Adhd as a Social Construct Essay

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral development disorder among children. In the United States there are at least 2 million grade school children that are diagnosed with the disorder (Dupper, 2003). ADHD is determined to be one of the most common development disorders in children (Barlow & Durand, 2009). This paper will discuss the different aspects of ADHD, its symptoms, common traits, and the known treatments being used by clinicians. Moreover, the paper will also touch on the important things to consider when dealing with ADHD, particularly in the area of social work. By doing so, it will determine why social work should be an integral part of the diagnosis and

One of the remarkably renowned mental disorders in the world is ADHD, but despite being infamous, there are still stigmas and myths about it. People often listen to what the general public says than to form their own arguments or research on them. By all means, this will be a problem to all including those who have ADHD.

The expansion of hyperactive diagnosis is not the result of new scientific discoveries about the biomedical nature of the disorder. It is the result of studies done by numerous teachers, doctors, psychologists, and researchers. While a number of studies indicated that symptoms in children are usually society based, studies show that society affects the ADHD child positively and negatively. In a positive way society wants to help the child; this is a common treatment of any person with a disorder. In a negative way society treats the child as a defect or as bad material because society is scared of something it knows very little about. The lay promotions of ADHD and the predominance of self-diagnosis contradict some of the

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention posted a webpage providing information about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in November of 2016. In the page’s context, the writer provides facts, signs and symptoms, the different types of ADHD, causes, treatments, diagnoses, managing symptoms, where to receive help, and managing ADHD as an adult. Based on the webpage, ADHD is a hyperactive disorder affecting children and adults with signs and symptoms very from having trouble concentrating, to not being capable of sitting still or having an excess of energy. This webpage poses some social issues, contains the use of rhetorical appeals, and uses a specific language to address a specific audience.

The increase of ADHD diagnosis has raised many concerns among doctors in the United States. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported new data that showed the number of children diagnosed with ADHD grew by 22 percent in a four-year period Brown University, (2013). The information from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) raised questions and concerns about the growth of ADHD diagnosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also stated that the percentage of children with a diagnosis of ADHD continue to increase in the United States. This information was provided by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to inform the public and raise awareness for ADHD. Researching the growth of

Over the past couple of decades there has been a huge increase in the diagnosis and prescriptions given out for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. According to a news report done by USA Today over the past five years use of ADHD medications have risen 40% totaling 39.5 million individual prescriptions ("New findings," 2009). When statistics like this are seen it is only normal for someone to ask questions. People are becoming curious about the legitimacy of the disorder, and whether or not the treatments being given to individuals are appropriate. The argument seems to be strong on both sides of the fence, but the extensive research done on ADHD leaves it hard for one to believe that it is a made up disorder.

Ganesh et al. (2017) aimed to explore ADHD and its subtypes in treatment who seek patients with substance used disorder (SUD). Among 240 patients with SUD, 135 patients were tested positive for likely to have ADHD and 52 were highly likely to have ADHD., and those 52 were had a higher score on the inattentive domain (Ganesh et al., 2017). Ganesh et al. (2017) concluded that those with a high score would likely develop comorbid disorders.

ADHD is indeed a part of the Western Culture. People are familiar with the term, treatment and some behaviors that ‘shows’ its existence; and since it has become part of the culture itself it is considered as something relatively normal -or at least common. Both sides of the debate agree on the fact that the behaviors called ADHD do exist, but is it a biological disease? A conduct disorder? Or are we as humans trying to narrow our behaviors in the way where anyone who is not as ‘efficient’ as us are considered to be ‘sick’?

Whether or not ADHD is a true illness is subjected to debate. Despite the continuous efforts of experts in updating ADHD criteria within the DSM, the diagnosis for it continues to be controversial due to over reliance on vague evidences obtained from perceived irregularities in a patient’s mood and behaviour (Szasz, 2008). I believe ADHD, particularly in children, should not be considered legitimate illness.

ADHD is a condition which affects multiple areas of functioning. Because of the widespread diagnosis this disease keeps doctors, pharmaceutical businesses, and teachers employed. According to Diller (2008), the use of drugs like Ritalin is at rates never seen before in this country or anywhere else. Diller also states that “we medicate our children with psychiatric drugs ten or twenty times more than countries of Western Europe (pg50).” Many children are said to be made unhappy, often alienating themselves from parents and others. They are also much more unmotivated which is directly related to the use of ADHD medication. Parents lean on medication as an excuse to control their children; when most children do not even

In the Article, ADHD in children, Valerie Strauss states ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder in children. ADHD is a commonly research topic, many teachers and parents Strauss defines ADHD as brain-based medical disorder that affects the behavior of people across age, gender, intelligence and socio-economic lines. Kids with ADHD may daydream a lot, talk too much, fidget, frequently forget and lose things, display impulsivity and risk-taking behavior and have trouble making transitions (ADHD in Children). Strauss also interviews Ned Hallowell, calling him a leading researcher on ADHD. Strauss lists Hallowell’s credentials, stating he is an adult and child psychiatrist, founder of Hallowell center for cognitive and emotional studies in Sudbury, Mass and he served as a faculty member of Harvard Medical school from 1983 to 2004. In his interview, Hallowell states parents need to know basic foundations about ADHD and furthermore discusses people who founded this country were indeed inflicted with ADHD, as these people were dreamers, visionaries and gave an example of a founding father, Edison, who was clearly afflicted with ADHD. He states to make sure that this ADHD is not a defeat disorder, but rather as a disorder in which changes the way a child thinks.

ADHD is an abbreviation for attention deficit/hyper activity disorder. It is commonly referred to as a psychiatric disorder in need of therapy. The origination of the disease is in the neuro-physiological brain construct, and the main cause of the disorder is considered to be genetic (Wilson, 2012). Many children with ADHD struggle with impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention (Unnever, Cullen, & Pratt, 2003). According to McNamara, Vervaeke, and Willoughby (2008), “attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder among children and adolescents. It affects between 3% and 5% of school age children” (p. 38). In a

ADHD is a major public health problem. It is one of the most frequent childhood onset psychiatry conditions, with an estimated prevalence 5% of school age children. It has been reported that impairing symptoms of ADHD persistent into adulthood in up to 65% of childhood onset cases, with a prevalence of ADHD in adult estimated at 2.5 %. Due to its core symptoms, and associated disorders, ADHD imposes an enormous burden of society in terms of psychological dysfunction, adverse vocational outcomes, stress on families, and societal financial cost (Simon V.

During the past 60 years, many different terms have been used to describe what we now call ADHD, (Barkley, 2006 ). Over the past decade, many researchers have conducted empirical studies to deepen our understanding of ADHD as well as identify evidence-based strategies for assessing and treating individuals with the disorder.( Lisa L. Weyandt, ‎George J. DuPaul - 2012).Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is believed to be a chronic disorder that affects a significant proportion of the child, adolescent, and adult population. Scientist still do not know of its root causes but attribute it to a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Attention Deficit/ hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic mental health disorder with distinct behavioral manifestations in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Barkley, 1997; Barkley, Fischer, Smallish, & Fletcher, 2002). Many sources state that the prevalence in ADHD is about 3% to 7.5% in school-aged children (Fischer, Barkley, Smallish, & Fletcher, 2005). Most current studies from 1995 to 2006 estimate that the worldwide prevalence is about 5% and that these studies are similar in all countries that ADHD is studied (Polanczyk, Lima, Horta, Biederman, & Rohde, 2007).