ADD/ADHD in Children

ADD/ADHD in Children

Introduction

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is referred to describe a cluster of symptoms that formulate a neuron developmental disorder in which the child struggles to control impulses, manage behavior, in listening to directions or guidelines.

However, Steven Pliszka emphasized that it is not considered as a disorder that can be directly attributed to other medical or psychiatric conditions. In addition, it does not tend to cause impairment in social and academic functioning, even in case of provision of no treatment at all.

The reason being the inclusion of ADHD in this encyclopedia is due to its significance in being one of the most commonly occurring pediatric disorders and most likely to be treated by a primary care provider. The disease can also be treated in variety of settings including child guidance clinics and other outpatient mental health treatment environments. Treatment may include medication management, psychosocial interventions, or a combination of both that engages parental figures, other family members, and other individuals attached with the child. These individuals can be school personnel, community activity leaders, and childcare providers. ADHD continues into adulthood and influences functioning throughout the life span in some variant of symptoms.

The core symptoms of ADHD include inattention, which usually persists into adulthood hyperactivity that tends to decrease around age of 9 to 11 years; and impulsivity that may begin to remit from around age of 12 to 14 years. ADHD is rarely a simple disorder and need to be assessed carefully before treatment begins.

ADHD involves two sets of primary arguments, out of which the most alleged and tracked one is a consideration of ADHD as an identified disorder that has been evolved recently in the context of American History. The second set of argument exhibits that ADHD is a result of the series of different disorders and related symptoms.

This paper begins with historical and current literature contexts. The paper also highlights desired family health outcomes, assessment, and treatment interventions (Wender, 2000). This paper concludes with a brief description of ADHD's relevance to family health care.

Review of the related Literature

Research has shown that ADHD is associated to brain functionality. However, it is complicated due to a variety of other issues and comorbid disorders that can cloud the practitioner's ability to make a clear diagnosis and treatment plan. Over the life span, ADHD can move from behavior hyperactivity to disruptive behavior, learning problems, poor social skills, and oppositional defiant behaviors in adolescence, to school difficulties, substance abuse, mood and conduct disorders, and complex learning disabilities. Untreated, ADHD predisposes youth to substance use, involvement in the juvenile justice system, and poor adult functioning.

Non-genetic risk factors have also been identified as contributing to ADHD. These include traumatic brain injury, low birth weight and traumatic prenatal events, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and environmental deprivation in infancy. Some researchers suggest that all of these issues combine with the genetic risks to produce the disorder in a child (Jacobs & Wendel, 2010). ADHD is frequently comorbid with other psychiatric ...