Nora Deloris Harris

According to Dr. Rosemary Hutchinson, ADHD is one of the most difficult conditions to diagnose and at least three evaluations with the family should be done before making a diagnosis. It is important for a doctor to have knowledge of the child’s illnesses, developmental milestones, and family life. ADD/ADHD have the symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity are common to a number of other conditions that can be mistaken for ADD/ADHD. Children may show signs of these behaviors due to family and social problems. (Hutchinson)

In the symptoms and diagnosis section, parents are able to see how physicians effectively diagnosis children and adults by asking a series of questions to figure out if the child has Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation or Predominantly Inattentive Presentation or a combination of both versions of the disease (CDC, 2011). Besides treating just the patient, the CDC informs parents that not only does the child have treatment options, but there is also parenting school that teaches parents on how to handle children that have this illness. There is also information about facts of ADHD and the CDC provides statistics for parents to overview. The CDC’s motto is to “Treat all persons with dignity, honesty, and respect” which means that parents can count on the CDC for providing correct information (CDC, 2013).

Is the overdiagnosis of ADHD a product of societal pressure or a looser standard of qualification for medical assistance/diagnosis for ADHD? There is no question on whether or not ADHD is being diagnosed more often. In 2011 there were 6.4 million ADHD diagnoses, and many people are looking for answers of why this is happening. Immediately, most people point to the higher stresses from our advancing society and the pressure from other parents and people to the major increase. Although some believe the stressful environment created by our advancing society is at the core of the increase in ADHD diagnoses, the lack of proper procedure when handing out psychostimulants is the more prevalent issue regarding ADHD overdiagnosis. This can be attributed to the age of the child within their grade, a lack of understanding in adults.

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

doctors prior to making the decision of whether or not to medicate their ADHD children. Capaccio, George. ADD and ADHD. Tarrytown,

Some of the cases are hard to see and diagnosis. 17% of the 1,000 mental health professionals surveyed some of the mistaken diagnosed kids with adhd. There was errors for the boys because they fit the clinician's stereotypes. And in girls it is underdiagnosed in girls because of the subter symptoms like daydreaming and spaciness.

Wrong. Even before I was done telling my doctor all the problems I had in school, even everyday life, I could tell by the look on his face he had heard it a million times and was in no way surprised. He told me if he used a tape recorder I could listen to many other adult females stories, and they would be very close to, if not exactly the same as mine. Most don’t find out until they get to college, just like me. After a few more sessions, he prescribed me medications commonly used for ADHD.

Julia was brought into the clinic by her parents with concerns of issues Julia has been facing in school and the home setting. Julia’s teachers inquired if Julia had a history of seizures as she has been observed appearing to “space out” at times and has to be redirected by her teachers by physically touching her or calling her name in a loud tone to gain her attention. Julia appears to space out regularly particularly when she is receiving instruction or in the process of completing independent work. Julia has seen a decline in her studies as it pertains to math and reading and her parents disclosed that they have had to repeat things numerous times before gaining her attention. Julia was seen by her pediatrician and referred to a neurologist where she was tested for a seizure disorder. Julia’s testing for seizure disorder came back negative.

This showed that it was not just a single boy that was concerned for Nora, but the whole group. Their compassion for missing Nora is quite obvious in the final paragraph of the novel, “There will come a day when we will think of Nora Lindell for the last time. We will think of her as the sixteen-year-old we once knew. We will imagine her in her field hockey sweats or in her uniform with her knee socks at half mast or maybe we will think of her in her jean jacket, with her back against the base of Trey Stephens’ aquarium, braiding Sissy’s hair. Whatever the memory, we will think of her, wonder what might have been, and we won’t even know it while it’s happening, but it will be the last time we ever think of her.

The types of testing that specialist do for ADHD is “clinical observation” and that is how they determine

Children with ADHD are being medicated unnecessarily. The problem is there are no biological tests for the disorder, and it cannot be revealed through a blood test. ADHD should be the last resort for a diagnosis, but it is often the first choice. In many cases a child who is disruptive in class or

Nora’s growth could be described as a subtle process. It is not until the end of the play that she even decides to leave and seek out the life experience she needs to develop her own thoughts, ideas and actions. However, there are definitely many small instances within the

Girls need a women figure to talk to about female things. Not only that but if Nora left and then later on down the road decided to enter back into the children's lives, they might have resentment towards her.

Nora's duties, in general, are restricted to caring for the children, doing housework, and working on her needlepoint. A problem with her responsibilities is that her most important obligation is to please Torvald, making her role similar to that of a slave.

When diagnosing ADHD, there is no single test itself that can determine it. Deciding if a child has the disorder is a several step process, which requires the attention of different professionals as well as those surrounding the child on a daily basis. A pediatrician,