Attention Deficit Disorder in College Students College years can be one of the best times in life. They are filled with the discovery of freedom and independence. However, they can also be some of the most challenging times a person will face. It is a time when the majority of the population discovers that they have a disability, Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD. ADD is discovered in college mainly due to the problems with time management, initiating, keeping or shifting focus, completing homework, and setting priorities (Quinn 1). College students who discover ADD must first be educated as to what ADD is, how it is caused and what type of treatments there are, in order to achieve all that they can in their college career. 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). The term ADD was not first used to describe the disorder. George Frederic Still, one of the pioneers of ADD, described children with "lawlessness," and lacked "inhibitory volition." The terms "minimal brain dysfunction," "brain-injured child syndrome", and "hyperactive child syndrome," are... ... middle of paper ... ...ldren. 15 Feb. 2001 Lerner, Janet. Learning Disabilities: Theories, Diagnosis, and Teaching Strategies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. McCormick, Anne, and Patricia Quinn, eds. Re-Thinking AD/HD: A Guide For Fostering Success In Students With AD/HD At The College Level. Bethesda: Advantage Books, 1998. Nicholl, Malcolm, and Jacqueline Stordy. The LCP Solution. New York: Random House, 2000. "Methylphenidate (Ritalin)" PSYCweb, 18 Feb. 2001 . Quinn, Patricia. Add And The College Student. Washington: Magination, 1993. Striefel, Sebastion. AAPB.com, "Client's Guide to Neurotherapy/EEG Biofeeback Fro Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders." 19 Feb. 2001 Torpey, Joshua. "What's in a Pill?" 16 Feb. 2001 Wender, Paul. ADHD: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity In Children And Adults. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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 ...
“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).” Tish Davidson, AM., Teresa G. Odle., and Laura Jean Cataldo, RN, Ed.D. The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders. 3rd Edition. 2010.
Many psychologists regard ADHD as a state deficit, where children are highly aroused to compensate for the body’s feeling of under arousal. (Kerns, Eso, Thomson, 1999) Three main features of ADHD are 1.Impulsivity, the children often act before they consider consequences 2.Hyperactivity, the children struggle to sit still 3.Inattentiveness, the children have difficulty focusing on a subject because of the overload of stimuli in the environment. Research may indicate that ADHD has biological origins and set symptoms, such as fidgeting, excessive talking, difficulty maintaining concentration, impulsive behavior, lack of focus and messiness. (http://www.mnsi.net/~collinsw/ritalin.htm) According to the Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, in a recent conference held by the NIMH, National Institute of Mental Health, the validity of the diagnosis of ADHD was held in question. (www.breggin.com) The cause of ADHD is unknown as of yet, and speculation is all psychologists have to diagnose and treat patients. The DSM-IV has categorized ADHD by the three dimensions listed above and included 18 symptoms under the three categories, which include some listed above. ADHD has undergone significant renaming and evaluation since the last publication of the Diagnostic Statistic Manual. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, was referred to as ADD or sometimes ADD-H, Attention Deficit Disorder with hyperactivity. (www.journals.cup.org)
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), once called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, is one of the most common mental disorders among children. (Elia, Ambrosini, Rapoport, 1999) It affects 3 to 5 percent of all children, with approximately 60% to 80% of these children experiencing persistence of symptoms into adolescence and adulthood, causing a lifetime of frustrated dreams and emotional pain. There are two types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an inattentive type and a combined type. The symptoms of ADHD can be classified into three categories: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This behaviour stops ADHD sufferers from focussing deliberately on organising and completing a specific task that they may not enjoy, learning new skills or information is proved to be impossible. An example of such behaviour is recognised by the report written by the National Institute of Mental Health where one of the subjects under study was unable to pass schooling examinations due to her inattentive behaviour. Such behaviour can damage the person's relationships with others in addition to disrupting their daily life, consuming energy, and diminishing self-esteem. (National Institute of Mental Health 1999) There are also secondary symptoms which are associated with ADHD, such as learning disorders, anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, tic disorders, and conduct disorders. (Spencer, Biederman, and Wilens 1999 in Monastra V, Monastra D, George, 2002)
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Everyone has heard of it. A few years ago every newspaper and weekly magazine had a feature about the disorder. The disorder was mostly associated with school-aged children because that was the time when most of the symptoms surfaced. Today ADHD is the most common behavior disorder diagnosed in children and teens. ADHD refers to a group of symptoms that begin in early childhood and can continue into adulthood, causing difficulties at home, at school, at work, and within the community if not recognized and treated (1). But what most people never hear was that ADHD also affects adults and if left untreated can have serious effects.
Flick, Grad L. "Managing ADHD in the Classroom Minus Medication." The Education Digest. 63 9 (1998): 51-56.
While the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association) put forth a list of behaviors which predominantly fall in the category of ADD and/or ADHD, many researchers still maintain that there is no set way to diagnosis or develop a treatment program to these disorders which will be guaranteed to work. At the same time there is another set of researchers who maintain that these disorders actually do not exist at all. However, in the real world, parents and educators still continue to struggle with the task of coping with children who are hyperactive and who have very low attention span and whose behavior often interferes with schooling and family life. [Armstrong, 1997]
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.
With five percent of the children in the world affected by ADHD to some degree, there is much variance in the severity and occurrence of symptoms and behaviors (Zeigler Dendy, 2000, “Teachin...
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is very commonly known. Today, ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders among children. The NIMH (The national institute of mental health) predicts that it affecting 3 to 5 percent of all children(AACAP), with an approximate amount of 30% to 65% of these children experiencing persistence of symptoms into adolescence and adulthood (AACAP).There are three types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, Predominantly Inattentive Type, and Combination Type(ehow.com). The symptoms of ADHD can be classified into three main categories; hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. These behaviors can interfere with ADHD sufferers’ ability to focus deliberately on organizing and completing a specific task that they may not enjoy. A case of this kind of behavior is recognized in a report written by the National Institute of Mental Health where one of the subjects under study was unable to pass schooling examinations due to her inattentive behavior (clinicaltrials.gov) These kinds of behaviors can damage the person's relationships with others in addition to disrupting their daily life, consuming energy, and diminishing self-esteem, depending on severity of their symptoms (adhd.com). In this paper, the multiple factors of how ADHD affects, and is handled, of those who undergo this disorder, are shown.
Attention Deficit Disorder is a long and some what mysterious sounding name that tries to describe something you probably already call Hyperactivity. But, attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is much more that Hyperactivity.
10. Heilegenstein, Eric; Guenther, Greta; Levy, Andrea; Savino, Felix; Fulwiler, Jan.(1999) Psychological and Academic Functioning in College Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of American College Health, 47, 181-185. http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=EJ580716&db=eric
Schwarz Alan and Cohen Sarah. “More diagnosis of ADHD causing concerns.” The New York Times 31 March 2013. Print.