Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or more commonly known as ADHD is a developmental disorder. They symptoms for this disorder usually start to show up before the agoe of 7. This disorder is a diagnosed psychiatric disorder and affects 3-5% of chilidren world wide and diagnosed in about 2-16% of school aged children, 30-50% of those children diagnosed will continue to have the symptoms in adulthood. The older these children get the easier it is for them to be able to come up with coping mechanisms, to compensate for some or all of their impairments.
Studies have been done that suggests boys are more likely to be diagnosed for ADHD than girls. Or is this just the bias of teachers? Management of ADHD usually includes a combination of medication, behavior modifications, lifestyle changes, and counseling. They symtoms can be difficult to differentiate from other disorders, increasing the likelihood that the diagnosis of ADHD will be missed. Most health professional have not recieved the proper training in the assessment and treatmeant of ADHD, particularly in adult patients.
The treatment and diagnosis of ADHD have been considered controversial since the 1970's. The controversies have nvolved clinicians, teachers, policymakers, parents and the media. Topics include the actuality of the disorder, its causes, and the use of stimulant medications in its treatment. Most healthcare providers accept that ADHD is a genuine disorder with debate in the scientific community centering mainly around how it is diagnosed and treated. The American Medical Association concluded in 1998 that the diagnostic criteria for ADHD are based on extensive research and, if applied appropriately, lead to the diagnosis with high reliability.
I personally think that this disorder is a very real problem for some children, but............. Is this disorder becoming more common due to the fact that teachers and parents have difficulity in teaching and controling childrens's behavior. In todays world, most parents have to work 40 hours or more a week, we come home tired, stressed and usually have more work to do at home. Are our children suffering because of this? Do they act out in any way they can for our attention? Are we being to quick to get a diagnosis for ADHD? Are we as adults changing our lifestyles to help our kids before medicating them?
If children are getting a lack of positive attention at home, they will try and get it through their peers. Acting out at school doesn't mean a child has ADHD. Because our teachers are only trained one way to teach and because classes are so big, are our children getting the right education?
Due to the way our world is at the moment, the home situation isn't likely to change much. We don't all have the luxury to stay at home with our kids. How can we change things so our kids don't feel like we are to busy for them? As a mother of 3 I don't know the answer to that question. But i do try to remember it's not the quantity of time spent with them, it's the quality of time. Most parents when a child misbehaves would think they are just being kids. Teachers however might be to quick to jump on the ADHD bandwagon. Believe it or not our children are not all clones and don't all learn the same way (even though that would be easier).
Teachers have between 30-40 students per class in most main stream schools. They are working long hours and lets face it, it's a stressful job for little thanks ore pay. Children are more disrespectufl and outspoken than our generation, but that does not mean they all have ADHD. Teachers tend to foreget that each child will learn at a different rate and way. This doesn't mean they all have ADHD.
As a parent I'm asking no matter how much pressure you recieve, please dont't take the easy way out when it comes to our kids, Listen to your child they are the only onew who really know what is going on in their head. They are our future, so stop over medicating them. And for those children that really do have ADHD remember it doesn't change who they are, so please help and support them as much as possible.
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