Inattention is the most common symptom of children diagnosed with ADHD. Children who suffer from inattention have a great difficulty in focusing upon one subject matter for more than just a few minutes. They are also easily distracted, overlook details, have troubles overlooking the less important details, and are forgetful. These are children who will easily lose possessions such as pencils, turn work in late, have difficulty receiving information as well as others comprehensively, and whom daydream due to a lack of interest, which they cannot help. In children, symptoms of hyperactivity may include non-stop talking, an inability to sit still, difficulty in completing tasks quietly, and a common urge to dash quickly while touching or playing with anything in sight. Lastly, children who have impulsivity may be impatient while waiting for their turns in games or with speaking by interrupting others, blurt out comments that are inappropriate, broadcast their emotions without control, and act without regard of consequences (NIMH).
Not surprisingly, boys are almost nine times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than female students (Santrock). This is not because girls suffer any less, they just get overlooked by teacher biases. However, while more disruptive boys are being referred to specialists for official diagnoses, many children like these female students may go untreated. One reason that this so commonly occurs is due to the fact that the children who suffer from hyperactivity are the first to be pegged. Another student suffering from ADD may sit quietly at their desk and appear to be working, but truly not comprehend the work that is set out before them. Another cause for children's ADHD being overlooked and misdiagnosed stems from the close relation that the learning disability can have with other emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression (Berk).
The origins of ADHD are not clear to scientists studying the field. However, there are plenty of theories that are positively credited towards the disorder. Naturally researches state that genes do play a role in the inheritance of this disorder, and that this is "proven" by identical twins whom were diagnosed with ADHD (Berk). Other causes are dietary, environmental, and injuries. Environmental factors that are suspected of being causes for ADHD are prenatal teratogens, such as long time exposure to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. These three environmental factors link directly to the inattention and hyperactivity (Berk). Stressful homes are another commonly noted factor of the disorder. Of course the choices in foods we digest play a large role in ADHD. Sugar is in nearly every food, and even just two years ago, the British FSA banned colored food dye (NIMH). Concentrating upon the genetic and environmental factors, cat scans of children with the disorder do show "abnormal brain functioning, including reduced electrical and blood-flow activity in the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex and in other areas involved in attention, inhibition of behavior, and other aspects of motor control" (Castellanos et al., 2003; Sowell et al., 2002; Berk 2008). The brains of children with ADHD grow considerably more slowly and are said to be nearly three percent smaller in overall size and volume than unaffected brains (Castellanos et al., 2002; Durston et al., 2004; Berk 2008). The following images use state of the art brain-imaging machinery to show that the cerebral cortex appears to peak in growth at a rate of three years less in brains with ADHD, as opposed to those which are normal ("Shaw & others", 2007; Santrock, 2011). Again, in these images, the prefrontal regions which account for planning and attention show a severe difference in size, and energy usage.
When it comes to diagnosing a child with ADHD, a school official cannot legally do this because it is a psychiatric disorder. In most cases, a school official will simply make the recommendation to the child's parents that he or she should be tested by a child's psychiatrist who specializes in the disorder. While symptoms are noticeable in children before entering elementary school, most children are not diagnosed until the early elementary school years. Often teachers are able to more easily notice the disorder in children than their own parents because they are not isolated, but within a classroom, stand out in comparison to their fellow classmates. Prior to diagnosing a child with ADHD, and prescribing any medication, most good psychiatrists will extensively study the child as well as their environment. This is a major problem when it comes to diagnosing ADHD. Many doctors do over diagnose children with having ADHD due to teachers who cannot, or will not deal patiently with children who are hyperactive. As you can tell from the following chart, children are diagnosed at more frequent rates the further eastward you go in the continental United States.
Research also shows that children in the last decade have been diagnosed more than twice as much as children in other generations, but children in Hong Kong, where academic success is held to a high esteem, are also diagnosed more than twice the rate seen in North America (Berk). While doctors in America and Hong Kong are quick to give children medication like Ritalin, one area that seems to think differently at this time is Great Britain, where doctors are hesitant to label children as ADHD for they see that this time in our society, amongst all of the technological advances, children are understandably distracted.
While the cartoon shown above may joke about the overly common use of medications such as Ritalin for ADHD, it does seem to be startling. One must as the question, is this truly a pandemic, or is there another reason? It may be genetic as scientists suggest, but if so, and children do "outgrow" ADHD as other researchers suggest, then would the disability within children be lessening as time continues between generations? Globally it is children in high-income nations with electronics and media bombarding them whom are falling victims to ADHD. As someone personally labeled ADHD, and steadily struggling daily to complete simple tasks such as reading, speaking, or working because of my hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsively, I still tend to side with British doctors who understand that children are growing up in a new age where distractions are everywhere. I haven't ever met a child that couldn't be labeled ADHD. I do think that we throw the term out too commonly. There is a video on the topic that I would highly recommend for everyone who either is a teacher, or plans to be. It discusses children with ADHD in our world today.
(This is a must watch video. Especially 3:35-7:00, which discusses my subject of ADHD).
So finally, while I do believe that such a learning disorder of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder does exist, and can prevent children from getting the best education possible according to their abilities, I also think that it is over-exaggerated, and over-diagnosed. All children, regardless of disorders are capable of learning and being stretched cognitively if we as educators take the time, with patience, to help them.
-Written and researched by Matthew Anderson (w0279627).
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WORKS CITED:
Santrock, John W., Educational Psychology, Fifth Edition, McGraw-Hill, NY, NY, 2011
Berk, Laura E., Infants, Children, and Adolscents, Sixth Edition, Pearson Ed., Boston, MA, 2008
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/complete-index.shtml
Media used (pictures, video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
http://www.adhd.org.nz/neuro1.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17857235/ns/health-mental_health/t/brain-knows-when-really-pay-attention/
