Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

For over two-thousand years philosophers like Hippocrates have studied behaviors characteristic of the psychiatric disorder known today as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, “ADHD” (Peterson, 2007, p. 10). It is defined by Myers (2010) as “a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity” (p. 595). ADHD is predominately seen in boys. Possible reasons for developing this disorder have been linked to abnormalities in the development of the brain, as well as genetic and environmental factors. Whatever the cause may be ADHD results in learning difficulties, medications with side effects, substance abuse, crime, and troubled relationships.

In 2003, studies performed at UCLA found that people diagnosed with ADHD had similarities in brain structure. The most obvious similarity was a smaller than normal frontal lobe, affecting the persons attention, impulsivity, organizational and time management abilities. It is also suggested that reduced blood flow to this region may lead to hyperactivity. Small temporal lobes, the putamen, corpus callosum, and cerebellum have also been found in ADHD patients, which can lead to many difficulties such as: the ability to understand spoken language, short term memory, and communication between the different lobes of the brain (Peterson, 2007, p. 48).

The human body consists of sixty different neurotransmitters that carry electrical impulses through the nervous system. In people with ADHD at least five of those neurotransmitters are affected. Low levels of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and GABA can cause many of the symptoms seen in people with ADHD. Peterson (2007) e...

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...d academic performance: why does ADHD impact on academic performance and what can be done to support ADHD children in the classroom?. Child: Care, Health & Development, 36(4), 455-464. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.01046.x

Jensen, Peter S. (2004). Making the System Work for Your Child With ADHD. NewYork, NY: The Guilford Press.

Myers, David G. (2010). Psychology. (9th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Peterson, Christine. (2007). Does Everyone Have ADHD?. New York, NY: Franklin Watts.

Rief, Sandra F. (2005). How to Reach and Teach Children With ADD/ADHD. (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sushevska, L., Olumchev, N., Saveska, M., & Kadri, H. (2011). Analysis of Subtypes and Other Associated Conditions of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in School Population from 6 to 12 Years of Age. Acta Facultatis Medicae Naissensis, 28(1), 53-58.