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Define ADHD and its symptoms in the developing child? (approx 250 words)
The term ADHD is generally understood to mean “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” which is a common disorder characterised by impulsive behaviour, difficulty in paying attention and overactive behaviour. ADHD is the most common diagnosed behavioral disorder in children (Barkely, 1997).
ADHD is a disorder of the brain. It first starts during childhood and can continue throughout adulthood, it can result in affecting daily life at school, home, work and even relationships (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). ADHD is divided into three major patterns of behaviour; impulsive behaviour, hyperactivity and inattention. Impulsive behaviour means being impatient, trouble controlling urges and impulses. Hyperactivity is feeling restless and cannot easily settle down. Inattention means finding it hard to focus on a given task for a sustained period of time (NIMH, 1998).
ADHD can be hard to comprehend as there is no simple test to diagnose it. Whether a child or an adult has ADHD, specialist can only diagnose ADHD by an assessment (Coghill, 2006). The assessment will involve a comprehensive observation about the child from his parents, teachers, babysitter or anyone who spends time with the child. AHDHD is not diagnosed until a child is at least seven years of age and is in school. Symptoms generally appear before a child is seven years old (Wilmington, 1998). They include trouble paying attention during routine tasks, difficulty following instructions or following through with school work, failure to pay close attention to details, trouble organising tasks, avoid or dislike activities that requires a lot of mental effort for a long period of time, easily d...

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...arkley, 1997) 89-98 per cent of children with ADHD have deficits in executive skills he also believes that the scores on executive function rating scales are better predictor of real world functioning than the lower executive deficit prevalence rates have been reported on traditional tests of executive skills. Students with ADHD experience a thirty per cent developmental delay in some skills such as social skills and organisational skills (Barkely, 1997).
Barkely (1997) states that this means children appear less mature and responsible than their peers. For example, executive skills of a thirteen year old with ADHD are often more like those of an eight year old. In addition to this, parents and teachers must ensure academic success for these students whereby they must provide more support and monitoring than normally expected for this age group (Biederman, 2005).