHD can be equally frustrating for parents. A parent, who is concerned about their child’s academic progress, will often encounter great difficulty seeking a diagnosis and treatment. Once there is an accurate diagnosis, it is just the first step in the development of a treatment plan that may include medication and other interventions that must be carefully administered and monitored.
Based upon my experience as a parent, I believe caregivers should have a full understanding of the definition of ADHD, the various treatment options and their risk.
The United States Department of Education (USDE) offers parents and caregivers a comprehensive, but easy to understand definition of ADHD. Research sources and references are cited in parenthesis. Readers who seek further information should visit the USDE’s website http://www.ed.gov and click on the “Parents” link.
“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition that involves problems with inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity that are developmentally inconsistent with the age of the child.
We are now learning that ADHD is not a disorder of attention, as had long been assumed. Rather, it is a function of developmental failure in the brain circuitry that monitors inhibition and self-control. This loss of self-regulation impairs other important brain functions crucial for maintaining attention, including the ability to defer immediate rewards for later gain (Barkley, 1998a).
Behavior of children with ADHD can also include excessive motor activity. The high energy level and subsequent behavior are often misperceived as purposeful noncompliance when, in fact, they may be a manifestation of the disorder and require specific interventions. Children with ADHD exhibit a range of symptoms and levels of severity.
In addition, many children with ADHD often are of at least average intelligence and have a range of personality characteristics and individual strengths. Boys are four to nine times more likely to be diagnosed, and the disorder is found in all cultures, (Ross & Ross, 1982).
Children with ADHD typically exhibit behavior that is classified into two main categories: poor sustained attention and hyperactivity-impulsiveness. As a result, three subtypes of the disorder have been proposed by the American Psychiatric Association in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV): predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined types (Barkley, 1997).
A child expressing hyperactivity commonly will appear fidgety, have difficulty staying seated or playing quietly, and act as if driven by a motor. Children displaying impulsivity often have difficulty participating in tasks that require taking turns. Other common behaviors may include blurting out answers to questions instead of waiting to be called and flitting from one task to another without finishing.
The inattention component of ADHD affects the educational experience of these children because ADHD causes them to have difficulty in attending to detail in directions, sustaining attention for the duration of the task, and misplacing needed items. These children often fail to give close attention to details, make careless mistakes, and avoid or dislike tasks requiring sustained mental effort.
Although these behaviors are not in themselves a learning disability, almost one-third of all children with ADHD have learning disabilities (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1999). Children with ADHD may also experience difficulty in reading, math, and written communication (Anderson, Williams, McGee, & Silva, 1987; Cantwell & Baker, 1991; Dykman, Akerman, & Raney, 1994; Zentall, 1993).
Furthermore, ADHD commonly occurs with other conditions. Current literature indicates that approximately 40-60 percent of children with ADHD have at least one coexisting disability (Barkley, 1990a; Jensen, Hinshaw, Kraemer, et al., 2001; Jensen, Martin, & Cantwell, 1997).
Although any disability can coexist with ADHD, certain disabilities seem to be more common than others. These include disruptive behavior disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, tics and Tourette’s Syndrome, and learning disabilities (Jensen, et al., 2001).
In addition, ADHD affects children differently at different ages. In some cases, children initially identified as having hyperactive-impulsive subtype are subsequently identified as having the combined subtype as their attention problems surface.”
Next week: The Next Steps in Defining ADHD
Jayne Matthews is a parent and an academic advocate who writes each week about educational issues, because Education Matters. Your thoughts and suggestions are welcomed at educationmat@aol.com