Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD Term Paper

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(Bower, 129)

The Hyperactivity involves fiddling with hands or feet or squirms in seat; does not continue seating when is expected to; excessive running or climbing considered not appropriate in adolescence and adults; feelings of restlessness; find it hard to play quietly; seems to be continuously on the move and talks excessively. Impulsivity includes blurts out answers prior to the question has been completed; becomes impatient waiting his turn; interruption and intrusion on the activities of others. The DSM-IV also necessitates that some of the signs even grow prior to the age of seven and that they significantly inhibit the functioning in two or more environments such as home and school at least for duration of six months. The children that exert the signs of inattention, however, not of hyperactivity/impulsivity are identified with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Inattentive Type, and normally known as ADD. (Bower, 129)

Moreover, the family physicians are required to assess and treat a child that does poorly in schools and have disruptive relationships with peers or defy parental discipline. Irrespective of the fact that attention deficit hyperactivity complicacies-AD/HD could account for such signs that the physicians identify in consonance with that of AD/HD may be for other complicacies. (Smucker; Hedayat, 26) Moreover, irrespective of the fact of orderly presentation of these signs in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-DSM-FV, debates continue in respect of the essential or defining features of the disorder. The behavioral disinhibition is taken to be the crucial deficiency in AD/HD, as Barkley pointed out, so that the child is not capable of delay responding when necessary. Emphasizing on the hyperactivity as the critical feature, other writers concentrate on physical movement and frequent vocalization of the child with AD/HD. The inattention mostly fostered by an inability to retain information long enough to act upon it, has been emphasized by other clinical analysts. (Searight; Nahlik; Campbell, 58)

The inattentiveness of children with AD/HD is fostered by their incapability to respond on requests, especially when the instructions are required to be retained for some time prior to being carried out. The schoolwork is frequently completed partially and even the completed sections are done carelessly. Most of the children with AD/HD are able to remain engaged with television or video games that have relatively low demands for complex concentration or memory. The Hyperactivity is normally evident in elementary school-aged children by their inability to remain seated. Even when they are sitting the children with AD/HD are noticed to have been tapping their feet or fingers, rocking, and manipulating objects. These children are likely to be driven. The child with signs of AD/HD also isolates the peers by snatching the materials from them or being impatient to wait for their turn in games. The incentives as well as the feedbacks are seen to have only a little influence on them. (Searight; Nahlik; Campbell, 57)

This characteristic of AD/HD also appears to fetch a higher incidence of accidental injury among these children. The impulsivity appear as the child with AD/HD experiences difficulty sufficiently delaying a response like waiting for a turn, raising hand before speaking or not interrupting conversations. The children with AD/HD mostly exhibit hyperactive and impulsive motor behavior. The parents are much concerned about the over activity and inattention among the pre-school children. In respect of most of the preschoolers, however, these concerns are impulsively exerted within 3 to six months. (Searight; Nahlik; Campbell, 57)

However at the age of 3 to 4 years such over activity and inattention is not considered by itself as prognostic of the cause of AD/HD and it is necessary to identify the complications with the children prior to the age of 5 years. With these developmental issues the Barkley has suggested that the symptoms persisting for about a year, rather than six months as suggested in the DSM-IV, can be utilized as the standard for detecting the AD/HD in younger children. Contrary to this the signs of AD/HD among the adolescence are more likely to be subtle. The hyperactive motor behavior is not considered as common and the impulsivity may occur less strikingly. (Searight; Nahlik; Campbell, 57)

The dissimilarity between children and adults is that adults can verbosely explain their symptoms. Adults with ADHD express attention deficits that are present even when they are deeply fascinated by something. Though some of them balance this by utilizing their cleverness, on inquiring, it is clear that they do not carry out to their capability. These people express continuously changing moods.

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They exhibit brief periods of slight agitation and periods of dejection that may go on anywhere from hours to days. This gloomy period can be aggravated by the problems created by the patient's recklessness and lack of performing to potential. A hint that this is due to ADHD and not main gloominess is that these patients do not get better on antidepressant medicines. Adults with ADHD report will burst out even at the least frustration, like traffic problems. Their anger is normally momentary, but these are people who actually get ticked off and often pay for their consequences. (Kirn, 17)

Adults with ADHD depict themselves as simply anxious, annoyed, and worried. When irritated, they lose their capability and capacity to work out the problems. Seldom can the adults with ADHD continue with a task until end. A housewife might switch over from job to jobs like cleaning the dishes, moving clothes to the dryer, going to the store, without completing any of them. Adults with ADHD make a decision without thinking. They barge in line, speak unwisely, and damage others feelings. They begin and finish relationships swiftly, and often have many marriages. (Kirn, 17)

Means of diagnostic methods or check-up procedures for ADD

The AD/HD is more often detected in children suffering from the behavioral complicacies and academic deficiencies. (Sadovsky, 42) the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is frequently experienced to be difficult in isolation of the same from other disruptive behavior syndromes, like oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. It is possible on the part of the family physicians to more effectively detect the AD/HD with the use of systematic process of differential diagnosis in combination with the mental status analysis with history and teacher and parent reports. Since these patients often demonstrate fairly to the elementary physicians it is quite essential to have enough experience with the current diagnostic criteria, clinical presentations, evaluation strategies, and differential diagnosis and treatment strategies. (Searight; Nahlik; Campbell, 58)

According to some clinical investigators the children with AD/HD function normally in novel situations. Therefore, they may not demonstrate considerable problems during the first few weeks of the school year interacting with a new environment. It is considered significant for the family physicians to visualize that the interaction with official environment also stimulates the child suffering from AD/HD. It is therefore, common for these children to demonstrate a few behavioral symptoms during the initial office visit. The physicians should not depend on this observation alone to infer that AD/HD is quite missing. (Searight; Nahlik; Campbell, 58)

The American Academy of Pediatrics fixed the standards for the detection of AD/HD among the school children. These suggestions can be reformulated to analyze the adult patients. The primary care physicians should initiate an assessment for AD/HD among the children in the age group of 6 to 12 years that demonstrate inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and academic underachievement or behavioral disorders. (Szymanski; Zolotor, 118) the detection of AD/HD necessitates demonstration of the symptoms as per the standards laid down in DSM-IV. The evaluation of AD/HD endeavors to find out the evidence form parents or caregivers in respect of the prime symptoms of AD/HD in various environments, the age of onset, duration of symptoms and intensity of the functional deficiencies. (Szymanski; Zolotor, 118)

The core symptoms derivable from the classroom teachers include the duration of signs, intensity of functional deficiency and co-existing conditions. A physician is required to assess any report from a school-based multi-disciplinary evaluation if any, that incorporates assessments from the teachers or other academic professionals. The assessment of the child with AD/HD is required to incorporate appraisal of the co-existing conditions. It is essential to evaluate the persons aged above 13 years, that demonstrates the symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, past records interpersonal deficiencies like multiple diversities, social alienation, no long-term friendships, abnormal social or addictive behaviors like alcohol abuse, drug abuse, failure at the efforts to cease smoking, criminal activity, occupational under achievement or frequent job failures etc. (Szymanski; Zolotor, 118)

Designing the specific feedback forms assist in determining the factors in consonance with diagnostic criteria for the disorder. The suggested assessment also includes recording of the type and intensity of AD/HD signs, verification of the existence of normal vision and hearing, scanning of co-morbid psychological situations, reassessment of the growth records of the child and performance in school. It is significant to verify that the vision and hearing of the….....

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