It is commonly accepted that there is a considerable genetic element in the incidence of attention deficit disorder Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD). The occurrence of many families where ADD and ADHD disorders exist is convincing evidence. ADD is inattentive type of disorder while ADHD is a disorder with hyperactivity, but both can cause difficulty in completing school work and assignments in a timely manner. Either can affect a child's ability to keep track of their homework, belongings, and responsibilities. Yet this is probably not the whole story. If, as seems possible, the incidence of ADD or ADHD is increasing, then factors other than the genetic must be related and deeply studied. The US National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reports that "the estimated number of office-based visits documenting a diagnosis of ADHD among children increased from 947,208 in 1990 to 3,234,180 in 1998" (Robson). From many parts of the United States, this highly reflects significant health problems among children. Furthermore, it may be of interest and relevance to understand that other research has shown that the brains of people with ADD have several regions, which are constantly smaller than those brain regions of individuals without the disability (Trusso). In this case, is ADD found on the "nature" side of the "'nature vs. nurture"? The article Inattention, Impulsivity, Hyperactivity states that even if there is physical brain-based difference, there is simply no reliable test to prove this. Although there is no solid scientific evidence that genetics causes ADHD or ADD, also there is no solid evidence that Television may be the problem. Dr. Robert A. Wascher acknowledges "as with most survey-based studies, there is a great deal of room for subjectivity in the responses of those being surveyed" (Wascher). The argument yet creates another question. Whether television may increase a children's chance of developing an Attention Deficit Diorder,or are the children with attention deficit are more likely to watch television? The research which can possible answer this question and suggests that television might be a cause of ADD/ADHD, was performed by Dimitri Christakis of Children's Hospital Regional Medical Center in Seattle. He carefully elaborated a longitudinal research and carefully controlled any possible variables affecting children between ages one and three. At age seven, the parents of these children were interviewed about their child, and using this interview, Christakis was able to find behavior problems among the children. Christakis linked for each one hour of television a ten percent increase in risk for attention problems (Christakis).
ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). (2004). In The concise Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com.library.gcu.edu%3A2048%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fwileypsych%2Fadhd_attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder%2F0
In the early eighties, children were being diagnosed with a mental illness that consistently brings them out of focus. The mental illness was later named, ADD or ADHD, and not known as an illness but as a disorder. Soon enough ADD was no longer used for diagnoses and became considered an outdated term among doctors. Therefore, instead of ADD and ADHD being two different types of disorders they are now both claimed as attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Although these two types of deficits have inattention difficulties as the primary symptom, they both can not be combined due to ADD having its own preferences on what makes the child or adult inattentive in day to day situations.
ADHD is a disorder that has been on the rise for several years now. The disorder is one that can cause many impairments to a child’s attention span, making it difficult to concentrate and to keep on task, especially on schoolwork. (Graham, 2007) The statistics have been growing ...
National Institute of Mental Health (1999). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Retrieved April 2, 2003 from www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#adhd3
As defined by Ministry of Health (2001), “Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in childhood are persistent overactivity, impulsiveness and inattention, although not all may be present” (p. v). Children may appear as though they are unfocussed, defiant, excessive risk takers or have difficulty performing simple tasks in comparison with their peers. In addition to a diagnosis of ADHD, children may also present with comorbidities such as learning deficits, mood disorders and antisocial characteristics (Ministry of Health, 2001).
During the recent years, words like attention deficit, hyperactivity, ADD etc. have been quite frequently used among various psychiatric and educational institutes. These words have been making its rounds among most educators, physicians, psychologists and young parents in the society nowadays. A few decades ago people were oblivious of these terms or only a few people had heard these terminologies and had experienced children in a class or any other related place behaving in abnormal ways which included fidgeting, restlessness or having very low attention span.
Most people have heard of the term Attention Deficit Hyperactive (ADHD) disorder. “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder that interferes with an individual’s ability to attend to tasks (inattention), inhibits one’s behavior (impulsivity), and may interfere with a person’s ability to regulate one’s activity level (hyper-activity) in developmentally appropriate ways (Barkley 19)”. The most important job for teachers and parents is to separate fact from fiction, to clarify what we know and don’t know.
In April 2004, a journal, Pediatrics, described that the greater the amount of television watched by a toddler, the greater risk for him to develop an attention disorder later on in childhood, as described by researchers at a children's hospital in Seattle, Washington. “For each extra hour per day of TV time, the risk of concentration difficulties increases by 10 percent” (Sprinkle 1). A child is more likely to be diagnosed with an attention disorder like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) when they view a television program. ADHD and ADD both effect the child's ability to stay attentive to one thing for a normal amount of time, which will, in turn, make the comprehension of the education he receives tougher than that of a child who has a normal attention span.
Children today seem to be plagued with a chronic psychiatric condition called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, otherwise known as ADHD. Estimates suggest that this disorder is affecting 3% to 5% of the children in this country (Bussing 233). In the United States this means reference is being made to nearly 5 million ADHD children. ADHD isn¡¦t just some convenient or fancy term for what parents would call a child who misbehaves. This condition, recognized in previous years as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Minimal Brain Dysfunction, Minimal Brain Damage, Hyperkinesis and Hyperactivity, is a serious medical condition that is thought to cause inappr...
Many children who continue to show visible difficulties with attention, impulse control, and excessive activity in the home and school environments are labeled with attention deficit disorder, or ADD (Bigler and Nussbaum 1). ADD is a neurological condition that affects learning and behavior. It affects approximately 5 - 10% of the population. It develops in childhood, and usually is not grown out of (Quinn 2). ADD is characterized by persistent and excessive problems in which a child is unable to focus and pay attention, or conversely displays hyperactive and impulsive behavior (Nicholl and Stordy 4). It has only been recently that ADD has been recognized as a distinct disorder (Bigler and Nussbaum 2).
“Some say that this explosion of childhood ADHD is indicative of what’s wrong with our society and education system. They blame parents and an educator for choosing quick fixes for what they say is a behavioral problem, not a brain-based disorder.”
The conclusion drew was that more research needs to be conducted to before drawing an absolute conclusion that genetics and neurobiology determine the patterns of ADHD
According to Maria Basile, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is classified as a disruptive behavior disorder characterized by ongoing difficulty with attention span, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. She points out that many children have challenged themselves to keep the disorder under control. She also shows that the children can be over-active or impulsive. Their development is not equal to an average child. Numerous of researches have been constructed in order to determine the percentage of children that posse ADHD. Basile shows statistics that reveal the percentage of the children who have ADHD, “The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 3% to 5% of children have ADHD. Some experts, though, say ADHD may occur in 8% to 10% of school age children” (Basi...
have ADD. About 50% of these 2 million children who have ADD are believed to be
There are many facts that show how children are affected by television. The most obvious is the effects that television has on the brain. 'Television interferes with the development of intelligence, thinking skill and imagination.';(LimiTv) A huge element of thinking is taking from what you already know and deciding how it applies in different situation. School makes you do this, but television does not. Michael and Sheila Cole, sociologist, say that 'Children socialized to learn from television had lower than normal expectations about the amount of mental effort required to learn from written texts, and tended to read less and perform relatively poorly in school.';(Development of Children 24) Which means that it takes very little effort to follow a television show and kids are raised on television believe that it takes less effort to learn from television rather than books because they have been 'spoon-fed'; information by television. 'Opportunities for a child's imagination to develop are also denied by habitual viewing.'; (Neural Activity and the Growth of the Brain) Children need some unstructured time to allow imagination skills to form by thinking about a book or story, a conversation, or an event.