Academic and Educational Outcomes of Children with ADHD By Denise DeWalt Abstract: This article covers the topic of outcomes as it relates to children with ADHD. They address five very important questions that relate to these students. They also discuss and share that research has come up with very few positive solutions that help academic outcomes with those diagnosed with ADHD. My research left me with more questions than answers as I found that there are very divisive opinions surrounding the topic of ADHD and its legitimacy. This article is focused on the outcomes of children with ADHD with special focus on academic success. It is unfortunate that they end their study with the quote, “ We remain ill informed about …show more content…
As I researched this topic of ADHD, I was surprised to find a lot of opposition to calling this a “disorder.” I came across various psychiatrists and psychologists that were passionate about not calling a “behavior”, a disease (Szasz, 2011). Many critics say that we are labeling children and thus enabling a self-fulfilling prophecy. As this research is new to me, I am anxious to get in there and really try to understand it. I came across another researcher, Dr. Barkely, on youtube. He was adamant that we cannot afford to have “successful” people saying that they are gifted because of their ADHD. He believed that there was no way that this was true. People may be gifted for other reasons, but not because they have ADHD. “There is nothing in this disorder that is helpful to a person (Barkely, 2010).” Barkely felt that if we continue to have celebrities saying such things that people will not take it serious and research will not be funded as it should. Finally, Professor Robert Spillanes, a psychologist, reports that ADHD is all just a myth and that we are calling a disorder something that should be considered “childhood.” ‘There is no way, scientific or medical, that a child can be tested for ADHD, there is therefore no way that it can be medically proven. The diagnosis is totally subjective - we can run X-rays for broken bones to provide a definitive and conclusive answer, we can check blood pressure to see if
In the article, The Gift of ADHD? a boy named Sam grew up thinking he was a failure and that he was stupid. But now at age 24 he is a partner in a real-estate firm. He states that the key to his success is his ADHD. There is a controversial point that some of the symptoms of ADHD actually have flip sides that strengthen creativity, energy and intuition. Many criminals have ADHD as well as successful artists and CEO’s. The difficult thing is learning how to control the disorder and whether you let it become a gift or a curse.
The child who is showing some symptoms of ADHD should get the proper diagnoses and the parents should bring their child to a specialist. First of all, the child would be seen by a pediatrician or a child psychologist. The specialist would gather information from everyone, the school, caregivers or parents. The health care provider will look over the information and compare it to the regular children of the same age group.
The main topic of this page is information and statistics pertaining to children that possess the disorder of ADHD. It provided several statistics amongst the boys and girls that have ADHD. It also provided percentages and rates of how many children are diagnosed with the disorder. It revealed that statistically proven boys are more likely to become diagnosed with the disorder than females are. This site also provided statistics ad ratings of the different treatments that children are taking and how many American children received treatment for the disorder in 2011. There was also a percentage representing the children that may have been diagnosed with the disorder but are not receiving any type of treatment for it. There are also facts supporting that parents that may have been diagnosed with the disorder are more likely to reproduce children that suffer from the same disorder opposed to parents who have not been diagnosed or exhibited any behaviors or symptoms of ADHD. It is also quoted that children that have been diagnosed with the disorder may form a issue with maintaining any relationships or friendships amongst their peers. There was also a percentage that supported the fact that the children that suffer from the disorder of ADHD have a higher rate or major injuries and hospital visits compared to the average child. There is also a high economic cost to care and treat children that suffer from this disorder.
The length of time in which the students were able to maintain the lower level of severity or the total annulment of symptoms was not considered in this study. Future researchers may benefit from conducting a longitudinal study that follows confirmed cases of ADHD from early childhood to young adulthood. Knowing where students begin their struggles in their educational endeavors and how they end can help researchers determine the best point at which intervention should begin. However, the results that have been found, do justify the suggestion that further research is needed to determine if academic accomplishments, behaviors, and mental stability are affected
There are no tests done in the lab to prove a person has ADHD, therefore stating it has no correlation with rooting the brain as the cause. Such as creativity cannot be proven by tests, ADHD is the same situation. Instead, diagnosis of this such disorder, is done by symptoms, relating with inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity (3 Facts About ADHD & Why It's a "Fictitious" Disorder). Coincidentally, these are common behavioral attitudes of children...so are parents or teachers suggesting a child has ADHD because they have concern of a mental illness or want to label or blame their behavior? Research has proven that parents found more relief when they were told their child was suffering from a real biological illness. They rather hear that, for instance, their child has incurable schizophrenia, rather than consider and change their parenting style to improve their child’s behavior (Wedge 57). For this reason, many doctors such as neurologists strongly believe that ADHD is not a disorder, rather it should “be an umbrella of symptoms” (ADHD Is A Fake Disorder” Says Neurologist-Turned-Author). This disorder has given many misconceptions, such as, ‘a person who has ADHD always has difficulty with executive functions such as focusing on a task and keeping things in mind, regardless of what they are doing’ this is a myth--executive function impairments characteristic of ADHD is a situational variable rather (Brown 2). Different sources and
Most parents do not want their child to be labeled as “Special” or “ADHD”. Why? These labels are used as in relating to a disorder. While, some parents would self-blame themselves, as being bad parents. Researchers have been working on the causes and triggers of this disorder, yet they have not found a cure. The cause for ADHD has no
There are many negatives involved in ADHD, but what’s often overlooked, are the positives. One of these positives is the fact that this disorder is very manageable and treatable. We have an extended amount of knowledge from numerous studies that have been done since the disorder was discovered. From these studies we now know that this disorder can affect people in many ways and be a burden on someone if not treated properly.
Attention- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) crosses gender, cultural, and socioeconomic lines, but it does not render adolescents from participating or excelling in the academic process. ADHD disorder has been defined as a neurobiological development disorder of impaired executive functions that significantly affects self-control, behavior, cognition, and learning. (Anthony L. Rostain & J. Russell Ramsay, 2005) According to a study conducted by the American
Children who are diagnosed with ADHD struggle with managing behavior in school environments. As research has shown, students have difficulty paying attention and can be disruptive in class. This often leads to a decline in their academics and can hurt future academic achievements. There are a number of tools, programs, contracts, and classes that are available to students with ADHD. Along with a lack of attention and an abundance of hyperactivity, “twenty to thirty percent of ADHD children have an associated learning disorder of reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic” (Daley & Birchwood, 2010). It can be difficult, as a teacher, to manage a classroom with children with ADHD. It is important that teachers, parents, and students, understand the opportunities available to them to help the child succeed.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, better known by its acronym as ADHD, is one of the “hot topics” constantly being discussed in today’s psychological field. Interestingly, the debate is on whether or not ADHD is a real mental disorder. The community is divided into two distinct groups. One group believes that ADHD is a real mental disorder and should be treated as such. Others, however, believe that ADHD isn’t a disorder at all, rather it is a ploy driven by the pharmaceutical companies in order to increase sales of stimulants such as Ritalin. Within this group there are also people who believe that ADHD itself is not a disorder, however, it is part of a larger malady, or a result of poor parenting or a sugar-rich diet.
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
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder also most commonly known as ADHD is one of the most common disorders among children and young adults. It is not only the most common but is on the rise in the United States over the past decade. Many people turn to the internet to find answers on such a disorder as ADHD. However, one has to be careful in what they read, because some websites are not accurate and have lots of bias towards one thing or another dealing with the subject of ADHD. Everyday Health’s webpage on ADHD is a very informative source and well put together by using authority, coverage and objectivity.
It’s normal for a child to occasionally forget to do their homework, get fidgety when they lose interest in an activity, or speak out of turn during class time. But inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are all signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a neuro-development disorder and can start as early as three years old throughout adulthood. People with ADHD have trouble focusing on tasks and activities, this can have a negative impact on the individual in different ways. It can make the child feel alone, incompetent, and powerless and those that don’t understand this behavior only intensified their struggle. Family and schools have a major impact on the life of a child suffering with ADHD. Parents who
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
To this day no scientific tests have been done to support the existence of ADHD. As it stands the diagnostic criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder are essentially reflective of normal childhood behavior. The behaviors that someone needs to elicit in order to be categorized with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, include behaviors such as: “often has difficulties organizing tasks and activities”; “often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort”; “often loses things necessary for tasks or activities”; “is often on the go”; “often talks excessively”; and “often interrupts or intrudes on others” (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). These criteria for ADHD are found in most children but not all children have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has taken normal behaviors of a child and reclassified them to be characterized into a disorder. If psychiatry was against pathologizing normal behavior then disorders like ADHD which are essentially just descriptions of normal childhood behavior would be eliminated. Children would therefore be put on medication less often and therefore would lead to less serious disorders based off of the findings of Whitaker. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is