Definition
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD.
Articles
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Basics
- Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Fact Sheet
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Brain Matures a Few Years Late in ADHD, But Follows Normal Pattern
- Medications Reduce Incidence of Substance Abuse Among ADHD Patients
- Other Conditions Associated with ADHD
- ADHD and Risk of Injuries
- Peer Relationships and ADHD
- Teaching Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Instructional Strategies and Practices
- Identify and Treat ADHD at School and at Home
Article Summaries
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder BasicsAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD. ADHD was first described by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman in 1845. A physician who wrote books on medicine and psychiatry, Dr. Hoffman was also a poet who became interested in writing for children when he couldn’t find suitable materials to read to his 3-year-old son. The result was a book of poems, complete with illustrations, about children and their characteristics. “The Story of Fidgety Philip” was an accurate description of a little boy who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Yet it was not until 1902 that Sir George F. Still published a series of lectures to the Royal College of Physicians in England in which he described a group of impulsive children with significant behavioral problems, caused by a genetic dysfunction and not by poor child rearing—children who today would be easily recognized as having ADHD.1 Since then, several thousand scientific papers on the disorder have been published, providing information on its nature, course, causes, impairments, and treatments.
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Fact Sheet
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is a condition that can make it hard for a person to sit still, control behavior, and pay attention. These difficulties usually begin before the person is 7 years old. However, these behaviors may not be noticed until the child is older. Doctors do not know just what causes AD/HD. However, researchers who study the brain are coming closer to understanding what may cause AD/HD. They believe that some people with AD/HD do not have enough of certain chemicals (called neurotransmitters) in their brain. These chemicals help the brain control behavior. Parents and teachers do not cause AD/HD. Still, there are many things that both parents and teachers can do to help a child with AD/HD.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
ADHD affects school performance and interpersonal relationships. Parents of children with ADHD are often exhausted and frustrated. Neuroimaging studies suggest that the brains of children with ADHD are different from those of other children. These children handle neurotransmitters (including dopamine, serotonin, and adrenalin) differently from their peers. ADHD is often genetic. Whatever the specific cause may be, it seems to be set in motion early in life as the brain is developing. Depression, sleep deprivation, learning disabilities, tic disorders, and behavior problems may be confused with, or appear along with, ADHD. Every child suspected of having ADHD deserves a careful evaluation to sort out exactly what is contributing to the behaviors causing concern.
Brain Matures a Few Years Late in ADHD, But Follows Normal Pattern
In youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the brain matures in a normal pattern but is delayed three years in some regions, on average, compared to youth without the disorder, an imaging study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has revealed. The delay in ADHD was most prominent in regions at the front of the brain’s outer mantle (cortex), important for the ability to control thinking, attention and planning. Otherwise, both groups showed a similar back-to-front wave of brain maturation with different areas peaking in thickness at different times (see movie below).
Medications Reduce Incidence of Substance Abuse Among ADHD Patients
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) causes difficulties in paying attention, keeping still, and suppressing impulsive behaviors. It can lead to problems in school and on the job and create tensions with family members and other people. In addition, research has shown that children with ADHD have an elevated risk of becoming abusers of drugs and alcohol. Studies that have tracked children to adulthood have found higher rates of transition to abuse among those with ADHD compared to those without the disorder. Conversely, studies with adult substance abusers, particularly cocaine abusers, have found that when they were children a high percentage had ADHD that was undiagnosed and therefore untreated.
Other Conditions Associated with ADHD
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often occurs with Oppositionalother disorders, referred to as comorbidities of ADHD. The combination of Defiant Disorder ADHD and its comorbidities presents extra challenges to affected individuals, educators, and health care providers. Diagnosis and treatment are more difficult when ADHD and another condition are present in the same individual. Chart showing issues related to ADHDAbout half of children with ADHD referred to clinics have behavior disorders as well as ADHD. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is one of the most common disorders occurring with ADHD. Conduct Disorder is less common, can be significantly disruptive, and is difficult to treat. Increased injuries and strained peer relationships are also common in this population. Because significant challenges may result from having ADHD and another disorder, it is important to screen every child with ADHD for other disorders and problems.
Children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can have more frequent and severe injuries than peers without ADHD. Research indicates that children with ADHD are significantly more likely to be injured as pedestrians or while riding a bicycle, to receive head injuries, injure more than one part of the body, and be hospitalized for accidental poisoning. Children with ADHD may be admitted to intensive care units or have an injury result in disability more frequently than other children. Children with ADHD appear to have significantly higher medical costs than children without ADHD. Health care costs for each child with ADHD may be more than twice as high as medical costs for children without ADHD.
Exactly how ADHD contributes to social problems is not fully understood. Several studies have found that children with predominantly inattentive ADHD may be perceived as shy or withdrawn by their peers. Research strongly indicates that aggressive behavior in children with symptoms of impulsivity/hyperactivity may play a significant role in peer rejection. In addition, other behavioral disorders often occur along with ADHD. Children with ADHD and other disorders appear to face greater impairments in their relationships with peers. Having ADHD does not mean a person has to have poor peer relationships. Involve your child in activities Not everyone with ADHD has difficulty getting along with others. For those who do, many things can be done to improve the person’s relationships. The earlier a child’s difficulties with peers are noticed, the more successful intervention may be.
Inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the core symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A child’s academic success is often dependent on his or her ability to attend to tasks and teacher and classroom expectations with minimal distraction. Such skill enables a student to acquire necessary information, complete assignments and participate in classroom activities and discussions (Forness & Kavale, 2001). When a child exhibits behaviors associated with ADHD, consequences may include difficulties with academics and with forming relationships with his or her peers if appropriate instructional methodologies and interventions are not implemented. Identifying Children with ADHD. There are an estimated 1.46 to 2.46 million children with ADHD in the United States; together these children constitute 3-5 percent of the student population (Stevens, 1997; American Psychiatric Association, 1994).
Identify and Treat ADHD at School and at Home
We have all had one of these experiences at one time or another. Perhaps it was at the grocery store, watching frustrated parents call their children’s names repeatedly and implore them to “put that down.” Maybe it was a situation at school with a child who could not seem to sit still and was always in motion. Maybe we noticed a child who appears always to be daydreaming in class—the student who will not focus on an activity long enough to finish it. Possibly the child is bored with a task, seemingly as soon as it has begun, and wants to move on to something else. We all puzzle over these challenging behaviors.Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has many faces and remains one of the most talked-about and controversial subjects in education. Hanging in the balance of heated debates over medication, diagnostic methods, and treatment options are children, adolescents, and adults who must manage the condition and lead productive lives on a daily basis.