Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Essay

Michael Jordan, one of the all-time greatest basketball legends, explains how to overcome obstacles in life: “If you are trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Michael Jordan, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Michael Phelps, Walt Disney (Sonny) - all of these very successful men have one significant thing in common. They are all diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperniss Disorder (ADHD). This can be considered proof that people with ADHD are capable of great things. In Jordan's quote, he talks about roadblocks and how people should overcome them. In this instance ADHD is the roadblock and medication is the way around it. Those who have ADHD should be medicated because the stigma of the disorder and medication continues to lessen with time and information, the positives of taking medication outweigh the negatives, the selection of medications is becoming more varied, and it allows the patient to advance in school and their careers. Many people are against medication due to ignorance, when all they need is a better understanding of the effects of it. The number of patients diagnosed with ADHD taking medication is rising due to the accessibility of the information. Many people are seeing how the good outweigh the bad which

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is commonly referred to as ADHD. ADHD is a medical condition that is categorized by complications with inattentiveness or hyperactivity and impulsivity. However, these indicators must be severe enough to cause glitches with daily functioning in two of the following places: at home, in school, in the community or in the workplace. Sufferers of the disorder tend to have greater risks for other psychiatric and behavioral disorders. ADHD use to be thought of as a childhood disorder, however, more research shows that ADHD continues into adolescence and also into adulthood. ADHD can have serious effects on a person’s quality of life; Socialization, school performance, and behavior are some of the areas in

Another common opposition to ADHD is the medications used to treat it. People wonder why hyperactive children are being treated with stimulants. The side effects of stimulant medications seem to not be so positive and don't seem to be acceptable for a child with ADHD. Side effects such as motor tics, insomnia, and loss of appetite are all commonly seen among stimulant medications. Stimulant

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric disorder that causes children to have problems with paying attention, trouble with following instructions, have impulsive behaviors and become easily distracted. Medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, are used to treat the symptoms of this disorder by helping the patient to focus and pay attention while also curbing their impulsive behavior and hyperactivity. Side effects of these medications are, but not limited to, anxiety, addiction and in some cases psychosis. Proponents of giving ADHD medication to children argue that ADHD is a real disorder in children and the medication does improve the symptoms of the disorder by a large margin as well as being cost effective.

I have continued to excel in school, and by the summer before my freshman year, in spite of my doctor’s recommendation, I chose to be taken off of the medication for the ADHD. I was determined to be highly organized and stay focused in my classes. I have learned how to help myself pay attention and stay on task in class. I always take advantage of classroom work time since my ability to focus gets worse by the

So what is wrong with the way we currently treat ADHD? From personal experience, this author is able to tell a couple things. When they took their medication to counteract the symptoms of their condition, a couple of things happened. While grades were going up, in an effort to help them focus the medication suppressed their appetite. This caused them to eat less, which in turn cause this author to get skinnier to the point of being underweight. To add on to that, this author was moody because they were hungry, but they did not know it. When this author ceased to take the medication, the aforementioned side-effects stopped along with it.

Like most other developed countries, the majority of our U.S. culture is now accustomed and drawn to the idea of “quick-fixes.” In this busy society, one is typically most intrigued by the option that is the easiest to implement and can provide the fastest results, such as a pain pill for a headache. However, in the world of mental health and its’ disorders, a “quick-fix” is usually not the best approach. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among these mental health disorders that should not be resorting only to a “quick-fix”, such as a stimulant medication, to effectively manage the disorder. This is especially true for ADHD among the pediatric population, as this is a time of rapid behavior and personality growth, as well

Subsequently testing all day, proved that I did indeed have a mild case of ADHD and ADD which was unfortunate because I was diagnosed at sixteen years old. For years I struggled with confidence issues because of my grades and frustrations from not achieving all of the goals I set forth. Understanding this diagnosis was the first step to regaining my confidence, thus making me want to strive to become an overall better student. I was prescribed a small dosage of Adderall by my doctor to help me focus and stay on task during school. However, after taking the prescribed medicine for about a year, I began noticing my lack of interest in certain activities and subject I once used to enjoy. Due to the way it made me feel, I decided to discontinue taking Adderall. In spite of this, due to trial and error, I have learned new techniques to stay focused and on task. Although it requires me to put in more effort than most students, I have seen a great improvement in my senior year of high

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is without a doubt one of the largest social problems facing the Baby Boomers in the 21st century. The last two to three decades have seen this disorder labeled many different titles. As stated by Donald J. Brown in his article Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 1996: “What is apparent is that ADHD is a collection of symptoms or criteria.” Labeling a child as ADHD creates a large potential for error. The traditional approach of putting children on long-term usage of stimulants such as Ritalin, Centedrin, and Rubifen might allow a child to better concentrate because it somehow slows down the otherwise hyperactive student but it does nothing

Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopment psychiatric disorder which affects the executive functions of the body. For many people suffering from the disorder, they have issues with paying attention to a particular issue for a long period. They also exhibit signs of hyperactivity and impulsiveness which is not in line with an individual’s age (NIH, 2014). The symptoms of the disease normally occur in the children aged between six to twelve and have to persist for approximately six months for a diagnosis to be made. Many school going children that suffer from ADHD develop symptoms such as lack of attention which normally lead to poor performance in their tests and exams. Many people do not know the implications of having ADHD and for some the cases go undetected for a long period (ADHD Health, n.d). There are those individuals that do not suffer from the disease but since the medication enables one to have more concentration on an issue, they abuse the drug for their benefits. Before I was diagnosed with the disease, my parents could not understand my poor performance and I could not understand why it was so hard for me to concentrate in class no matter how hard I tried. The dismal results that I continued to display in school and lack of attention even when I was at home made my parents take me to the hospital for tests that indicated that I suffer from ADHD. For me, I did not quite understand how this happened but I was put on medication that

Over the past couple of decades there has been a huge increase in the diagnosis and prescriptions given out for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. “An article from prescription provider Express scripts, finds a large overall increase in the number of Americans treated for ADHD there was a 36 percent increase in just five years” (David Muzina, 2014). 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 the individual are appropriate. ADHD may seem controversial to many on whether it is real or not, and if treatment is the best option. The argument seems to be strong 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.

It is true that people with Attention Deficit Disorder struggle in school or with everyday situations but they can adapt and learn ways to use this disability to their advantage. There are many people that are and can become very successful despite having Attention Deficit Disorder. Explaining attention deficit disorder is not easy, there are a lot of myths and controversy about this disorder. I know first-hand the struggles and the controversy surrounded by Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) because I was diagnosed when I was an adult. Some people might not believe that it is a true disorder or that it only affects children, it is real and does actually exist. It is not only just a childhood disorder it does not discriminate against age, race or gender. In order to have a better understanding of this complex disorder, it is important to become aware of its characteristics, causes, and treatments. A detailed analysis will include information and the struggles of living, coping, and managing A.D.D.

There thankfully is treatment for children that suffer from ADHD. Treatment is very helpful for symptoms, behavior problems, and functional performance of the individual. One treatment that people choose to use is behavioral therapy to see if their child could learn to cope with ADHD without having to take medication. Effective behavioral therapies include parent training, classroom management, peer interventions, and combination of the interventions. Treatment often involves seven to twelve weekly sessions and has demonstrated improved child behavior and parent satisfaction (Felt and Beirmann, 2014). The second treatment that is the more common of the two is pharmacological treatment. Psychostimulants (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine, and mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall) are the most effective and safe option, and are the first choice for ADHD treatment in national guidelines and reviews (Felt and Biermann, 2014). These medications do cause side effects like loss of appetite, headaches, sleep loss, high blood pressure, and slightly high heart rate. Having followed up doctor appointments while on these medications are very important.

In most cases, all the patient’s affected skills again the skills of planning, organizing, priority setting, deciding what's important when reading, retaining information, and interpreting verbal directions. A functioning cognitive state is returned to functioning condition and the impediment of the mental disorder is rectified. Medication for Inattentive Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder corrects the deficiencies in the brain chemistry; therefore, restoring a normal cognitive function. Medication for this disorder can greatly increase achievement in academia. Along with restored functioning, stimulant medication for Inattentive ADHD is “associated with a reduction of the core symptoms of ADHD and increased academic productivity” (Loe). Stimulants have also been proven to increase “academic productivity as indicated by improvements in the quality of note-taking, scores on quizzes and worksheets, the amount of written-language output, and homework completion” (Loe). Medication greatly improves the chances of succeeding when diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) represents the most common externalizing psychopathology in adolescents, affecting 3-9% of the population. It is a developmental disorder and a chronic condition with associated symptoms and impairment that persists in approximately three-fourths of the cases into adolescence and in half of the cases into adulthood (Çuhadaroglu-Çetin, Füsun, et al., 2013). Adolescents with high levels of impulsivity and inattention have an increased risk for school and occupational failure, difficulties in parent/peer relationships and social and problem-solving skills, executive dysfunctions, emotional self-regulation problems, antisocial behaviors and criminal activity, substance use, and other psychiatric problems when they grow up.