Term Paper on "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder"

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This is especially important when considering prescribing medication for the child's cognitive functioning. ("The Medical Treatment of ADHD," The Cleveland Clinic, 2004)

Also, there must be clear evidence of interference of [normal, childhood] functioning due to the symptoms at home, in social or work environments." ("ADHD Symptoms," The Cleveland Clinic, 2004) A teacher is likely to notice the signs and symptoms of ADHD in a child when the student has difficulty paying attention to the details of an classroom assignment and is prone to making careless mistakes in schoolwork or other school related activities. Despite flashes of intelligence, the child's work may be often messy and careless. Homework and assignments may simply be legitimately forgotten -- along with the child's lunch!

A teacher should note, when structuring his or her day, and the child's day, including visits to the nurse, that stimulants have been used to treat ADHD for years. Stimulant medications such as Ritalin have been used for years to help users to focus their thoughts and ignore distractions and have been reported as effective in "70% to 80% " of student ADHD patients according to some estimates, although the use of such drugs remain controversial. In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first non-stimulant medication to control ADHD symptoms called Strattera. ("The Medical Treatment of ADHD," The Cleveland Clinic, 2004)

Discussion of how the topic is related to learning: how does the topic explain learning and acquisition of skills? How does learning occur? With an understanding of the topic, how do children learn and develop?

Once upon a time, before it became such a popular, official diagnosis in schools across the nation, children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were often simply considered 'hyper' kids by temperament or character. Perhaps these children who couldn't sit still came from 'bad' homes, where they feasted on Sugar Smacks for dinner, and watched cartoons rather than engaged in discourse over the dining table. Perhaps they simply needed more discipline. Regardless, in the ordered world of the classroom, of the etiquette of raising one's hands, of learned numbers and letters, ADHD kids were a nuisance, and a distraction -- at best, class clowns, at worst annoying or even destructive.

Even today, some developmental psychologists are dismal and gloomy in their prognostications for the future of children with this disorder. They note that hyperactive behavior is often associated with the development of other disruptive disorders, particularly conduct and oppositional-defiant disorder. These children are statistically more likely to drop out of school and fare more poorly in their later careers than children without the diagnosis of ADHD. ("ADHD Symptoms," The Cleveland Clinic, 2004) But of course failure can become a self-fulfilling prophesy for a child's future. Moreover, it is not the teacher's place to blame the student, rather the… READ MORE