adhd
ADHD Discussion.
The history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can be traced back to Dr. George Still in 1902. His observations of "restless, passionate, and apt to get into trouble children" were mostly boys. "An abnormal defect of moral control" was his diagnosis. This is accepted as the first recorded discussion of hyperactivity.
Children said to be hyperactive don't always turn out to have difficulty paying attention however. Different children respond to different environments. If a child is fidgety at school but functions well in the home, is there a problem? Is it a matter of psychological problems or something biosocial? These are some of the ideas clouding diagnosis of ADHD in today's society.
Diagnosis of ADHD requires that a child's problem must have been noted prior to age seven, must persist for at least six months, and must include any eight of the total fourteen symptoms as concluded by committee.
There are drastic differences in the estimated number of children affected by ADHD. Researchers do not agree on a percentage for youth that are hyperactive. Depending on who is doing the research, it could be as high as 20 percent or as low as 1.19 percent. Conversely, one thing researchers do tend to agree on is that among children that are diagnosed hyperactive, boys outnumber girls by at least four to one.
One reason for the differing opinion is the interpretation of the guidelines. Hyperactivity typically becomes an issue when children can not conform to classroom rules. If a teacher is the sole basis for diagnosis by viewing the child in day to day activities of the classroom, the parents or health care providers aren't taken into account. When the latter is taken as a whole, the prevalence of such a diagnosis is significantly lower.
Add to that the fact that symptoms of hyperactivity such as restlessness, excessive talking, losing things, and impulsiveness, for example, are easily...
View Full Essay